Life test. An interesting test of Sigmund Freud. Results: an interesting test by Sigmund Freud

01.06.2021

We invite you to get acquainted with the content of your subconscious. You will need a pencil or pen and a sheet of paper. Follow your imagination, don't use logic.

So:

1. You are on the seashore and look into the sea distance. What feeling comes over you at the same time? Write down this feeling.
2. You are walking in the forest, surveying the surroundings. What do you see when you look at your feet? Write down the feeling you get from what you see.
3. What feeling do you get when you see seagulls flying overhead. Write it down.
4. You look at a herd of horses running past you. What do you feel about it. Write it down.
5. When crossing the desert, a wall appeared in front of you, which has neither beginning nor end. There is a small hole in the wall and an oasis is visible through it. What you will do - write it down.
6. Wandering in the desert, you accidentally found a flask or jug of water. Your actions? Write it down.
7. You got lost in the forest, night fell, and you finally found a house in some thicket in which the light is on. Your actions? Write it down.
8. You got into the strongest fog. Not visible at arm's length, solid "milk". What will you do? Write it down.

Test answers:

1. This is how you feel about life, these are your feelings and needs.
2. Feeling yourself among your family.
3. The way you treat women.
4. The way you treat men.
5. Your strategy-principles in solving problems.
6. Strategy in choosing a sexual partner.
7. Your willingness to marry, start a family.
8. Your attitude towards death.

In order to change life for the better, it is necessary to be clearly aware of your attitude towards it. One of the most the best means self-knowledge - tests. The winner of the 16th season of the Battle of the Psychics, Victoria Rydos, offers a unique test that will help everyone look deep into themselves.

IN my blog the psychic writes that it is important to treat life with reasonable optimism: this quality helps not to inflate an elephant out of a fly, to more objectively see the scale of the problem and easily find a way out of difficult life situations. However, Victoria Rydos emphasizes that a positive attitude should not turn into frivolity and carelessness: ignoring problems leads to the fact that a person begins to "go with the flow" and completely loses control over his destiny.

A special test from the strongest psychic will help you find out your attitude to life and adjust it so as to be happy and succeed. You must select one answer for each of the questions below. For each item "a" you get 2 points, the answer "b" will bring you 1 point, and the answer "c" - 0. After passing the test, calculate the resulting amount and choose the description of your life creed that matches your points.

Question 1. After another hard day, you go to bed with the following thoughts:

a) Today was a good day, and tomorrow will be even better.
b) Today was a difficult but productive day.
c) It's good that this day is finally over!

Question 2. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is:

a) Get out of bed with enthusiasm, turn on the music and go to work with the most positive thoughts.
b) Stay in bed for the first few minutes and think through today's to-do list;
c) With great difficulty, you force yourself to get out of bed, anticipating another hard and meaningless day.

Question 3. Assessing your appearance, you think:

a) I'm beautiful! It's amazing how good I look despite my age!
b) I have some shortcomings, but I will work on them, and age will not be a hindrance at all.
c) Hmm... Time spares no one.

Question 4. You became aware that one of your friends is going through hard times. Your first thought:

a) This is all nonsense. He just has a black stripe. Then the white will definitely come, and everything will work out.
b) I'm sorry. But I am sure that with due efforts, he will definitely overcome this situation.
c) So, I'm not the only one who's bad!

Question 5. When you meet up with your old friends, you think:

a) Our friendship will never collapse! It's great when there are friends nearby who have become almost family people!
b) A lot has changed in our life, but the changes and distance did not destroy our friendship, and this is the main thing.
c) Every year we have less and less in common. I think over time our communication will completely come to naught.

Question 6. When you compare your successes with the achievements of others, you come to the conclusion:

a) Even if others achieve significant heights, I can still do better! I just don't need it.
b) All my friends are approximately on the same level. I am sure that everyone, including myself, can do even more - if they set themselves such a goal.
c) Well, why are they lucky, and not me?!

Question 7. You are facing a serious problem. Your thoughts:

a) Whatever is done is done for the better;
b) It is unpleasant, but I will definitely cope with the difficulties;
c) Again, fate put a pig on me.

Question 8. Do you rate your life path and think:

a) I am lucky and always will be.
b) In life there were both difficulties and moments of happiness. But in general, everything was fine.
c) I have had too many problems in my life. Solid black stripe with occasional flashes of luck.

Test results

0-4 points. Looking at the world through the prism of pessimism is a losing position in advance. In the colorful kaleidoscope of life, you are used to seeing only dark colors, which is why life seems bleak, and problems are insoluble. If you analyze your emotions well, then you yourself will understand that many difficulties seem insurmountable to you only because of the strong exaggeration of the scale of the problem. Do not forget that it is joy and positivity that help you go through life with ease. Look around: you have close people, you have a huge number of opportunities for self-realization. Become the master of your life. Change your view of the world and the world around you will magically change for the better.

