Although women start life happier than men, they experience more difficulty in achieving their goals and end
up less happy as a result. Researchers also conclude that happiness is a worthy goal for the unhappy, but the endless pursuit of ever more happiness may be counterproductive.
Significant differences can be seen in how people from eastern and western cultures assess interpersonal situations.
Longstanding anxiety significantly
increases the risk of heart attack in men, even when other common risk factors are taken into account.
Depression increases the risk of intellectual decline in older
people and can be a predictive factor.
Recent research has shown that negative emotional memories can be
suppressed with practice, offering the possibility of new treatments for people suffering from a range of conditions
including post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive syndrome.
Findings suggest that where emotional control is the cultural norm (e.g. Japan) eyes are the key to
interpretation. In cultures where there is more open expression of emotion (e.g. USA) the mouth is the main focus.
Teenagers can learn to manage powerful emotions and gain insight into the processes involved.
A study shows a possible mechanism for contagious laughter. Positive sounds like
laughter trigger a response in the area of the listener's brain activated when we smile, as though preparing facial
muscles to laugh.
The amount of emotional content
in television advertisements affects viewers' opinions of the product, regardless of the intended message.