Everyone knows the sex of their body, but what about their brain?
Hold out your right hand, place your fingers together, and compare the length of your index (first) finger and ring (third) finger.
Analysis:
The hormone ‘testosterone’ is linked with many traits traditionally seen as masculine, such as aggression, becoming frustrated when you don’t get your way, and, most important of all, social dominance. Those in highly competitive occupations, such as actors and footballers, tend to have much higher levels than those in more caring jobs, such as nurses and the clergy. Men have much greater levels of testosterone in their bodies and brains than women.
Scientists believe that the amount of testosterone we were exposed to in the womb affects the ratio of index finger length to ring finger length. The higher the testosterone exposure, the longer the ring finger. Most women's index and ring fingers are almost equal because they have been exposed to less testosterone. If women have longer ring fingers, then they have more masculine tendencies. In most men, the ring finger is longer because they have higher testosterone levels. If men have ring fingers equal in length to their index fingers, or shorter, they have less masculine tendencies because they have been exposed to slightly less testosterone.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Try the thumb test to see which side of your brain is dominant!
First interlock your hands without giving it any thought. Now look and see whether you have placed the left thumb over the right thumb or vice versa.
All of us work in both modes, but everyone naturally tends towards one or the other.
People who place their right thumb on top of their left thumb tend to be left-brain dominant, and are thus more verbal and analytical. Those placing their left thumb on top of their right thumbs tend to be a right-brain dominant, and thus excel in visual, spatial and intuitive tasks.
All of us work in both modes, but everyone naturally tends towards one or the other.
People who place their right thumb on top of their left thumb tend to be left-brain dominant, and are thus more verbal and analytical. Those placing their left thumb on top of their right thumbs tend to be a right-brain dominant, and thus excel in visual, spatial and intuitive tasks.
Friday, 23 April 2010
Beware of junk food!!
Beware of eating junk - the food that you eat affects your brain. Over a million students in New York were studied. When preservatives, artificial colourings and other additives were removed from the cafeteria menu, 70,000 students performed TWO OR MORE grade levels higher than before - so if you want to be sharp, eat natural, unprocessed foods and wave bye bye to the chips and curry sauce.
What kind of person are you?
When you think about it, personality is more than just a random collection of 'traits'. It is at the heart of what makes you YOU! Psychologists believe that around 50% of the differences between us are determined by our genetic inheritance. Of course that means that the other 50% is environmental - a nice marriage of nature and nurture. There are zillions of personality tests out there, ranging from quick fun quizzes to those used by industry and the military. I have attached a link to a page where you can find a range of tests to try for yourself!
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Want to improve your relationship? Look into your partner's Eyes.
Have you noticed how uncomfortable it can feel looking directly into someone's eyes? This is particularly true when we look at a stranger. It also feels quite uncomfortable to have someone look us directly in the eye. This is because eye-gazing is quite a powerful behaviour. If you notice people who are newly in love you will see that they do quite a bit of eye-gazing. Eye gazing performs a 'bonding' function and increases intimacy between two people. Research suggests that you can actually influence the direction of your relationship by incorporating some eye-gazing into it. Sit opposite your partner for 4 minutes, holding hands, and gaze into each other's eyes. Psychology suggests that doing this will increase feelings of warmth, trust and affection in the relationship.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Look on the bright side!
Optimistic people are healthier and live longer - it's a fact. But what if you have had a rough time? How do you put a positive slant on things when you feel the world is against you? This is not easy but it can be successfully achieved - how? by looking on the bright side. Here are some examples of things that have happened to people I know (including me!) and how I have practiced looking on the bright side!
1. My car was hit by a deer and over £1500 worth of damage caused. Looking on the bright side I see that I was lucky that I didn't write off the car and lucky that I escaped uninjured. (I think the deer might have been lucky too as there was no evidence to suggest otherwise!)
2. A family member started an important college course and was forced to give up after spending some time in hospital. Looking on the bright side, he is recovering from what could have been a serious illness, he can restart the course when he feels fully recovered, and he will go into it with the advantage of having completed part of it.
3. A friend bit into a toffee and lost her 'crown' - looking on the bright side, she didn't swallow it and it could be cemented back in again.
