Civic life
idea
You want people to do the right thing? Save them the guilt trip
If you want to inspire people to do the right thing, don’t guilt-trip them. Positive emotions are a more powerful motivator
by Claudia R Schneider
Thinking and intelligence
idea
When a tricky task makes your brain hurt, here’s what to do
Although thinking hard is a daily experience, psychologists are only just beginning to understand how aversive it can be
by Todd Vogel
Goals and motivation
idea
To meet your goals, forget willpower and fill your toolbox
Achieving your goals has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with using the right mix of psychological tools
by Marina Milyavskaya
Emotion regulation
idea
Wish you had more self-control? You should hear the downsides
Many people wish they had the advantages of more self-control. But fewer know that the trait can be costly, too
by Samantha Lapka & Franki Kung
Goals and motivation
idea
Eight ways to give yourself a pep talk when you feel stuck
All of us could do with more words of encouragement and perspective, and they don’t need to come from another person
by Rachel Goldsmith Turow
Emotion regulation
idea
Hope is the antidote to helplessness. Here’s how to cultivate it
If hopelessness is learned, then it can be unlearned: how groundbreaking studies paved the way to help cultivate hope
by Emily Esfahani Smith
Habits and routines
idea
Is it better to live in ‘clock time’ or ‘event time’?
Do you stick to a set schedule, or have a looser relationship to the clock? It can affect more than how you plan your day
by Shayla Love
Goals and motivation
idea
Facing a tedious to-do list? This trick could make it easier
The ‘easy addendum effect’: how careful timing of your easier tasks could help you feel better at the end of the day
by Shayla Love
Goals and motivation
idea
A commitment is different from a goal – here’s why that matters
Whatever your aims in life, the words you use matter. Here’s an important distinction that will help you stay on track
by Justin Kompf
Addiction
idea
You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want
The distinct neurochemistry of wanting and liking is helping to make sense of addiction – and more everyday behaviours
by Shayla Love
Freedom and choice
idea
The three reasons why it’s good for you to believe in free will
Regardless of whether humans do or don’t have free will, psychological research shows it’s beneficial to act as if you do
by Kennon Sheldon
Psychotherapy
idea
Getting what we think we want can reveal just how complex desire is
Helping my clients probe their unspoken wants creates a space of freedom to express the possibilities that lie dormant
by Charlotte Fox Weber