5-8 points. Your outlook on life is quite optimistic, but you have a significant weakness: when faced with a problem, you can give up and give up the struggle for happiness. Try to overcome this negative trait, because it is it that prevents you from developing and achieving more. Remember that there are no insoluble difficulties - there is only a lack of faith in yourself. Believe in yourself, stop being afraid of difficulties, and you will definitely achieve great success. Special affirmations will help you gain self-confidence, as well as the support of loved ones and relatives.

9-12 points. Your attitude to life is absolutely harmonious: you soberly assess the situation, pay due attention to problems, and at the same time you always believe in the best. This is the position happy person who can handle any challenge. The ability to quickly understand the situation and choose the most correct way to solve the problem, the ability to support the word and deed provides you with deep respect and love of others. The combination of optimism and responsibility for your life will help you achieve significant heights in life. Top tip: keep following this line and never let difficulties break you.

13-16 points. Endless cheerfulness and a huge supply of positive energy is wonderful. But the frivolity that often accompanies these qualities can be a huge problem both in a career and in relationships with others. Faith in the best should not turn into ignoring problems: no matter how lucky you are, difficulties will never be resolved by themselves - this will certainly require your participation. Realize that it is you who are responsible for your life and your happiness, otherwise a superficial attitude to your own existence will sooner or later bring you trouble.

In order to succeed and be happy, it is important to realize in time what personality traits you need to work on. With the help of tests, you can find out your weaknesses and start working on them in a timely manner. Be the masters of your destiny, improve yourself, believe in the best and do not forget to press the buttons and

In order to change life for the better, it is necessary to be clearly aware of your attitude towards it. One of the best means of self-knowledge is tests. The winner of the 16th season of the Battle of the Psychics, Victoria Rydos, offers a unique test that will help everyone look deep into themselves.

In his blog, the psychic writes that it is important to treat life with reasonable optimism: this quality helps not to inflate an elephant out of a fly, to more objectively see the scale of the problem and easily find a way out of difficult life situations. However, Victoria Rydos emphasizes that a positive attitude should not turn into frivolity and carelessness: ignoring problems leads to the fact that a person begins to "go with the flow" and completely loses control over his destiny.

Question 1. After another hard day, you go to bed with the following thoughts:

a) Today was a good day, and tomorrow will be even better.
b) Today was a difficult but productive day.
c) It's good that this day is finally over!

Question 2. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is:

Question 3. Assessing your appearance, you think:

a) I'm beautiful! It's amazing how good I look despite my age!
b) I have some shortcomings, but I will work on them, and age will not be a hindrance at all.
c) Hmm... Time spares no one.

Question 4. You became aware that one of your friends is going through hard times. Your first thought:

Question 5. When you meet up with your old friends, you think:

Question 6. When you compare your successes with the achievements of others, you come to the conclusion:

Question 7. You are facing a serious problem. Your thoughts:

a) Whatever is done is done for the better;
b) It is unpleasant, but I will definitely cope with the difficulties;
c) Again, fate put a pig on me.

Question 8. You evaluate your life path and think:

Test results

0-4 points. Looking at the world through the prism of pessimism is a losing position in advance. In the colorful kaleidoscope of life, you are used to seeing only dark colors, which is why life seems bleak, and problems are insoluble. If you analyze your emotions well, then you yourself will understand that many difficulties seem insurmountable to you only because of the strong exaggeration of the scale of the problem. Do not forget that it is joy and positivity that help you go through life with ease. Look around: you have close people, you have a huge number of opportunities for self-realization. Become the master of your life. Change your view of the world and the world around you will magically change for the better.

5-8 points. Your outlook on life is quite optimistic, but you have a significant weakness: when faced with a problem, you can give up and give up the struggle for happiness. Try to overcome this negative trait, because it is it that prevents you from developing and achieving more. Remember that there are no insoluble difficulties - there is only a lack of faith in yourself. Believe in yourself, stop being afraid of difficulties, and you will definitely achieve great success. Special affirmations will help you gain self-confidence, as well as the support of loved ones and relatives.

9-12 points. Your attitude to life is absolutely harmonious: you soberly assess the situation, pay due attention to problems, and at the same time you always believe in the best. This is the position of a happy person who can handle any difficulties. The ability to quickly understand the situation and choose the most correct way to solve the problem, the ability to support the word and deed provides you with deep respect and love of others. The combination of optimism and responsibility for your life will help you achieve significant heights in life. Top tip: keep following this line and never let difficulties break you.

