a psychologist's blog – research and ideas to digest
Self-talk, or internal dialogue, is when people talk to themselves in either a positive or negative manner, e.g. “I can do it” or “I can’t do it”. Evidence shows that positive self-talk has a moderate positive effect on sport task performance (Hatzigeorigiadis et al., 2011).
Most people care about animals, but they also eat them. How can we eat something that we care about? How do people avoid this paradox?
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a false belief that leads to its own fulfillment, and it involves three events (Madon et al., 2011):
“Do but consider what an excellent thing sleep is; it is so inestimable a jewel that, if a tyrant would give his crown for an hour’s slumber, it cannot be bought; of so beautiful a shape is it
Whenever people are unable to control and predict their environment, they actively seek to restore feelings of control by behaving and thinking in certain ways.
In a study by Van Mill and colleagues (2013), the authors examined the impact of sleep disturbances on the course of anxiety and depressive disorders. The sleep durations of over 1,000 individuals with depressive and/or anxiety disorders, over a period of two years, were examined.
Sometimes, we prefer convention such as order, rules, and tradition. Other times, we prefer to break free from convention. Both order and disorder are present in nature and culture.
What is the most adaptive response when resources are scarce? Is the best response to save money for the future or to spend it for immediate gains? It seems rational to decrease spending and increase savings.