Personality

My husband and threw a small party, a brunch, the other day. An introvert throwing a party? Yep. I'm not antisocial. I like seeing friends and offering hospitality. And in some ways, throwing a party is easier than attending someone else's. Read More

University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert was called out by ESPN for punching, kicking, shoving, and throwing elbows against opponents after her team fell behind in a conference tournament game. In her most blatant attack, she yanked back an opponent's ponytail, ripping her to the ground.  She says she deeply regrets the incident.  Do you believe her? Read More

You may be surprised.
Last week twenty-year-old Jim told his mother that he has always been leery of his younger, but larger brother, Andrew. Jim's cautiousness around Andrew dates back to the time Andrew shoved him off a dump truck breaking both of Jim's wrists.   Read More

Some psychologists have talked about pleasure seeking or hedonism as a personality trait. I believe, however, that the construct of 'pleasure seeking' is invalid. Nobody seeks sensual pleasure. Here's why.

The phenomenon of satiation disproves the construct of hedonism (sensuality). Suppose, for example, that a theorist defined sensuality to include pleasure from eating and sex. Read More

Recent research on emotion has shifted the traditional focus away from the "basic" emotions to another set of emotions which are thought to be more distinctly human. Focus has turned to the "self-conscious" emotions, which are sometimes also referred to as "moral," "social," or "higher-order" emotions. These are the emotions that an organism can only feel if it has a highly developed sense of self-reflection. Usually, the "self-conscious" emotions are listed as these four: guilt, shame, embarrassment, and pride. Read More

People often ask, “What's something surprising that you've learned about happiness?” Here's one thing: I was very surprised by the truth of the principle that Novelty and challenge bring happiness.

I believed that this observation was true for a lot of people, but I didn’t think it would be true for me. I love routine. I revel in the little pleasures of my ordinary day. I don’t like to travel. I don’t even like to go to new restaurants. My favorite thing to do is to hang around the house and read in my pajamas. Read More

When I was young, I used to tell my mother, with great gusto and frequency, that "we're the same person." I fully believed it then. I was in awe of her and wanted to be not just her walking, talking mini-me, but her. Not like her. Not sharing her interests. Her. Read More

For the most part, what we "know" about introversion is still more theory than fact. We talk about introverts losing energy in social interactions but what, exactly, is that energy? What is energy directed outward? Or inward? Read More

In the Brother's Grimm fairy tale, "The Old Grandfather and the Grandson," a young married couple has grown tired of the husband's father, who lives with them, and who has become increasingly feeble. They stop inviting him to the dinner table and begin feeding him small portions from a dishpan. Read More