4. A colleague had a nasty bout of flu - the bright side is that it occurred during the awful weather and so he avoided the hazardous travel conditions and the worst of the weather.
You get the picture? Life happens and its not always kind to us. We can't control what happens to us but we CAN control our response and the way we think about things.
1. My car was hit by a deer and over £1500 worth of damage caused. Looking on the bright side I see that I was lucky that I didn't write off the car and lucky that I escaped uninjured. (I think the deer might have been lucky too as there was no evidence to suggest otherwise!)
2. A family member started an important college course and was forced to give up after spending some time in hospital. Looking on the bright side, he is recovering from what could have been a serious illness, he can restart the course when he feels fully recovered, and he will go into it with the advantage of having completed part of it.
3. A friend bit into a toffee and lost her 'crown' - looking on the bright side, she didn't swallow it and it could be cemented back in again.
4. A colleague had a nasty bout of flu - the bright side is that it occurred during the awful weather and so he avoided the hazardous travel conditions and the worst of the weather.
You get the picture? Life happens and its not always kind to us. We can't control what happens to us but we CAN control our response and the way we think about things.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Ten Top Tips for changing your life in 59 seconds
Thanks to Prof. Richard Wiseman for these very streamlined top tips on life skills.
Develop the gratitude attitude: Having people list three things that they are grateful for or three events that have gone especially well over the past week, can significantly increase their level of happiness for about a month. This in turn can cause them to be more optimistic about the future and improve their physical health.
Place a picture of a baby in your wallet: Putting a photograph of a smiling baby in a wallet increases the chances of the wallet being returned if lost by 30 per cent. The baby's big eyes and button nose initiates a deep seated evolutionary mechanism that causes people to become more caring, and thus increases the likelihood of them returning it.
Hang a mirror in your kitchen: Placing a mirror in front of peole when they are presented with different food options results in a remarkable 32 per cent reduction in their consumption of unhealthy food. Seeing their own reflection makes them more aware of their body and more likely to eat food that is good for them.
Buy a pot plant for the office: (students - put one in your bedroom and make sure it's legal!!) Adding plants to an office results in a 15 per cent increase in the number of creative ideas reported by male employees and helps their female counterparts produce more original solutions to problems. The plants help reduce stress and induce good moods which, in turn, promote creativity.
Touch people lightly on the upper arm: Lightly touching someone on their upper arm makes them far more likely to agree to a request because the touch is unconsciously perceived as a sign of high status. In one dating study, the touch produced a 20 per cent increase in the number of people accepting the offer of a dance in a nightclub and a 10 per cent increase in people giving their telephone number to a stranger on the street.
Write about your relationship: Partners spending a few moments each week committing their deepest thoughts and feelings about their relationship to paper boosts the chance of them sticking together by over 20 per cent. Such 'expressive writing' results in partners using more positive language when they speak to one another, leading to a healthier and happier relationship.
Deal with Potential liars by closing your eyes and asking for an email: The most reliable clues to lying are in the words that people use, with liars tending to lack detail, use more 'ums' and 'ahs' and avoid self-references ('me', 'mine' 'I'). In addition people are around 20 per cent less likely to lie in an email than telephone call, because their words are on record and so more likely to come back and haunt them.
Praise children's effort over ability: Praising a child's effort rather than ability encourages them to try regardless of the consequences, therefore side-stepping any fear of failure. This in turn makes them especially likely to attempt challenging problems, find these problems more enjoyable, and try to solve them in their own time.
Vizualise yourself doing, not achieving: People who visualise themselves taking the practical steps needed to achieve their goals are far more likely to succeed than those who simply fantasize about their dreams becoming a reality. One especially effective technique involves adopting a third-person perspective: those who visualize themselves as others see them are about 20 per cent more successful than those adopting a first-person view.
Consider your legacy: Asking people to spend just a minute imagining a close friend standing up at their funeral and reflecting on their personal and professional legacy helps them to identify their long-term goals, and assess the degree to which they are progressing towards making those goals a reality.
Develop the gratitude attitude: Having people list three things that they are grateful for or three events that have gone especially well over the past week, can significantly increase their level of happiness for about a month. This in turn can cause them to be more optimistic about the future and improve their physical health.
