BRAIN WAVES
Inheriting empathy. There’s some good news for parents hoping to raise more empathetic kids. A study found that when mothers show empathy to their kids, those kids tend to show more empathy toward their friends during their teen years. Later, as adults, they often show empathy toward their own children, fostering empathy in the next generation. So how can parents model this trait? The study points to a handful of key skills parents can employ with their kids: being present and attentive, reflecting back their feelings, acknowledging their challenges and helping them work through them, recognizing their distress and offering understanding and warmth.
Lasting love. What makes for a happy relationship? Your own personality might play a bigger role than you think. In a study, researchers followed couples over nine years, measuring their personalities and how happy they felt in their relationships over time. They found that certain personality traits, like conscientiousness, seemed to predict relationship satisfaction. On the flip side, traits like neuroticism had a tendency to wear down a person’s satisfaction over time. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem to matter if the partner was neurotic or conscientious; it was more about the volunteers’ own traits. “Conscientiousness in general is associated with a sense of responsibility, orderliness, and thoughtfulness,” the researchers explained. They suggested that stable long-term relationships might lend themselves to being more predictable, which would be satisfying for a highly conscientious person.
Fighting cynicism. Every morning, you wake up and face the world. If you’re feeling increasingly disillusioned about that world and cynical about the future, hope can be a powerful, productive, and radical antidote. Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
The Benefits of Mixed Emotions: and sad at the same time. This week, we revisit a favorite 2022 episode with psychologist Naomi Rothman, who shares her research on the mixed emotion of ambivalence. She explores how being of two minds changes the way we think, and how it changes the way others see us.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
Betsy Cornwell’s Story: After her car key broke, Betsy was stranded and all alone. Then, the unlikeliest of heroes came to her aid.
Don’t forget to send us the story of your unsung hero! Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
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MIND GAMES
What five-letter English word doesn’t change in pronunciation even when you remove four of its letters?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
A man is pushing his car. He stops in front of a hotel and immediately knows he is bankrupt. How did he know this?
Answer: He’s playing Monopoly.
A MOMENT OF JOY
When bad news turns into good.
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