Sublime

In 2000, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the field’s most prestigious journal, did just that. Today, this paper still stands as the most rigorous examination of the links between personality and handshaking.

It’s said that when she was young, she dined with the British statesman William Gladstone and left thinking he was the cleverest person in England. Later she dined with Gladstone’s great rival, Benjamin Disraeli, and left that dinner thinking she was the cleverest person in England. It’s nice to be like Gladstone, but it’s better to be like

Grammer takes a perspective rooted in evolutionary theory. This means he tries to understand our modern-day traits and preferences by considering the pressures—such as the need to find a good mate or quickly detect a dangerous foe—that have shaped our ancestors over the millennia. Deception is a topic that interests ethologists like Grammer. Just

If the person does engage in daily, intensive self-improvement, perhaps eschewing more typical and more social pursuits, there is a greater chance they are the kind of creative obsessive who can make a big difference.

extraverts who had larger support networks scored higher on openness to experience (in other words, people who like new challenges) and emotionality

By far the most extensively examined—and firmly established—system for grouping personality traits is the framework known as the Big Five. (Other systems, such as the Myers-Briggs test—or MBTI, as it is also known—are less widely used in academic psychology.) The Big Five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and

Holmes hasn’t yet met the man in question, but already he knows what his observational goal will be.

In his book, Born to Be Good, Keltner even says that if he had to choose his mate by asking a single question at a speed-dating event, the question he would choose is: “What was your last embarrassing experience?” Then he would watch very carefully for lip-presses, blushing, and averted eyes. “The elements of the embarrassment are fleeting

Your habitual ways of interacting with the important people in your life tell us a great deal about the defense mechanisms you typically use.