The matter of motivation: Striatal resting-state connectivity is dissociable between grit and growth mindset Chelsea A. Myers, Cheng Wang, Jessica M. Black, Nicolle Bugescu, and Fumiko Hoeft The current study utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how two important non-cognitive skills, grit and growth mindset, are associated with cortico-striatal networks important for […]
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The Virtue of Despair
“Out of such abysses, from such severe sickness one returns newborn, having shed one’s skin, more ticklish and malicious, with a more delicate taste for joy, with a more tender tongue for all good things, with merrier senses, with a second dangerous innocence in joy, more childhood and yet a hundred times subtler than one […]
STUDY ALERT: The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A Dimensional Alternative to Traditional Nosologies
The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): A Dimensional Alternative to Traditional Nosologies Roman Kotov, Robert F. Krueger, David Watson, Thomas M. Achenbach, Robert R. Althoff, R. Michael Bagby, Timothy A. Brown, William T. Carpenter, Avshalom Caspi, Lee Anna Clark, Nicholas R. Eaton, Miriam K. Forbes, Kelsie T. Forbush, David Goldberg, Deborah Hasin, Steven E. Hyman, Masha […]
B.F. Skinner to Abraham Maslow: “I have had many peak experiences”
In his book Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance, humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow criticized the experimental psychologists of the day, including the behaviorists, for ignoring the higher values of humanity. Well, B.F. Skinner wasn’t pleased with this assessment! In this incredible personal letter from Skinner to Maslow (dated mid-60s), Skinner responds: “I suppose I am a neo-behaviorist, and […]
What Are Everyday Daydreamers Like?
“Before experimenting, isn’t it appropriate to know as exactly as possible on what one is going to experiment?” — Sartre Rarely do I read a scientific paper that overwhelms me with so much excitement, awe, and reverence. Well, a new paper in Psychological Science has really got me revved up, and I am bursting to share their findings with […]
Openness/Intellect: The Core of the Creative Personality
Openness/Intellect: The Core of the Creative Personality Victoria C. Oleynick, Colin G. DeYoung, Elizabeth Hyde, Scott Barry Kaufman, Roger E. Beaty, and Paul J. Silvia (Appears in The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Personality Research, edited by Gregory J. Feist, Roni Reiter-Palmon, and James C. Kaufman) Openness/intellect is perhaps the broadest, most contentious, and most […]
STUDY ALERT: Can Personality Traits and Intelligence Compensate for Background Disadvantage? Predicting Status Attainment in Adulthood
Can Personality Traits and Intelligence Compensate for Background Disadvantage? Predicting Status Attainment in Adulthood Rodica Ioana Damian, Rong Su, Michael Shanahan, Ulrich Trautwein, and Brent W. Roberts This study investigated the interplay of family background and individual differences, such as personality traits and intelligence (measured in a large U.S. representative sample of high school students; […]
Spontaneous thought gets stuck with rumination
Authors: Elizabeth DuPre & R. Nathan Spreng Abstract Although there has been extensive interest in rumination as a trait-level contributor to psychopathology, research on the neural correlates of ongoing rumination is relatively recent. In this chapter, we examine rumination as a unique mode of thought capable of arising in both normative and pathological contexts. Viewed […]
The State of Positive Education
Positive education views school as a place where students not only cultivate their intellectual minds, but also develop a broad set of character strengths, virtues, and competencies, which together support their well-being. What this looks like differs from country to country and school-to-school, but at its core is the ‘character + academics’ approach to education. […]
STUDY ALERT: Personality Stability From Age 14 to Age 77 Years
Personality Stability From Age 14 to Age 77 Years Mathew A. Harris, Caroline E. Brett, Wendy Johnson, Ian J. Deary There is evidence for differential stability in personality trait differences, even over decades. The authors used data from a sample of the Scottish Mental Survey, 1947 to study personality stability from childhood to older age. The […]
Individual Differences and Their Measurement: A Review of 100 Years of Research
Individual Differences and Their Measurement: A Review of 100 Years of Research Paul Sackett, Filip Lievens, and Nathan Kuncel This article reviews 100 years of research on individual differences and their measurement, with a focus on research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. We focus on three major individual differences domains: (1) knowledge, skill, […]
Which Personality Traits Are Most Predictive of Well-Being?
We all want more well-being in our lives. But which traits are most likely to be associated with well-being? This is an important question because it can help inform our decision to cultivate some aspects of our being over others, and can even inform culture-wide interventions to increase societal levels of well-being. But in answering […]