Is crying cathartic?
Plus, is motivation contagious?
BRAIN WAVES
Boohoo...Could crying be good for you? Researchers wanted to figure out what actually happens to our moods right after we cry. They tracked more than 100 adults for four weeks, using an app where they reported every crying episode, what triggered it, how intense it was, and how they felt up to an hour later. The big takeaway? Crying didn’t always make people feel better. In fact, it can make people feel worse. But these mood changes depended heavily on why volunteers cried. Triggers like loneliness or overload were correlated with a big downward dip in mood, while media‑triggered tears (think a sad movie or song) didn’t have much effect, and sometimes even nudged mood upward. But overall, whatever emotional trigger the crying accompanied — good or bad — it usually faded within an hour. All of this suggests that crying isn’t necessarily an emotional release. As the authors put it, “Overall, there was no overwhelming evidence that crying per se helped people to feel better than usual.”
Getting gritty with it. Who you hang out with in high school can shape your music taste, your slang—maybe even your future income. Researchers set out to see whether having “gritty” peers (the ones who keep pushing, keep trying, and don’t quit) might shape long‑term life outcomes. They looked at long-term data that tracked students from high school into adulthood, about 15 years later. Overall, they found that having grittier classmates was associated with about a four percent increase in future earnings, with the biggest gains for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Why might that be the case? The researchers offered a few different explanations: higher odds of going to college, landing jobs that matched long‑term goals, and developing more resilience when life got messy. Or, shall we say, Gritty.
The cost of charisma...Charismatic leaders can inspire devotion and give people a powerful sense of meaning. They can also make us vulnerable. Listen to learn more.
IS THERE A SECRET FORMULA FOR MASTERPIECES?
What makes a painting or a sculpture a masterpiece? New research suggests that there’s a secret formula for artistic greatness, and it’s inside our brains. We explain more on our new YouTube channel. Please check it out!
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
The Debt Trap: We like to think that good financial decisions come down to discipline and basic math. But the psychology of money turns out to be deeply complicated.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
Jay’s Story: After making a series of unfortunate choices, Jay found himself sitting in a jail cell, alone and hopeless. But a fellow inmate’s words brought him comfort, and changed how he saw his life.
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.
MIND GAMES
If the day before yesterday is the 23rd, then what is the day after tomorrow?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
You throw a ball as hard as you can and it comes back to you. Yet it doesn’t bounce off anything, there is nothing attached to it, and no one else catches or throws it back to you. How did this happen?
The answer: You threw it up in the air.
MOMENT OF JOY
The teddy bear doctor is in.
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