Of the many new experiences that infants have each day, which ones will they remember? A new study entitled “The effects of exposure to dynamic expressions of affect on 5-month-olds’ memory” published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development suggests that infants are more likely to remember a unique geometric shape whenever a positive emotion…
Read MoreUsing and Understanding Nonverbal Communication
Originally published on Psychology Today by Jeff Thompson, a Ph.D. candidate researching nonverbal communication and mediation at Griffith University Law School. As someone currently researching nonverbal communication, I have happily (yes- happily!) read many books, journal articles, magazine articles, and blog postings in regards to this broad subject. The new book by David Matsumoto, Mark…
Read MoreIncongruous Emotional Displays and Self Regulation
Giggling at a funeral. Bawling at a wedding. These are both examples of incongruous emotional displays that are sometimes thought of as a little inappropriate. But are these behaviors just embarrassing slip ups? What psychological purpose could they serve? Dr. Oriana Aragon of Yale University and her colleagues suspected that such displays might actually play an important…
Read MoreCan Money Buy You Happiness?
It’s an age old question: can money buy happiness? It’s true to some extent: money does buy you happiness. People with higher incomes are, broadly speaking, happier than those who are struggling. But new research digs a little deeper and suggests that happiness is determined not by how much money one earns, but rather, how one…
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