Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Personality of 'Beautiful' People More Accurately Rated

People identify the personality traits of people who are physically attractive more accurately than others during short encounters, according to a new University of ritish Columbia study.


Personality of 'Beautiful' People More Accurately Rated

Remembering Faces

The ability to recognize and remember faces is best when we are aged 30-34 - ten years later than most of our other mental abilities.

Recognizing and Remembering Faces

Friday, December 17, 2010

Gozo - Maltese Islands

Gozo is the second largest of the Maltese Islands with a population of around 30,000.

ozo provides some excellent walking, great coastal scenery and some of Europe's best
diving. Archaeological remains, such as the megalithic temple of Ggantija and the citadel in Victoria provide great historical interest. The island's churches are, well, enormous - many looking more like cathedrals than parish churches. There are some excellent restaurants making good use of local produce and fish.

Gozo

Monday, November 22, 2010

Brailes - Antiquarian Notes

'Extract of a Letter from Brailes, in Warwickshire, dated June 11 1765.

'Monday last, between two and three o'clock, we had a most dreadful storm of hail, attended with thunder and lightning, which has cut off a great deal of the corn in Upper Brailes, Lower Brailes, and Sutton-field. In Lower Brailes all the fruit-trees are stripped as bare as if it was Christmas. The gardens are likewise cut off to that degree, that in the whole town there is not a plant big enough to wrap round your hand. The windows are broke in a shocking manner, particularly those that lay North. In the three windows in the school fifty squares are broke, besides those above stairs, etc. Many of the hail-stones measured six and seven inches round; rooks, pigeons, etc. were killed in great numbers, which continued about an hour, the thunder not ceasing one instant, and the hail (which I measured in the open field after the storm was over) lay fourteen inches thick on the ground.

More at: BrailesAntiquarian accounts of Brailes

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Perceiving Emotions

Japanese people pay more attention to the tone of voice than facial expression.

Perceiving Emotions

Monday, September 06, 2010

Volunteers Disliked

Employees who readily volunteer even for unwanted tasks tend to be disliked by less selfless colleagues.

Volunteers Disliked

Thursday, September 02, 2010

UK - No Plans To Retire

10 per cent of the UK working population (the equivalent of 3.5 million) have no plans to retire and 42 per cent are unable to say at what age they plan to stop working.

No Plans To Retire

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Social Interactions Are Intense Experiences

The most intense positive and negative experiences tend to be associated with social interaction rather than individual accomplishment


Social Interactions Are Intense Experiences

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Revising Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

A recent updating of Abraham Maslow's iconic pyramid of needs by a team of psychologists concludes that factors involved in successful parenting, such as caring, feeding, nurturing and educating, are indicative of a profound pyschological need that
merits placement at the top of the hierarchy. Maslow's concept of ordering human motivations dates from the 1940s. The current revision, which the authors acknowledge is controversial, takes into account developments in areas such as neuroscience, developmental psychology and evolutionary psychology.

Revising Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Personality And Domestic Violence

Similar personality traits have been found in male and female perpetrators of domestic violence in a group of psychiatric patients - further study may extend this to the wider community.

Personality And Domestic Violence

Starr Carr - Britain's Oldest Dwelling Found

Recent research from the Universities of Manchester and York on Stone Age remains at Star Carr, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has identified Britain's earliest known surviving house. The dwelling dates from at least 8500 BC, when Britain was still part of continental Europe, pre-dating the previous record holder found at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years. Archaeologists consider Star Carr to equal
Stonehenge in importance.

Starr Carr

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Rating Others Positively Linked To Emotional Stability

Research led by Wake Forest University identified an association between the degree to which individuals perceive others in positive terms and their own happiness and emotional stability.

Rating Others Positively Linked To Emotional Stability

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Keep Busy, Keep Happy

Individuals who keep busy, even with relatively pointless activity, tend to be happier than those who do not.

Keep Busy, Keep Happy

Child Personality Predicts Adult Behavior

Personality traits observed in childhood are a strong predictor of adult behavior.

Child Personality Predicts Adult Behavior

Attractive Women Can Be Disadvantaged

Attractive women may experience discrimination when applying for jobs traditionally considered "masculine" and where appearance is not considered important. This includes positions like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor. No such discrimination was experienced by attractive men.


