1 The twentieth century has been described as the "age of melancholy" (Barker, 1992, p.24). Whilst first world countries such as New Zealand have enjoyed great improvements in life expectancy we have also become increasingly miserable. Epidemiological studies suggest a ten-fold increase in the prevalence of depression since the Second World War (Barker, 1992). The notion of 'growing' older, has...

Current conceptualizations of psychological distance (e.g., construal-level theory) refer to the degree of overlap between the self and some other person, place, or point in time. We propose a complementary view in which perceptual and motor representations of physical distance influence people's thoughts and feelings without reference to the self, extending research and theory on the effects o...

This study elucidates the nursing of undernourished patients as experienced by eight registered clinical nurses and five nursing assistants by using content analysis. The participants' narratives describe the inner perspective of caring for undernourished patients, known in Sweden as 'the thin ones'. Categories identified were: frustration in nursing, joy in nursing and that undernourishment is...

Through work in the field something about the reaction of bees to the brilliant colours of flowers, it was easier to believe that a scientist had come to the false conclusion that nature had made an absurd mistake. Since that time I have been constantly drawn back to the world of the bees and ever captivated anew. I have to thank them for hours of the purest joy of discovery, parsimoniously gra...

Several studies indicate that exposure to suicide in movies is linked to subsequent imitative suicidal behavior, so-called copycat suicides, but little is currently known about whether the link between exposure to suicidal movies and suicidality is reflected in individual film preferences. 943 individuals participated in an online survey. We assessed associations between preferred film genres a...

Since the dawn of written history, happiness has attracted the attention of great philosophers, including Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, and Aristotle (McMahon, 2006; The Pursuit of Happiness). Happiness has been variously conceptualized and defined throughout history, influenced by the thinking of the times. Today it has come to be recognized as, “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive ...

On the basis of the theoretical distinction between self-centeredness and selflessness (Dambrun and Ricard, 2011), the main goal of this research was to develop two new scales assessing distinct dimensions of happiness. By trying to maximize pleasures and to avoid displeasures, we propose that a self-centered functioning induces a fluctuating happiness in which phases of pleasure and displeasur...

concepts such as gender and power in a concrete way. They also enjoyed the interactive format and the feeling of community generated during the workshop, both of which were a departure from their usual training experiences. One physician, who was also a district manager, responded to the training with the following comment: “After participating in the role-plays where I had to take my sick chil...