Progress-focused

Behavioral change is a complex and challenging process that plays a central role in many aspects of life, from health to productivity and sustainability. Researchers Gail McMillan, Marina Milyavskaya, and Rachel J. Burns have recently explored this topic, with a focus on how contextual changes can influence the potential for behavior change. Their study sheds new light on behavior change, providing interesting insights that may be useful to individuals and policymakers.

 In 1997, American comedian Bob Newhart surprised the public with an absurd sketch about a therapist, Dr. Switzer, whose method of advice seems completely ridiculous at first glance. However, this humorous portrayal highlights a deeper truth about behavior change.

Recently, Itzchakov et al. (2023) examined the influence of listening quality on feelings of loneliness, especially in people who have shared an experience of social rejection. The researchers expected that high-quality listening, defined as behavior that conveys attention, understanding, and positive intentions, would have several positive effects on the person telling about the painful experience.

In a new review article, Lemay, Le, Clark (2023) describe research into the impact of good listening on relationships. Here I will briefly discuss some things from their article.

In a new study, Crystal Hoyt, Jeni Burnette, Emma Nash, and Whitney Becker from the University of Richmond examine the societal implications of growth mindsets regarding anxiety (Hoyt et al., 2023) . They consider whether the personal benefits offered by such a mindset can have unintended adverse social effects.

Intuitively, we tend to stay in our comfort zones to feel safe and secure. But researchers Russo-Netzer & Cohen (2023) suspected that we would do well to regularly step outside our comfort zone. They investigated whether this could increase people's life satisfaction.

What is effective leadership? The effective leader was once seen as the undisputed, dominant authority who understood everything and made every decision. But our view of what constitutes effective and acceptable leadership has transformed significantly over the years. Ancient beliefs about leadership were heavily based on dogmas and intuitions. But we can no longer rely solely on our intuitions when it comes to determining leadership quality. Empirical research has proven its necessity in discovering what really works in leadership. Psychological science offers indispensable methods and crucial insights. In this article, I dive deeper into some of these studies, which illustrate how empirical science has fundamentally changed our view of leadership.

German researchers Emily Kleszewski and Kathleen Otto conducted a study to understand the effects of different forms of perfectionism on employee well-being. To design their research, they relied on a combination of the literature on perfectionism and the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to investigate this. It turned out that different forms of perfectionism have different effects on our well-being at work.