Humans are Moody

Research finds evidence of distinct emotional periods in the 20th century, a general decrease in the use of emotion-related words, and that American English is more “emotional” than British English in the last 50 years.

Happiness: USA v. Other Countries

Researchers analyzed happiness' definitions in dictionaries from 30 nations and in Webster’s dictionaries from 1850 to today. Researchers also coded the State of the Union address from 1790 to 2010 and investigated the usage of happy nation vs. happy person (1800-2008). 

"Across cultures and time, happiness was most frequently defined as good luck and favorable external conditions. However, in American English, this definition was replaced by definitions focused on favorable internal feeling states."

The Birther Beef

Research into "implicit social cognition" reveals that white Americans inherently regard white Europeans as more "American" than non-whites. This may help explain why so many believe President Obama is not a born American. In the study, white Americans actually thought white Europeans like Hugh Grant were more American than Asian-American Connie Chung. Similar research in 2008 found whites thought former British PM Tony Blair was more American than President Obama.