Behavior Modification

Stepping into the unknown and be­yond the constraints we have created for ourselves is no small feat, but it is a worthwhile effort.

As we amble along our chosen path, we encounter many distractions. One of the most insidious is the notion that to pursue a path is sufficient, that pursuit is an end in itself. 

While flamingos appear to live in a very different world to humans, they form cliques much like human ones. Like us, flamingos have a need to be social, are long lived (sometimes into their 80s) and form enduring friendships. 

We human beings are such incongruous creatures, saying one thing while thinking or feeling another. We flaunt and celebrate parts of ourselves, hide, repress, and deny others.

Australian humpback whales are singing less and fighting more. Should we be worried?

When you start to notice them, psychopaths seem to be everywhere. This is especially true of people in powerful places. By one estimate, as many as 20% of business leaders have “clinically relevant levels” of psychopathic tendencies

Soccer players compete for a professional club but also hail from different, sometimes rival, countries. This duality provides a natural laboratory to study a question that has preoccupied social scientists for decades

Kindness is one of the most civilized expressions of the human being. The well-known US writer George Saunders says that what he regrets most in life are failures of kindness. 

 Guilt is a double-edged sword. It can be a reminder to improve and a motivation to apologise. It can also lead to pathological perfectionism and stress and is also closely associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Studies have found a link between procrastination and poor health. It is associated with higher levels of stress, unhealthier lifestyles and delays in seeing a doctor about health problems.

Interventions designed to keep people safe can have hidden side effects. With an increased perception of safety, some people are more likely to take risks.

It’s that time of year when people make their New Year’s resolutions – indeed, 93% of people set them, according to the American Psychological Association.

New Year’s resolutions are set with the best of intentions. But they notoriously fail to translate into lasting behavioural changes.

Every year you set out determined to stick to your New Year’s resolutions. But year after year you fall off track and quickly abandon them. So why are resolutions so hard to keep?

Each December, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, among others, take over our thoughts and our wallets as we participate in ceremonies our ancestors have practised for as long as we can remember. These are all example of traditions. And in most cases, traditions are accompanied by rituals.

If you feel you consistently fail at your New Year’s resolutions, you are not alone. Despite our good intentions, we’re pretty poor at changing our own behavior

Christmas itself is hard if not possible to escape from entirely. But there are things you can do to manage your experience if you plan to spend time by yourself over advent.

At this time of year, readers worldwide turn to Charles Dickens, and A Christmas Carol in particular. Such is Dickens’ association with the season that a new film has even credited him with being “The Man Who Invented Christmas” with his famous tale. So did he? And what did Dickens really tell us in the pages of A Christmas Carol?

Procrastination is an interesting form of delay which is irrational in the sense that we do it despite knowing it can have negative consequences.

 What we emit into the world is picked up by others and it affects them as well.

Are we free or are our actions determined by the laws of physics? And how much free will do we actually want? These questions have troubled philosophers for millennia – and there are still no perfect answers.

Evidence shows that significant events in our personal lives which induce severe stress or trauma can be associated with more rapid changes in our personalities.

I didn’t truly understand the phrase “never say never” until I started recognizing I was contradicting my so many of my own “nevers.”