13-16 points. Endless cheerfulness and a huge supply of positive energy is wonderful. But the frivolity that often accompanies these qualities can be a huge problem both in a career and in relationships with others. Faith in the best should not turn into ignoring problems: no matter how lucky you are, difficulties will never be resolved by themselves - this will certainly require your participation. Realize that it is you who are responsible for your life and your happiness, otherwise a superficial attitude to your own existence will sooner or later bring you trouble.

One of the basic rules is to write what you feel and what comes to mind first. It's okay if you have the same answers to different questions. Don't read everything at once! Read the questions in turn - why rush, it will not be so interesting if you look at the next question without writing down the answer to the previous one. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and quickly write down your answers. Only 8 questions.

Are you looking at the sea? (your first sensation, you can close your eyes)

Do you walk through the forest and look under your feet? (what do you feel, no more than 30-40 seconds for questions)

Do you see the flight of seagulls? (what do you feel at the same time, if a quick answer, well, let's move on)

A herd of horses? (write the first thing that comes to mind, don't think too long)

In the desert, a wall with a small hole, behind which is an oasis? (here in this question YOUR ACTIONS ARE NEEDED, NOT THOUGHTS, what you will do)

Tired in the desert, do you see a jug of water on the way? (what are you doing, not feelings, but actions, it's trite, but write on a piece of paper)

Lost in the forest, in the evening, saw a house with a window shining in it? (what are you going to do, write)

Are you in the fog? (ACTIONS, how you behave, write, this is the finish line)
_________________________________________________________

The answers are recorded, now we turn to their decoding. Below are transcripts from Sigmund Freud.

RESULTS: An interesting test by Sigmund Freud

Your attitude to life, emotions, sensations.

Your well-being in your own family.

Your attitude towards women.

Your attitude towards men

Your main life strategy, goal. How do you solve your problems.

Your sexual selectivity. Partner choice.

Your readiness for marriage/marriage.

Your attitude towards death.

The New Positive Psychology [A Scientific Perspective on Happiness and the Meaning of Life] Seligman Martin E P

Instant test for positive and negative efficacy (panas)

The test is a scale of various states and emotions. Read each of the following definitions and rate the degree to which your current state corresponds to it on a five-point scale ( 1 - slightly or not at all 2 - A little, 3 - moderately 4 - enough, 5 - strongly). Put your rating next to each of these properties.

Positive effects:

1. Interest (PA);

2. Cheerfulness (PA);

3. Enthusiasm(PA);

4. Inspiration (PA);

5. Equanimity (PA);

6. Resolve (PA);

7. Attention (PA);

8. Enthusiasm (PA);

9. Activity (PA);

10. Pride (PA).

Negative Affects:

1. Irritation (ON);

2. Grief (NA);

3. Shame (ON);

4. Alarm (ON);

5. Anxiety (ON);

6. Feelings of guilt (NA);

7. Fright (ON);

8. Hostility (NA);

9. Nervousness (ON);

10. Fear (NA).

To find out the results of the test, sum up your ratings of ten positive (PA) and separately - ten negative (NA) affects. You will get two final numbers, each of at least 10 and no more than 50 points.

Some people are endowed with a large reserve of positive effectiveness and do not lose it all their lives. They are almost always in a great mood, life gives them pleasure and joy. For others, all this is inaccessible - day after day they pass in despondency. And even if success comes, these people are not happy.

Most of us are somewhere between two extremes. Differences in the manifestations of anger and depression in people of different constitutions have long been established, but for some reason no one has yet taken up such a classification of positive emotions.

I have come to the conclusion that the course of our emotional life is determined by the genetic helmsman. If our route does not lie through the sunny seas, we are unlikely to be able to change something, trying to become happier. All we can do - and that's what I'm doing - is to come to terms with the cold climate and firmly on the course for positive efficiency, because it can give us many wonderful sensations.

I have a friend Len - a person even less cheerful than me. However, he was successful. As the general manager of a securities trading company, Len made a million-dollar fortune and, what is even more amazing, repeatedly became the champion of America in bridge, and he was not yet thirty then! A handsome man, a bright personality and an enviable groom, Len suffered one fiasco after another in his personal life. As I said, he is a closed person and almost devoid of positive affect. I saw Len win a major bridge tournament: he just smiled a little and ran upstairs to watch a football game by himself. At the same time, Len is not at all an insensitive egoist. He is surprisingly sensitive to the emotions and requests of others, always responsive - it is no coincidence that everyone says that he is “good” - he just does not give in to emotions too much.

