3/4 cup lemon waterIt's known that laughing along with someone makes both people feel more positive about each other, increasing feelings of closeness, attraction, and cooperation. Now a study has found there is even more of a payoff after the moment is over. Todd B. Kashdan, an associate professor of psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and his colleagues collected information from 162 volunteers about their interactions with others over two weeks. Those who experienced laughter with another person tended to feel "greater intimacy, positive emotions, and enjoyment" in encounters they had later that day with not only that person but also anyone else, the researchers found. Interestingly, having good feelings for others in the first place did not necessarily make people make more likely to laugh with them. Laughter may cause people to experience a rise in levels of the hormone oxytocin, which promotes social bonding, the researchers point out. "Our findings show that laughter benefits more than the person laughing," they conclude.Source: Allure magazine, July 2014, page 84.
2 slices of canned
pineappleImpulse buying with little thought for consequences may be a particular problem for women who consider themselves of above-average attractiveness. This preliminary finding came out of a study of impulsivity by Margery Lucas and Elissa Koff, professors in the department of psychology at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Women who rated themselves most attractive and stylish compared with other women their age tended to score low on reflection about their purchases. The study's authors can only speculate as to why, but they cite research showing that people are more likely to make indulgent choices when they feel proud, seemingly out of a sense that achievement of one goal (such as enhancing appearance) permits one to disengage from another (such as saving money).Source: Allure magazine, July 2014, pg 84.