Place a picture of a baby in your wallet: Putting a photograph of a smiling baby in a wallet increases the chances of the wallet being returned if lost by 30 per cent. The baby's big eyes and button nose initiates a deep seated evolutionary mechanism that causes people to become more caring, and thus increases the likelihood of them returning it.
Hang a mirror in your kitchen: Placing a mirror in front of peole when they are presented with different food options results in a remarkable 32 per cent reduction in their consumption of unhealthy food. Seeing their own reflection makes them more aware of their body and more likely to eat food that is good for them.
Buy a pot plant for the office: (students - put one in your bedroom and make sure it's legal!!) Adding plants to an office results in a 15 per cent increase in the number of creative ideas reported by male employees and helps their female counterparts produce more original solutions to problems. The plants help reduce stress and induce good moods which, in turn, promote creativity.
Touch people lightly on the upper arm: Lightly touching someone on their upper arm makes them far more likely to agree to a request because the touch is unconsciously perceived as a sign of high status. In one dating study, the touch produced a 20 per cent increase in the number of people accepting the offer of a dance in a nightclub and a 10 per cent increase in people giving their telephone number to a stranger on the street.
Write about your relationship: Partners spending a few moments each week committing their deepest thoughts and feelings about their relationship to paper boosts the chance of them sticking together by over 20 per cent. Such 'expressive writing' results in partners using more positive language when they speak to one another, leading to a healthier and happier relationship.
Deal with Potential liars by closing your eyes and asking for an email: The most reliable clues to lying are in the words that people use, with liars tending to lack detail, use more 'ums' and 'ahs' and avoid self-references ('me', 'mine' 'I'). In addition people are around 20 per cent less likely to lie in an email than telephone call, because their words are on record and so more likely to come back and haunt them.
Praise children's effort over ability: Praising a child's effort rather than ability encourages them to try regardless of the consequences, therefore side-stepping any fear of failure. This in turn makes them especially likely to attempt challenging problems, find these problems more enjoyable, and try to solve them in their own time.
Vizualise yourself doing, not achieving: People who visualise themselves taking the practical steps needed to achieve their goals are far more likely to succeed than those who simply fantasize about their dreams becoming a reality. One especially effective technique involves adopting a third-person perspective: those who visualize themselves as others see them are about 20 per cent more successful than those adopting a first-person view.
Consider your legacy: Asking people to spend just a minute imagining a close friend standing up at their funeral and reflecting on their personal and professional legacy helps them to identify their long-term goals, and assess the degree to which they are progressing towards making those goals a reality.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
No Regrets
Thomas Gilovich, a psychologist at Cornell university, has been studying the psychology of regret for over 10 years. Over that time a large number of people has been interviewed and asked about their biggest regret. Interestingly, it seems that people are much more likely to regret doing NOTHING as they are to regret any single decision. Around 75% of those interviewed regret not doing something - here are the top 3 slots: not studying hard enough at school, not taking advantage of an opportunity and failing to spend enough time with friends and family.
In contrast only 25% of people regret doing something such as a poor career choice or marriage to someone they didn't love.
Why should this be the case?
well its easy to see the consequences of bad decisions you have made isn't it? - that bad relationship takes years to get out of and leaves a trail of unpleasantness, or the job you took that seemed good at the time but now is dull and tedious. However you never see the consequences of things you haven't done and you might spend time wondering 'what if?'
"For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been"
In contrast only 25% of people regret doing something such as a poor career choice or marriage to someone they didn't love.
Why should this be the case?
well its easy to see the consequences of bad decisions you have made isn't it? - that bad relationship takes years to get out of and leaves a trail of unpleasantness, or the job you took that seemed good at the time but now is dull and tedious. However you never see the consequences of things you haven't done and you might spend time wondering 'what if?'
"For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been"
Friday, 12 February 2010
How Creative are You?
