psychologyandsociety.com

By Brad Bell During an interview it may be wise to select one’s words carefully, and sound as professional as possible.  Using unnecessary and annoying words such as “like” and “uh” might affect how professional you are perceived to be.  Consequently, the use of thesewords might decrease the likelihood that you will be hired. Russell,… Continue reading The Influence of Saying “Like” and “Uh” on Simulated Hiring Decisions

By Brad Bell  One interesting topic concerns the influence or effects of color.  More specifically, it may be interesting to learn about the possible effects of the color green.  One question concerning the psychology of green is whether viewing the color green can increase creativity. Lichtenfeld, Elliot, Maier, and Pekrun (2012) investigated the influence of… Continue reading Can Seeing Green Increase Creativity?

By Brad Bell You have decided to go see a comedy film.  After seeing the film, you reflect on your life.   You seem to have a higher opinion of your life after seeing the film.  Did the viewing of the comedy film increase your life satisfaction?  In one study (Forgas & Moyan, 1987), people… Continue reading Can Watching a Happy Film Increase Life Satisfaction?

By Brad Bell People may be persuaded in different ways.   In this article, I provideinformation about two different ways of being persuaded.  Before providing information on these ways of being persuaded,I will define persuasion. What is Persuasion? There may be a number of possible definitions of persuasion.  Below is one persuasion definition: Persuasion occurs when one’s… Continue reading Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes

  By Brad Bell Organizational culture can be viewed as an important concept inorganizational psychology and social psychology.   It is important todefine organizational culture. Organizational Culture Definition: What is organizational culture?  There are many possible definitions of organizational culture.  Below is one organizational culture definition: Organizational culture reflects the values, beliefs, and norms that characterize… Continue reading Organizational Culture

By Brad Bell Many people enjoy creating or viewing art.  Thus, one basic question is, why is art important?  In this brief article, I provide three possible reasons why art is important. Happiness Art can be considered important partly because it may foster happiness.   Art has an aesthetic quality that may bring joy to… Continue reading Why Is Art Important?

By Brad Bell The availability heuristic is an important concept in psychology.  What is the availability heuristic?   Tversky and Kahneman (1973) proposed that people may use an availability heuristic to judge frequency and the probability of events.  Using the availability heuristic, people would judge the probability of events by the ease inwhich instances could be… Continue reading The Availability Heuristic

By Brad Bell Parks are beautiful and tranquil places.  Consequently, a walk in a park might foster greater happiness. In their second study, Hartig, Mang, and Evans (1991) had participants either take a walk in a park, a walk in an urban setting, or read magazines for forty minutes in a laboratory setting (relaxation condition).… Continue reading Can a Walk in the Park Increase Happiness?

By Brad Bell Imagine that you have to teach a course that many students find difficult and dry.  Many students seem to have difficulty recalling many of the concepts in the course.  What can you do to increase their recall of concepts and improve grades on exams? Presenting information in a vivid manner is one… Continue reading Vividness and Memory

 By Brad Bell Imagine that you got into an argument with your best friend.  Yousaid some things you wish you had not.   You told your best friendthat he or she was lazy and did not like work.  Now you realize thatyou must apologize.  The apology is the best way to resolve theconflict.  Should you apologize… Continue reading When Is the Best Time to Apologize?