Past research has linked beautiful cities to human happiness. A new psychometric research project by CitiesBeautiful.org focuses on linkages to fifteen categories of civic beauty. We invite you to participate in that project. Continue reading
Category Archives: Social Psychology
The Startling Link Between Cyberbullying and Suicide
Carla Jamerson, Zoe Johnson, and Audrie Pott have one thing in common: They committed suicide as an alleged result of cyberbullying. None of these girls was older than 15.
Psychologists have established four personality traits that may explain a person’s willingness to inflict pain and suffering on others: narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, and deception. Called the “Dark Tetrad,” this combination of traits may explain why some teens are able to taunt, harass, and bully others online — sometimes to the point of no return. Continue reading
Video: Life is Easy – by Jon Jandai
The Link between Facebook and Depression
Regular Facebook use could contribute to depressive symptoms, according to the results of one recent study. Continue reading
Glenn Greenwald: Why privacy matters
American lawyer, journalist and author Glenn Greenwald speaks about the issue of privacy and why we need it. He states that even persons who claim that privacy is not really important, instinctively take steps to secure and protect their privacy. Greenwald mentions the horror and humiliation often experienced by persons who have their privacy violated, and explains that it is not only the “bad” people who have reason to be worried about the reality of government internet surveillance, “good” people should be concerned too. People who know they are being “watched” tend to conform to what is expected, rather than engage in activities they actually want to do; because the simple truth is, we all have things to hide.
The Effect of Beauty on Success and Self Confidence
A brilliant young woman stares silently at her mirror. Unfazed, her reflection stares silently back. She takes a deep breath and dabs a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice onto her face – one of the many beauty tips recently read on howtoremovethat. Dark spots simply wouldn’t do for tomorrow’s job interview. Her belief is that it might be advantageous to appear as attractive as possible when she faces those potentially life changing questions. And as superficial as this might sound, she’s absolutely right.
Research conducted by Dr. Mikki Hebl of Rice University and Dr. Juan Madera of the University of Houston has highlighted the startling fact that persons with facial blemishes, birthmarks, scars or other facial disfigurements tend to receive lower ratings in their job interviews. Continue reading



