Psychology Archives

Why Do Mass Shootings Happen in America? It’s Debatable

Why do mass shootings happen in America so frequently? What are the best measures to prevent mass shootings? According to reports, there have already been 600 mass shootings in the United States in 2022. To understand why mass shootings happen in America, researchers seek to learn what motivates mass shooters, whether it be mental illness, easy access to guns, or something else. Read on to learn both sides of the debate seeking to answer why mass shootings happen in America.

How the Environment Affects Human Behavior Positively

How does the environment affect human behavior? Is the environment a positive influence on us? In Influencer, the authors claim that you can make the environment a positive influence on your life by taking the necessary steps. If you do, your environment (whether man-made or not) will be instrumental in improving your life. Keep reading to learn how the environment affects human behavior.

What Can You Control? Not as Much as You Might Think

When it comes to your own life, what can you control? Is your perception accurate? Citing black swan events and the butterfly effect, Mo Gawdat argues that the notion that you’re in control of your life is just a myth. He advises that, in order to find happiness, you should come to grips with that reality and employ something he calls “committed acceptance.” Keep reading to get a better understanding of what you control in your life and how to practice committed acceptance.

Stoic Voluntary Discomfort: Build Up Your Tolerance for Life’s Pain

Do you worry about getting hurt? Is it possible to train yourself to hurt less? In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine argues that the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy of Stoicism has answers for many of today’s challenges. He describes six techniques that promise happiness through counterintuitive methods, including deliberately exposing yourself to discomfort. Read more to learn about the practice of Stoic voluntary discomfort and see how it can help you handle what life throws at you.

The Importance of Storytelling: 5 Ways They Make an Impact

Why are stories so impactful? How are they important personally, socially, and professionally? Stories can be powerful elements of lectures, advertisements, sermons, and therapy sessions. Stories are more effective than most other ways of relaying information, and the importance of storytelling goes far deeper than communication. Continue reading to see how storytelling engages, teaches, inspires, makes things real, and even heals.

You Can’t Know Everything: Accept This, and Find More Joy

How realistically do you perceive your own level of knowledge? Can you know everything you need to know when it comes to making decisions in life? When your expectations exceed your perceptions of reality, you suffer. In Solve for Happy, Mo Gawdat helps you bring your expectations into alignment with your perceptions. One area in which your expectations might get out of whack is with your own knowledge. Keep reading to understand how the limitations on your senses and language put limitations on your knowledge—and to learn how to find more happiness by accepting that you can’t know everything.

You Are Not Your Body: Dispel the Myth, and Find More Joy

Are you and your body one and the same? What difference does it make? In Solve for Happy, Mo Gawdat outlines an algorithm for happiness. It involves dispelling several misconceptions that cause us to suffer. One of these is the notion that our minds and our bodies are the same rather than distinct from each other. Read more to learn how you are not your body and what difference that makes for your happiness.

Embracing Imperfection: How to Accept Your Flaws

Why is it important to accept your flaws? How does hiding your flaws eat away at your chance of finding happiness? No matter how hard you try, you’re never going to be perfect. We all have our flaws and insecurities, and that’s OK. What’s not OK is being preoccupied with hiding them in an effort to project a false image of yourself to gain social approval. Here’s why it’s important to accept your flaws and embrace who you are, as flawed as you may be.

The Formula for Happiness: Gawdat’s Happiness Algorithm

Is there a formula for happiness? If so, how does it work? When your perceptions about life don’t rise to the level of your expectations, you’re unhappy. Happiness results when your perceptions exceed your expectations. This observation underpins Mo Gawdat’s algorithm for happiness that he discusses in his book Solve for Happy. Keep reading to learn about this formula for deep and lasting happiness and the assumptions it’s based on.

How to Improve Conversation Skills: Tips From Pros

Do you struggle with talking to people? Do you want to know how to improve your conversation skills? Conversation skills are well worth developing because our careers, romantic prospects, and social lives depend on connecting with other people. Conversations—even the most trivial, small talk—establish the emotional tone of our interactions and help us gauge how deeply we’d like to connect with each other. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to learn how to improve your conversation skills.