Attractive Women Can Be Disadvantaged

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Cancer Survival - A Spanish Study

Assessment of the probability of surviving nine types of cancer in eight Spanish regions with the highest numbers of cancer diagnoses.

Cancer Survival - A Spanish Study

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Happy And Unhappy Families

What was striking was that these family relationship patterns were not only stable across different relationships but also across time, with very few families switching patterns.

Happy And Unhappy Families

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Treating Depression Over The Telephone

Providing treatment for clinical depression over the telephone can be almost as effective as face-to-face consultations.

Treating Depression Over The Telephone

Friday, June 11, 2010

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem increases throughout adult life, peaking at around retirement age but declining thereafter. Health and income are significant factors in the maintenance of self-esteem.

Self-Esteem

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Decision Making

When individuals are faced with making a choice that could result in short-term reward or longer-term benefit, those provided with complete information about the options tend to opt for the quick result.


Decision-Makers Opt For Quick Results

Friday, April 30, 2010

Depression And Chocolate Consumption

People eat more chocolate when symptoms of depression increase.

Depression And Chocolate Consumption

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Commitment And Counterfactual Reflection

Developing greater workforce commitment can be as simple as asking employees to reflect on their organization's history.


Commitment And Counterfactual Reflection

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Rating Personality and Attractiveness

Volunteers in a recent study were able to accurately judge aspects of a stranger's personality by looking at photographs. It proved possible to correctly assess factors such as self-esteem and ratings of extraversion and religiosity from physical appearance.

Rating Personality and Attractiveness

Friday, March 12, 2010

Women Feel More Guilt

Research from the University of the Basque Country published in the Spanish Journal of Psychology found that despite changing attitudes towards interpersonal relationships, women feel significantly more guilt than men. This did not simply reflect higher levels of this emotion in women but a lack of it in men.

Women Feel More Guilt

Facial Recognition

Caucasians and Asians examine faces in different ways.

Facial Recognition: Ethic Differences

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tobago

Tobago has a developed but relatively discrete tourist industry. There is an extensive range of hotels and guest houses. Its mountainous interior, extensive rain forest, beautiful beaches and friendly people offer a wide range of activities. There are both direct flights and flights via Trinidad (depending on your location). A day trip to Trinidad - and even Venezuela - is comparatively straightforward and a worthwhile experience. How many people can claim they've had a day trip to South America?!

History of Tobago

History of Tobago

Robinson Crusoe and Tobago

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Kew - Historical Accounts

Kew Waterfowl Pond

Kew: Historical Accounts
The village is pleasantly situated on the southern bank of the Thames

Kew Church: Historical Accounts
Parish church built in 1714 on waste ground donated by Queen Anne

Kew Gardens: Historical Accounts
The exotic, or as it is usually called, the botanic garden, was established in the year 1760, by the Princess Dowager.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Llandeilo - Postcard Views

Edwardian postcards of Llandeilo bridge and Dryslwyn Castle.

Llandeilo

Brighton - Views and Notes

Notes and views on Regency Square and the Royal Pavilion

Brighton - Notes and Views

Thursday, January 28, 2010

A Victorian Tourist On Fair Isle

Rising abruptly from the sea, and standing aloof alike from the Orcadian and Shetland groups, there is sublimity in the awful loneliness of the rock-girt Fair Isle.

A Victorian Tourist on Fair Isle

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Victorian Tourist in Stromness

In this town, so quaint and quiet, the sea is a domestic institution. It ripples familiarly up the short lanes between rows of houses, and the bows of vessels stretch across second storey windows. Pilots can row up to their own doors in boats. It is doubtless owing to this circumstance that so many of the youth of Stromness take early to the water, and embark on board ship for all quarters of the world. Several of the houses, adjoining the harbour, are provided with little stone jetties, which enable the inmates to step dry-shod from their firesides into fishing-yawls.

A Victorian Tourist in Stromness

A Victorian Tourist on Papa Westray

From Pierowall, as an excursion centre, I next crossed the beautiful land-locked bay to the pleasant little island of Papa Westray, which still commemorates in it name the Irish anchorite fathers. Papa is four miles in length by one in breadth, swelling away up from the shore in an easy slope, and terminating northwards in the bold promontory of the Moul. The green fields dipping down from the clustering dwellings on the central ridge, with the House of Holland conspicuous in their midst, exhibit traces alike of careful cultivation and of considerable fertility.

A Victorian Tourist on Papa Westray