Welcome to the Weekly Medius PsychNews. Every week, we select five thought-provoking Psychology articles from hundreds published in journals and other media. Psychology Drives Everything.

How to Turn Failure into Success:
People often say that “failure is the mother of success.” This cliché might have some truth to it, but it does not tell us how to actually turn a loss into a win, says Emmanuel Manalo, a professor of educational psychology at Kyoto University in Japan. As a result, he says, “we know we shouldn't give up when we fail—but in reality, we do.” Manalo and Manu Kapur, a professor of learning sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, put together a special issue of the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity last December on benefiting from failure. The issue's 15 studies provide teachers and educational researchers with a guide for achieving success. Full article.

Productivity Isn’t About Time Management. It’s About Attention Management:
A few years ago during a break in a leadership class I was teaching, a manager named Michael walked up looking unsettled. His boss had told him he needed to be more productive, so he had spent a few hours analyzing how he spent his time. He had already cut his nonessential meetings. He couldn’t find any tasks to drop from his calendar. He didn’t see an obvious way to do them more efficiently. “This is going to sound like a joke, but it’s not,” he confessed. “My only idea is to drink less water so I don’t have to go to the bathroom so many times.” We live in a culture obsessed with personal productivity. Full article.

People With Greater Intellectual Humility Have Superior General Knowledge:
In the era of social media and rolling news there’s a constant pressure to be in the know, always on hand with an aperçus or two. Today intellectual humility therefore feels more important than ever – having the insight and honesty to hold your hands up and say you’re ignorant or inexpert about an issue. Psychologists are responding by taking an increasing interest in intellectual humility, including investigating its consequences for learning and the thinking styles that support it. For a new paper in The Journal of Positive Psychology a team led by Elizabeth Krumrei-Mancuso have continued this endeavour, showing, among other things, that intellectual humility correlates with superior general knowledge. This is a logical outcome because, as the researchers write, “simply put, learning requires the humility to realise one has something to learn.” Full article.

Ten Behaviors to Avoid if You Crave a Raise or Promotion:
Most people want to climb the corporate ladder. If a different job is not on your radar, you likely want to earn more money. Unfortunately, in the betterment quest, many well-intentioned individuals unconsciously sabotage their chances for a juicy raise or a job with more challenge and growth. These self-inflicted limitations to success often happen because habitual behavior on our part may be perceived negatively by decision makers and especially your boss. While following the strategies below won’t earn you a promotion or raise, these behaviors won’t stand in the way of being considered for a job with greater influence, additional income, and more value to your organization. Full article.

Wishing others well may boost your own well-being:
Whether it is escaping the city, going for a walk, or hanging out with our friends, we all have our strategies for reducing anxiety, coping with the stresses of modern life, or just lifting our mood. But what role does helping others play in our well-being? Past research has confirmed that being generous makes people happier. Some studies have even pointed to specific brain areas that acts of generosity affect, suggesting that giving to others can help reduce anxiety and stress. Full article.