Category: Emotion

Cross-cultural, Emotion, Language

The Precise Meaning Of Emotion Words Is Different Around The World

love multilingual wordBy Emily Reynolds

When you can’t quite put your finger on how you’re feeling, don’t worry — there may be a non-English word that can help you out. There are hundreds of words across the world for emotional states and concepts, from the Spanish word for the desire to eat simply for the taste (gula) to the Sanskrit for revelling in someone else’s joy (mudita).

But what about those words that exist across many languages — “anger”, for example, or “happiness”? Do they mean the same thing in every language, or do we experience emotions differently based on the culture we are brought up in? Is the experience we call “love” in English emotionally analogous with its direct translation into Hungarian, “szerelem”, for example?

Continue reading “The Precise Meaning Of Emotion Words Is Different Around The World” →

Drugs, Emotion, Smoking

Can’t Quit Smoking? It Might Be To Do With How Sad You Are

Depressed man in a cafeBy Emily Reynolds

Emotions have a powerful part to play in both our behavioural choices and our health. Experiencing a range of positive emotions has been associated with lower levels of inflammation, for example, and emotional control has even been linked to higher performance in sportspeople. Negative emotions, too, can have a serious impact on behaviour: research has investigated the emotional triggers of self-harm, for instance.

Now new research from Charles Dorison and colleagues at Harvard University, published in PNAS, has looked at the role of negative emotions in addiction. Though some theories say negative mood in general is associated with problematic substance use, the study suggests that, for tobacco at least, it’s sadness per se that is related to addiction.

Continue reading “Can’t Quit Smoking? It Might Be To Do With How Sad You Are” →

Emotion, Mental health, Social

Researchers Asked Older Adults About The Strategies They Use For Combatting Loneliness. Here’s What They Said

Seniors hiking through the foerstBy Emily Reynolds

In an ever-more connected world, it would be easy to assume that loneliness was on its way out — after all, we now have unlimited opportunity to communicate with almost anyone we want at any time we please.

But, in fact, it’s still rife: according to the Campaign To End Loneliness, over nine million people in the UK describe themselves as “always or often lonely”. Age has an impact here, too: an Age UK report suggested that the number of over-50s experiencing loneliness will reach two million by 2025 — a 49% increase from 2016.

And with researchers suggesting that loneliness can be seen as a disease that changes the brain’s structure and function, this is a significant public health issue, too. You are more likely to have high blood pressure, depression and even face an early death if you’re lonely, so finding strategies with which to combat the experience is vital.

Continue reading “Researchers Asked Older Adults About The Strategies They Use For Combatting Loneliness. Here’s What They Said” →

Cross-cultural, Emotion

Our Ability To Recognise Dogs’ Emotions Is Shaped By Our Cultural Upbringing

GettyImages-990077336.jpgBy Emily Reynolds

As anyone who’s ever had to scold their dog for stealing food off a plate or jumping onto that oh-so-tempting forbidden sofa can attest, dogs are pretty good at understanding what we’re saying to them — at least when it suits them.

Research has also shown that dogs are able to understand some aspects of human communication, perhaps because throughout history we’ve used dogs for their ability to respond to our commands. Words, hand signs and gestures, tone of voice and facial expression — it seems that dogs have the ability to understand them all. But what about human understanding of dogs?

Continue reading “Our Ability To Recognise Dogs’ Emotions Is Shaped By Our Cultural Upbringing” →

Emotion, Facebook, Twitter

Abstaining From Social Media Doesn’t Improve Well-Being, Experimental Study Finds

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By Matthew Warren

From digital detoxes to the recent Silicon Valley fad of “dopamine fasting”, it seems more fashionable than ever to attempt to abstain from consuming digital media. Underlying all of these trends is the assumption that using digital devices — and being on social media in particular — is somehow unhealthy, and that if we abstain, we might become happier, more fulfilled people.

But is there any truth to this belief? When it comes to social media, at least, a new paper in Media Psychology suggests not.  In one of the few experimental studies in the field, researchers have found that quitting social media for up to four weeks does nothing to improve our well-being or quality of life.

Continue reading “Abstaining From Social Media Doesn’t Improve Well-Being, Experimental Study Finds” →

Emotion, Personality, Political

No, Conservatives Don’t Experience Feelings Of Disgust Any More Than Liberals

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By Emma Young

If you are left revolted by the sight of someone failing to wash their hands after visiting the bathroom, or by the idea of people engaging in sexual acts that you consider unacceptable, you’re more likely to be politically conservative than liberal, according to previous research. But now a new study, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, challenges the idea that disgust is an especially conservative emotion.

Julia Elad-Strenger at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and her colleagues found that some scenarios in fact make liberals more disgusted than conservatives. “Taken together, our findings suggest that the differences between conservatives and liberals in disgust sensitivity are context-dependent rather than a stable personality difference,” the team writes.

Continue reading “No, Conservatives Don’t Experience Feelings Of Disgust Any More Than Liberals” →

Brain, Emotion, guest blogger, Sleep and dreaming

A Lack Of Sleep Causes Anxiety — But Don’t Worry About It

Man having problems/ insomnia, laying in bed

By guest blogger Freddy Parker

How did you sleep last night? If the answer is “badly” followed by an uninvited pang of anxiety, look no further for an explanation than a study published this month in Nature Human Behaviour.

A lack of sleep is known to lead to feelings of anxiety, even among healthy people. But the new paper reveals that the amount of “deep” or slow-wave sleep is most pertinent to this relationship. That, the authors conclude, is because slow-wave brain oscillations offer an “ameliorating, anxiolytic benefit” on brain networks associated with emotional regulation.

Continue reading “A Lack Of Sleep Causes Anxiety — But Don’t Worry About It” →

Emotion, guest blogger, Lying, Social

Acting Dishonestly Impairs Our Ability To Read Other People’s Emotions

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By guest blogger Rhi Willmot

Can a lie still be harmful if it’s never found out? New research on the relationship between dishonesty and social understanding may unsettle the fibbers amongst us. In a multi-study investigation with a total of 2,588 participants, scientists have found Pinocchio isn’t the only one to experience a few personal problems after telling lies.

Continue reading “Acting Dishonestly Impairs Our Ability To Read Other People’s Emotions” →

Emotion, Mental health, The self

Taking A Placebo Can Reduce Anxiety Before An Exam — Even When You Know The Pills Are Inert

Four plastic spoons each containing a different pill

By Matthew Warren

The placebo effect is a curious phenomenon. A wealth of literature has shown that inert treatments can not only produce medical benefits like pain relief, but also have cognitive effects like boosting creativity and learning. And while many of those studies involve misleading people into thinking that they are receiving an effective intervention, a new study in Scientific Reports shows that this deception is not always necessary. Researchers have found that taking a placebo can reduce people’s anxiety before a test — even when they know they are taking an inactive pill. 

Continue reading “Taking A Placebo Can Reduce Anxiety Before An Exam — Even When You Know The Pills Are Inert” →

Emotion, Feature, Positive psychology, The self

How To Cope Under Pressure, According To Psychology

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By Emma Young

You’re preparing for an important meeting, and the pressure’s on. If it’s bad now, how will you cope when you actually have to perform? Will you fly? Or will you sink? 

Psychologists have a lot to say about how to cope under pressure… both the chronic kind, which might involve ongoing high expectations at work, for example; and the acute, single-event variety such as a vital meeting, a make-or-break presentation, or a sports match. Continue reading “How To Cope Under Pressure, According To Psychology” →