Creativity is a real talent - the ability to think 'outside the box' is a must for success in many areas. Psychologists have used many different tasks to test how creative people are. For example participants might be presented with an item such as a brick and given a limited time to suggest as many uses as possible. Alternatively they could be given an A4 sheet divided into squares and asked to make each square into a different object (such as a television, pair of curtains or kite). Some researchers use lateral thinking puzzles to test creativity. Have a go at the following questions and see how you get on:
1.Can you add a single line to this equation to make it correct - there is one rule - you are not allowed to put a line through the = sign to convert it into a 'not equals' sign! 10 10 11 = 10.50
2. Joanna and Jackie were born on the same day of the same month of the same year. They have the same mother and father and yet they are not twins. How is this possible?
3. A man has married twenty different women in the same town. All are still alive and he never divorced any of them. Polygamy is unlawful, yet the man has not broken the law. How is this possible?
4. A man walks into an antique shop and offers to sell an impressive bronze coin. One side of the coin contains an image of a Roman emperor's head, while the other shows the date as 500 B.C. The dealer instantly knows the coin is a fake - why?
1.Can you add a single line to this equation to make it correct - there is one rule - you are not allowed to put a line through the = sign to convert it into a 'not equals' sign! 10 10 11 = 10.50
2. Joanna and Jackie were born on the same day of the same month of the same year. They have the same mother and father and yet they are not twins. How is this possible?
3. A man has married twenty different women in the same town. All are still alive and he never divorced any of them. Polygamy is unlawful, yet the man has not broken the law. How is this possible?
4. A man walks into an antique shop and offers to sell an impressive bronze coin. One side of the coin contains an image of a Roman emperor's head, while the other shows the date as 500 B.C. The dealer instantly knows the coin is a fake - why?
Monday, 8 February 2010
The Viral effect of laughter!
Laughter is contageous, isn't it. You know how difficult it is to resist when someone else is laughing heartily - think of actors 'corpsing' when reading through their lines. Once it starts spreading, laughter can be quite difficult to contain in its viral effect.
In fact in 1962 there was a laughter epidemic in Africa which started off in a girls' boarding school in Tanzania. The first symptoms appeared on January 30, when three girls got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. The symptoms quickly spread to 95 students, forcing the school to close on March 18. The girls sent home from the school were focal points for the further spread of the epidemic. Related outbreaks occurred in other schools in Central Africa and spread like wildfire, ceasing two-and-a-half years later and afflicting nearly 1,000 people.
In fact in 1962 there was a laughter epidemic in Africa which started off in a girls' boarding school in Tanzania. The first symptoms appeared on January 30, when three girls got the giggles and couldn't stop laughing. The symptoms quickly spread to 95 students, forcing the school to close on March 18. The girls sent home from the school were focal points for the further spread of the epidemic. Related outbreaks occurred in other schools in Central Africa and spread like wildfire, ceasing two-and-a-half years later and afflicting nearly 1,000 people.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Happy Friday
Hey it's Friday, possibly the happiest day of the working week as it heralds the weekend. There are even better reasons to be forward looking, optimistic and cheerful however.
A long term study showed that optimistic people live on average 19% longer than pessimists. That's a substantial number of extra years to "lick the lid of life"!
The study examined more than 1100 patients attending the Mayo Clinic in the US between 1960 and 62. Each was asked to complete a personality test which ranked them on optimism. Thirty years later, it was found that the optimists had lived on average 19% longer!
So smile and enjoy your day. Here's a Friday joke to start you off.
A lecturer was in a particularly bad mood and decided to take it out on her students, and so she gave cutting criticism to the recent homework and then said "Would everyone who thinks they are stupid stand up!" At first no one moved but then after a few seconds one student got to his feet. The lecturer turned to him and said "So you are admitting that you are stupid".
"No" he said......"I just hate to see you standing there all by yourself".
A long term study showed that optimistic people live on average 19% longer than pessimists. That's a substantial number of extra years to "lick the lid of life"!
The study examined more than 1100 patients attending the Mayo Clinic in the US between 1960 and 62. Each was asked to complete a personality test which ranked them on optimism. Thirty years later, it was found that the optimists had lived on average 19% longer!
So smile and enjoy your day. Here's a Friday joke to start you off.
