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.
6 Ways Exhausted People Self-Sabotage (and Solutions!):
Recently I wrote a post on 13 signs of chronic exhaustion, which resonated with a lot of people. To overcome this problem, you need to understand the causes, so I thought I'd explain these more. One of the major causes is a nasty loop, whereby the ways people cope when they're exhausted further worsen and entrench it. I'll unpack this vicious cycle below and provide some solutions at the end of the article.
Full article.
Looking on Bright Side May Reduce Anxiety, Especially When Money is Tight:
Trying to find something good in a bad situation appears to be particularly effective in reducing anxiety the less money a person makes, possibly because people with low incomes have less control over their environment, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Our research shows that socioeconomic status has a powerful effect on whether reframing a situation can reduce anxiety, both in the short term and the long term,” said Claudia Haase, PhD, of Northwestern University and co-author of the study. “As social inequality continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important that we understand how emotional regulation strategies might benefit mental health across the socioeconomic spectrum.”
Full article.
Aerobic Exercise May Be Key to Better Neurocognition: Duke University researchers recently reported that just six months of aerobic exercise—for 35 minutes, three times a week—may improve executive function in older adults who have cognitive impairments. Before they began doing aerobic exercise, the previously sedentary study participants had difficulty concentrating, making decisions, and remembering. The good news: “These preliminary findings show that aerobic exercise promotes improved executive functioning in adults at risk for cognitive decline," the authors said.
Full article.
Big Data, Big Deal!
We live in the era of big data. The corporations that have the data, Google, Amazon, Facebook et al., use them to their advantage. They often know what you want before you do, and they are daily getting better at this. Google et al. experiment with the settings on their sites and let the data tell them what works best (for their bottom line, that is). Their approach to the numbers game is not science, but a sort of fine-tuning of technology; perhaps it can be called applied science, or, as the phrase goes ‘data science.’ When there are only data, there is no need for perspective or theory or inference. The data are – to use the fogeyish plural – clear. Uncertainty has been conquered and the dreaded standard error, or ‘margin of error,’ has been marginalized into extinction. In this brave new world, where data define reality, it is a quaint memory that I spent so many hours blogging against the idea of free will (Krueger, 2018a). The data now show that there is none, right? Oh well, it seemed important at the time.
Full article.
Laugh in the Face of Anxiety:
Anxiety occasionally visits us all. When we give an important presentation, take a test, go on a first date or walk down a dark alley our minds and bodies naturally respond by going on high alert and attuning to the potential dangers and risks of these endeavors. A healthy amount of anxiety prevents us from falling victim to those dangers and risks. Choosing not to go down that dark alley could be a life-saving response. But an excessive amount of anxiety can increase our risk of suffering negative consequences. Full article.
