WE’RE MORE HONEST IN THE MORNING _ Never trust anyone after lunch. A study (Harvard and University of Utah) found people tend to be a lot more honest in the morning. In a series of experiments, people were asked to solve math problems — some of which were impossible — either in the morning or afternoon, and were told they’d be paid five cents per correct answer. They were then asked to self-report their scores. The result: Afternoon people were 20 percent to 50 percent more likely to cheat. Our self-restraint is stronger in the morning because our energy stores are higher. As our batteries drain — and this study suggests that even everyday activities drain them — we become less ethical. Another factor is sleep, which is needed to recharge our moral batteries.
HOW YOU EAT YOUR SOUP SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY
• With a large spoon: While you see yourself as a risk-taker, you’re really not; you dream of big adventures, but really prefer the comfort of home.
• With a small spoon: You enjoy watching things unfold around you; you like to take time to enjoy life’s pleasures; you’re afraid of risks and big changes; you like things neat and tidy, including your relationships.
• Drink it from a mug: You’re unconventional; you like to do many things all at once; you like to do easy things first, and then have huge chunks of hard work leftover.
• Drink it from a bowl: You attack life; you’re not afraid to try new and different things; you sometimes get into trouble for speaking your mind; you’re not a very neat person, but you don’t care.
THE EXACT AGE WHEN MID-LIFE SUCKS THE MOST _ If you’re on the near side of middle age and feel yourself getting a little bit unhappier every year, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news: it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The good news? It gets better. And you’re not alone. A Dartmouth professor (David Blanchflower) studied humans all over the world and found that all humans, regardless of location and economic well being, experience a U-shaped happiness curve that hits its lowest point in the late 40s. For people in developed nations it’s 47.2; in developing nations it’s 48.2. The data covered 132 countries in all regions of the world. Parents are neither immune nor more highly disposed to experiencing this unhappiness, although that unhappiness may worsen or be harder to shake based on economic well being.
