The third Monday of January is said to be the most depressing day of the year. People are purported to be sad, literally.
Cliff Arnall (the researcher) formally of Cardiff University calculated the date by using many factors, including: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and our ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action. Susbsequently Cardiff University distanced themselves from Arnall’s findings printing a statement in the Guardian Newspaper stating that Arnall was no longer associated with the university, the statement also suggested that Cliff Arnall’s equations … failed even to make mathematical sense on their own terms.
Are you sadder today? Well you know someone else might be too! Here’s a little bit of laughter to brighten up your day!
The Transporters series has been evaluated by the Autism Research Centre for its effectiveness for children aged 4 to 8 with ASC (autistic spectrum condition).
An autism researcher plans this week to release the video in the United States. The DVD tells autistic children how to recognize emotions like happiness, anger and sadness through fictional adventures on a train, ferry and cable car. The project is the brainchild of Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge.
The results suggest that The Transporters DVD is an effective way to teach emotion recognition to children with ASC and that the learning generalises to new faces and new situations. Source:Autism Research Centre Cambridge
If confession is good for the soul, then I must start the new year with a confession about my addiction. I seem to be addicted to the movie Pride and Prejudice I have watched it 4 times in the last month, and can even recite some of the actors lines. Yes, this is sad, and I know some of you will be encouraging me to leave the house more often, but what can psychology do to de-mystify this behaviour. Yes, I understand that both pride and prejudice are barriers to understanding, and maybe are at the heart of many social evils, but that does not help me. Maybe I am an opponent of social class, and just want Elizabeth Bennett to triumph over that; that does seem to be pretentious of me. Maybe I just like period costumes. Worry no longer; research published in the New Scientist this week suggests that Victorian novels like Pride and Prejudice teach us how to behave!. Now I know I am in trouble, because my other addiction is watching Wedding Crashers. Now who doesn’t like crab cakes?
Why be miserable? OK, so it’s January and you’re feeling fat and broke after the excesses of the holiday season, but there’s really no need. Misery is inconvenient, unpleasant, and in a society where personal happiness is prized above all else, there is little tolerance for wallowing in despair. Especially now we’ve got drugs for it. Jessica Marshall questions whether sadness is a crucial part of being human and whether we should embrace our miserable side. Link to read this article Source: New Scientist
