Tag Archives: ethan kross

Facebook use predicts declines in happiness, new study finds

ANN ARBOR — Facebook helps people feel connected, but it doesn’t necessarily make them happier, a new study shows. 

Facebook use actually predicts declines in a user’s well-being, according to a University of Michigan study that is the first known published research examining Facebook influence on happiness and satisfaction.

The study about the use of Facebook, a free networking website, appears online in PLOS ONE.

“On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection,” said U-M social psychologist Ethan Kross, lead author of the article and a faculty associate at the U-M Institute for Social Research. “But rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use predicts the opposite result—it undermines it.” (more…)

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“Self-Distancing” Can Help People Calm Aggressive Reactions, Study Finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study reveals a simple strategy that people can use to minimize how angry and aggressive they get when they are provoked by others.

When someone makes you angry, try to pretend you’re viewing the scene at a distance – in other words, you are an observer rather than a participant in this stressful situation. Then, from that distanced perspective, try to understand your feelings.

Researchers call this strategy “self-distancing.” (more…)

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Brooding Russians: Less distressed than Americans

ANN ARBOR, Mich.Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy portrayed Russians as a brooding, complicated people, and ethnographers have confirmed that Russians tend to focus on dark feelings and memories more than Westerners do.  

But a new University of Michigan study finds that even though Russians tend to brood, they are less likely than Americans to feel as depressed as a result.

(more…)

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