Respect for Rule of Law Maximizes Happiness

Research finds that nations with more "civic nationalism" (respect for laws, institutions) than "ethnic nationalism" (respect for religion, ancestry, culture) were more happy.

Forget Corruption, Power Improves!

Research finds that power can improve focus and analytical thinking.

Individuals were asked to remember times when they influenced or adjusted to others. A word association task was then performed to test analytical or holistic thinking. Those whose memories involved exercising power showed more in-depth, taxonomic thinking vs. the dominated who thought more generally.

For the Kids Sake, Argue with Them

Research finds that youth who were comfortable expressing their opinions at home were better at rejecting peer pressure ... especially teens who used reason to persuade their mothers instead of insults or whining.

Perhaps the independence cultivated at home carries over to school. Those comfortable in relying on their mothers when stressed are less likely to feel dependent on - and less influenced by - friends.

Crowded Store = Bad for Business

Research finds that customers accidentally touched in a store were more likely to leave the store with a negative impression.

In the study, attractive people briefly touched shoppers or stood next to them. Customers who were slightly touched spent less time in the store and were more likely to have a negative view of the products than those left alone. The effect was most observable when male strangers did the touching.

Selective Attention

This test will blow your mind

The Spacing Effect

The "spacing effect" is a simple technique to better retain information - and perform better on exams.

1. Learn the subject
2. Take a good chunk of time (e.g. couple days) to do other activities
3. Come back and attempt to retain the subject

While retaining is difficult because of the gap, it is precisely because of the difficulty long term memory improves. Note: If the interval between learning and retaining is too short or too long, there is no spacing effect.

As an example, an experiment found that an Ontario school 5th grade students remembered far more vocabulary words they learned in 2 sessions spaced 1 week apart vs. 1 lesson.

Sweet Tooth = Sweet Nature

Research finds that people who liked sweet tastes more than savory tastes tended to be kinder. College students answered a survey about their character and also ranked food preferences. Students with a sweet tooth were more likely to volunteer.