The literature of self-esteem tells us that we need to gain self-esteem to be succesful. But this might be all wrong and a widespread misconception, according to a longitudinal study of nearly 2500 students. I’ll introduce you to self-compassion as an alternative to self-esteem, and the reasons why you should develop self-compassion more than self-esteem. Continue reading
Positive thinking can feel like a job to do, while negative thinking seems to happen more automatically. In fact, this is true at a very fundamental level of the brain, studies show. It is called the negativity bias. Continue reading
A large-scale study by Hudson and Fraley (2016), published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, finds that almost all people between the ages of 18 to 70 want to change aspects of their personality. Continue reading
Posted in Clinical Psychology, Personal Development, Personality Psychology
Tagged personality, the big five
Human beings are social beings. The tendency to behave, talk and walk like others is what we call conformity, which has been documented in various studies. Continue reading
Posted in Behaviors, Empathy, Motivation, Personality Psychology, Self-help, Social Psychology
Tagged antisocial, empathy, generousity, prosocial, research, study
The human brain is sophisticated. It separates us from all other animals. It allows us to have abstract ideas and to solve complex problems. We are rational social beings, or are we? Continue reading
Four independent sets of studies show that there is a link between analytical thinking and religious disbelief. The results of the studies are described briefly in this post. Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Personality Psychology, Psychology
Tagged analytical, paranormal ideas, religion, religious
Why would people maintain negative self-evaluations when they result in a great degree of distress? What purpose do negative self-evaluations have? Do they help us solve our problems, or do they help us in some other way? It seems not. Continue reading
Are you aware that psychological need satisfaction is crucial to your well-being, and that it should be one of your biggest priorities? This post will show you why. Continue reading
My name is Simon Moesgaard, a psychologist from Denmark, and this is my blog about psychology.
