POV: 8 Key Behavioral Catchphrases

Narrowing down the multitude of great new ideas in psychology is a challenge. From mood freezing to hindsight bias to vocational callings, here are a few standouts that are relatively new, counterintuitive, and applicable to everyday life.

1. Mood Freezing

We've come to believe that by expressing our emotions we'll feel better. The idea of "catharsis" also implies that by releasing our anger, we'll rid ourselves of all hostile feelings. In mood freezing, participants are made to believe that a pill can alter their moods when, in fact, the pill is a placebo. In the lab, the participants are riled up in an experimental situation, and when they're given the fake pill, they both quell their angry outbursts and say that they feel better. You don't have to give yourself an actual fake mood-freezing pill to reduce your angry outbursts when you get mad. Just tell yourself you don't need to express that anger, and you can still derive the same positive benefit.

2. Facial Feedback

According to one theory of emotions, known as facial feedback, the expression on your face helps to control the way you feel inside. This was put to the test in a study of people who had received Botox treatments. The Botoxed participants were less able to empathize with the emotions of others because, presumably, they were unable to flex their facial muscles. Also, the Botoxed were no worse at emotion detection, which ruled out the possibility that people who get Botox are less empathic in the first place.

3. Hindsight Bias

One of our most common tendencies is to think that we were right about predicting an event's outcome even when we were clearly wrong. Here's a dose of hindsight bias: "I knew it all along." Researchers have known about hindsight bias, but a recent study shows that you can avoid the lure of hindsight (and the possible negative consequences it can have) by using simple reality-testing interventions before you commit the cognitive faux pas. Example: Will he call? Answer yourself honestly: No, he won't.

4. Relationship Churning

We can't completely give psychology credit for this term, as the study was conducted by sociologists. However, it clearly applies to the psychology of relationships. Such churning occurs when you are in a series of on-and-off relationships. Unfortunately, young adults who are most likely to experience relationship churning may also be the ones most likely to suffer relationship abuse, both physical and verbal.

5. Two Feet in the Door

The foot-in-the-door is a well-known strategy to manipulate people into fulfilling a large request: You first present them with a small request. However, we hear less about the double-foot-in-the-door. In a recent study, researchers found that they could convince participants to engage in energy-saving activities more effectively by making their request in three phases—small, medium, and large, rather than just going from small to large. Staging your request this way will make it seem less intimidating; and even if you have to stretch it out over a week or two, in the long run, it will mean a bigger payoff.

6. Target Template

When searching through a complex set of stimuli, such as a busy street that one is trying to cross, one must pick out the sources of danger. The "target template" is a guide to searching these types of complex stimuli. Despite what you hear about video games being bad for your attention, researchers are finding that action games can actually improve your ability to scan complex scenes. In fact, the more action-oriented the game, the bigger the attention boost.

7. The Dark Triad

The combination of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, or the "dark triad," sounds bad, and in many cases, it is. People high on dark triad traits tend to be unpleasant and can cause you much pain, should you fall for them. However, in a longitudinal study of personality traits and career success, those high in the dark triad tended to succeed in moving up the career ladder. They even outperformed their more conscientious, somewhat obsessive-compulsive, counterparts.

8. Vocational Callings

When you think of your job as a "calling," you'll be more satisfied with it. People with a calling are more likely to be the most satisfied and the most motivated. The key to this kind of job satisfaction is not only that you feel you have a calling, but that you are able to live out that calling. Once you have the congruence of your desire and your experiences, you'll feel more in control of your career's direction, which, in turn, can further help you feel connected to a larger purpose in life.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of Massachusetts. Read her PT blog: Fulfillment at Any Age