Vera Eftimovska

You're welcome, @ayesha naymat 😊

You're very welcome. You've raised some great questions, hopefully there will be additional research so we can get some answers.

I haven't managed to find much research on the subject. Yet, I'm attaching an insightful report by the UNDP on the extremism in Africa titled "JOURNEY TO EXTREMISM IN AFRICA: DRIVERS, INCENTIVES AND THE TIPPING POINT FOR RECRUITMENT" that might give you some answers.

You're welcome, @ayesha naymat.

My thoughts exactly. I also thought extroverts would be more prone and comfortable with lying. Then again, as the authors note, the study is based on self-reported measures. So maybe the liars are better equipped to skew the test results. 🤔

Nicely put, @Natalija. We shouldn’t avoid disappointments and negative emotions at all costs. Still, a healthy amount of defensive mechanisms helps us function better. As always, I think balance is key.

It will definitely be interesting to see how this varies with various personality types. I think it will also be fascinating to see how it relates to worldview. For instance, I hardly think optimists will prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, @Daniel Sumner. It’s quite interesting to see the notion that the physical features reflect people’s personality prevails since ancient times. On another note, the view that "Proficient profiling was most likely to arise from an individual's fundamental capacity for logical and objective reasoning" got me thinking about whether empathy is a good predictor for proficient profiling as well.

@Daniel Sumner I think you won't regret it. I've read quite a lot of Jostein Gaarder's books, and they're all amazing.

Great point, @Daniel Sumner. I also think that “The Good Place” is a great show that touches on this important subject. I’m sure it’s motivated a lot of people to dig deeper into the world of philosophy, moral and ethics. The novel, “Sophie’s World” lighted that spark in me back in the day.

I think that practising sports, or any physical activity can improve our mental health. All the research I’ve come across suggest a positive correlation between physical activity and mental health. If you're particularly interested in team sports and mental health, "The Effect of Team Sports On Mental Health In Adolescents" - https://soar.suny.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12648/4006/pes_synthesis/61/fulltext%20(1).pdf?sequence=1 offers a nice literature review. If you want to dive a bit deeper into the subject, you might take a look at "Sport and Physical Activity for Mental Health" - https://www.academia.edu/17351578/Sport_and_Physical_Activity_for_Mental_Health. This book is all about physical activity, sport and mental health. It explores the ways in which various forms of physical activity and sport contribute to recovery among people who have at some time in their life been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Great question, @Natalija. I did some online digging and came across a meta-analysis "Reducing aggression with martial arts: A meta-analysis of child and youth studies" - DOI:10.1016/j.avb.2017.03.001 that demonstrates that martial arts reduce externalising behaviour. The study found support for the relationship between martial arts and reduced aggression amongst a range of youth populations.

Fascinating article and nicely structured summary, as always. I found the physical characteristics especially intriguing, as well as the proclivity to commit offences on weekends. Thanks for sharing, @Daniel Sumner.

Great point, @Daniel Sumner. Eliminating all the relevant variables is extremely hard, so I doubt that actual causality can ever be established. Still, I think it’s an interesting link to consider. Because I think a lot of us have felt some psychological consequences due to the time shift on our own skin. And the study you shared stipulates physical repercussions as well, which is quite thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing!

You're very welcome. I'm really glad you found it insightful and reassuring.

Consolidating all the different schools of thought. The behaviourists and humanists, for instance.

Great question, @Natalija. The psychopathic personality-or psychopathy diagnosis represents a patient stereotype with a brutal lack of empathy and strong antisocial tendencies. The research record and most psychiatric practices perceive diagnosed psychopaths as immune to psychiatric intervention and treatment, making the diagnosis a potentially strong discriminator for treatment amenability. I came across a paper "Psychopathy Treatment and the Stigma of Yesterday's Research" - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336840491_Psychopathy_Treatment_and_the_Stigma_of_Yesterday's_Research that critically analyses the evidence in support of this proposition. The article explains that the untreatability perspective rests largely on erroneous, unscientific conclusions. Recent research even suggests that practitioners should be more optimistic about the possibility of treating and rehabilitating diagnosed psychopaths. The authors also discuss concrete ethical challenges in the forensic practice surrounding the psychopathy diagnosis, adding to a growing body of research that expresses scepticism about the forensic utility of the diagnosis.

We're spending a huge chunk of our lives working, so no wonder our work happiness is essential. The great resignation that employers are still facing brought people to the frontline. Psychologists have been aware of the importance of intrinsic motivation for years, but it's gaining even more momentum now. When more and more people aren't motivated by money and salaries but values and doing purposeful work. Hopefully, the emphasis on people and values will last.

Thanks for sharing such an interesting and useful article, @Adeeba Tariq. As an introvert, I find written conversations easier to uphold. I'm probably not the only one, so it would be really great to hear more about the differences between written and face-to-face conversations.

Thanks for bringing summing up such an important issue, @Daniel Sumner. I believe that this is a crucial subject for both humans and animals. On the one hand, it's important for predicting and preventing future violence and aggression. On the other, it's essential in promoting animal welfare. Luckily, it seems like more and more people realise the importance of treating animals kindly, and how that reflects on us as a species.