Should You Tell People Your Goals? Two Lines of Research Disagree
One famous study says announcing a goal saps your drive. A meta-analysis of 19,951 people says going public helps. The answer lies in what you say, and to whom.
Self-Growth
Habits, confidence, resilience and building a life that fits.
The Thank-You Letter You Keep Not Writing Is Worth More Than You Think
Gratitude journals deliver less than the hype. A short letter you never send may be the exception, and you can test it in a week.
The Women Who Named Imposter Syndrome Never Wanted It Called a Syndrome
Two psychologists described it in 1978 as an experience, not an illness. How common is it really, who gets it, and what did the label get wrong?
Pen or Laptop? Putting a Decade of Note-Taking Research on Trial
One 2014 study told students to ditch the laptop. Then the replications, meta-analyses and brain scans arrived. Here is what the evidence actually shows.
Procrastination Isn’t Laziness: It’s How We Dodge Bad Feelings, and How to Stop
Putting things off is less about time or effort than about escaping an unpleasant feeling. Here is what the research shows, and six tools that follow from it.
Does Writing About Your Feelings Actually Help? What 40 Years of Research Says
In 1983 a psychologist asked students to write about their worst experiences for four nights. Here is what has held up since, and how to try it.
Do Power Poses Actually Work? The Rise and Fall of a Famous Idea
A two-minute pose was supposed to change your hormones and boost your confidence. Here is what happened when scientists checked.
The Stranger on the Train: Why We’re So Wrong About Talking to People We Don’t Know
We assume strangers want to be left alone. A decade of experiments, from Chicago trains to London commuters, says we have it almost exactly backwards.