A lecturer was in a particularly bad mood and decided to take it out on her students, and so she gave cutting criticism to the recent homework and then said "Would everyone who thinks they are stupid stand up!" At first no one moved but then after a few seconds one student got to his feet. The lecturer turned to him and said "So you are admitting that you are stupid".
"No" he said......"I just hate to see you standing there all by yourself".
Thursday, 4 February 2010
What sex is your brain?
Men and women are different! There I've said it - its not exactly politically correct these days but I like throwing caution to the wind. This is not to say that men are better than women or vice versa, but the sooner we accept that we are different from each other we can relax and play to our strengths! You will read about some of these differences in future blogs but meantime why not take the quick online test and see what sex your brain is?
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
What will you call your baby?
It has been said "A child's name is generally a settled affair when his first breath is drawn and his future personality must then grow within its shadow". How you name your child can shape his/her life experience. For example research has shown that teachers give higher marks to students with more likeable names. It has also been demonstrated that people whose names are earlier in the alphabet (A, B, C) are more likely to be successful than those whose names start with letters that appear late in the alphabet. Maybe its something to do with always being last on the list?
In the 1960's, researchers Hartman et al investigated whether people with 'strange' names were more likely to be psychologically disturbed than those with more 'normal' names. They examined over 10,000 psychiatric court records and from those they found 88 people with very unusual first names such as Oder, Lethal and Vere. They selected a control group of 88 individuals who were matched on gender, age and location of birth, and who had more usual names. Those with unusual names were significantly more likely than the control group to be diagnosed as psychotic.
It appears that your initials can even affect how long you live! Christenfield et al (1999) used an electronic dictionary to generate every possible 3 letter word, then separated those that were clearly positive (e.g. ACE, HUG, JOY) from the more negative words like PIG, BUM and DIE. They searched a database of California death certificates and examined the age at which people with positive initials and negative initials died. Controlling for several factors, the researchers found that men with positive initials lived around 4 and a half years longer than average, whereas those with negative initials died around 3 years earlier than average. Women with positive initials lived an additional 3 years (although in their case there was no detrimental effect from having negative initials).
In the 1960's, researchers Hartman et al investigated whether people with 'strange' names were more likely to be psychologically disturbed than those with more 'normal' names. They examined over 10,000 psychiatric court records and from those they found 88 people with very unusual first names such as Oder, Lethal and Vere. They selected a control group of 88 individuals who were matched on gender, age and location of birth, and who had more usual names. Those with unusual names were significantly more likely than the control group to be diagnosed as psychotic.
It appears that your initials can even affect how long you live! Christenfield et al (1999) used an electronic dictionary to generate every possible 3 letter word, then separated those that were clearly positive (e.g. ACE, HUG, JOY) from the more negative words like PIG, BUM and DIE. They searched a database of California death certificates and examined the age at which people with positive initials and negative initials died. Controlling for several factors, the researchers found that men with positive initials lived around 4 and a half years longer than average, whereas those with negative initials died around 3 years earlier than average. Women with positive initials lived an additional 3 years (although in their case there was no detrimental effect from having negative initials).
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Smile - its free and you'll feel better!
How are you feeling today? A bit flat perhaps - the trauma of dragging yourself out of bed on this Winter's day. Well SMILE! That's right break into a nice cheesy grin. Research into something called the Facial Feedback hypothesis shows that our emotions are affected by our facial expressions. Laird (1974) tested this hypothesis by deceiving participants into thinking they were having activity in their facial muscles measured. Electrodes were attached and participants were asked to make facial expressions. While this was going on their was a series of cartoon slides shown in the background. Participants rated the slides funnier when they were 'smiling' and also reported feeling happier when smiling (and more irritable when frowning!).
Monday, 1 February 2010
Quirkology
I have added a link to this great site. Dr Richard Wiseman has been an inspiration to me through his brilliant and readable books. He coined the term Quirkology to describe quirky and fun psychology!
The company of dogs
Did you know that having a dog is good for your health? Friedmann and colleagues from the University of Maryland looked at this special relationship and its effect on heart health. They found that dog owners were almost NINE times more likely to be alive one year after suffering a heart attack than non dog owners! Dog owners tend to have higher self esteem and are less prone to depression too - maybe its all that exercise!
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