The women Len courted didn't like it. He didn't feel warm! No cheerfulness, even rarely laughs. “Something is wrong with you, Len,” the women repeated. Sensitive to such reproaches, he worked for five years in New York with a psychoanalyst. “Something is wrong with you, Len,” the psychoanalyst echoed the women and tried her best, hoping to determine what childhood trauma suppressed her patient's positive feelings. But psychoanalysis did not help: Len did not have any trauma.

In fact, everything was in order. Simply by virtue of his constitution, Len belongs to a group of people with reduced positive effectiveness. And there are quite a few like him, because for natural selection the absence of emotions is no less useful than their excess. In some cases, Len's calmness gave him considerable advantages. It takes a rare composure to win a bridge championship or successfully trade stocks. However, modern American women like seething cheerfulness. Ten years ago, Len came to me for advice on what to do, and I said that it makes sense to move to Europe, where the demand for wild fun and other external manifestations of emotions is not yet overstated. Len is now happily married. The moral is clear: a person can be happy even if he is not overly emotional.

Intelligence Development

I, like Lena, was surprised that I had few positive feelings. On the day Nikki and I weeded the garden beds, I already guessed that my ideas about their role were wrong, but Barbara Fredrickson, a professor at the University of Michigan, was able to articulate all this precisely and prove that positive feelings, in addition to what they create good mood, there is another and very important purpose.

The Templeton Prize is awarded to young scientists (up to forty) for the best work in the field of positive psychology. This is the largest award available to a psychologist ($100,000), and I was supposed to head the selection committee. Then, in 2000, we awarded Barbara Fredrickson for the creation of the theory of positive emotions. After reading her work for the first time, I rushed up to the second floor and excitedly announced to my wife: “Mundy, this is a revolution in science!” At least not for a pessimist like me.

Fredrickson argues that positive emotions play a critical role in the evolutionary process. They increase our intellectual, physical and social capacities and create reserves always available in case of threat or need. When you have a positive attitude, people around you show more sympathy, and it is easier to establish friendships, love or other relationships with them. Negative emotions act as limiters. And under the influence of positive, on the contrary, we become freer, more tolerant, approach any problem creatively, open to new ideas and impressions.

A few simple but compelling examples show that Barbara Fredrickson's groundbreaking theory is scientifically sound. Let's say you have a box of buttons, a candle, and a pack of cardboard matches. It is necessary to attach the candle to the wall in such a way that the wax does not flow onto the floor. Here you need to show ingenuity: pour out the buttons, attach an empty box to the wall with them and put a candle in it, like in a candlestick. Imagine that before you receive a task, they will try to evoke positive emotions in you - they will treat you with sweets, let you flip through funny comics, or ask you to read something pleasant with an expression. Each of these techniques is sure to elicit at least some positive reactions, and they will help you get creative in solving the problem.

And here is another experiment: to determine as quickly as possible whether a particular word belongs to a given category, for example, to "means of transportation." When they hear the word “car” or “airplane”, respondents instantly give an answer. But in the case of the "elevator" there are difficulties, most people think before answering. However, if, as in the previous experiment, a person is preliminarily tuned in a positive way, his thought works faster. In the same way, the subject easily copes with the task of finding a definition that is common to several concepts. For example, for the concepts "sparrow" and "sleeve", one of the answer options would be "shot": shot sparrow, shot shell.

Under the influence of positive emotions, an intellectual breakthrough occurs both in young children and in experienced therapists. Four-year-olds were asked to think of something so pleasant in thirty seconds that they “would like to jump up” or “sit down and smile.” (States of high energy and low energy cheerfulness.) Then all the children were given a test to determine the shape of objects, and both groups (high energy and low energy) did better than those children who did not smile. Participants in the second part of the experiment - 44 doctors - were randomly divided into three groups. One group was given a bag of sweets to each, another was asked to read aloud humanistic statements about medicine, and the third group became the control group. Participants were then asked to diagnose a patient suffering from a hard-to-recognise liver disease. At the same time, doctors were asked to reason aloud. The best indicators were those who ate sweets: they recognized the disease faster and made the most accurate diagnosis. At the same time, no one showed the frivolity supposedly characteristic of merry fellows.

Cheerful and stupid?

The results of the above experiment, of course, are impressive, but is it not for nothing that cheerful people are traditionally considered frivolous? Jokes about stupid blondes have long been a consolation to the smarter but less popular dark-haired women. In class, I was considered a "boring nerd," but later I mentally smiled more than once, noting that my especially "buoyant" classmates after college did not fly very high. The opinion that optimists are frivolous comes from an authoritative source.

The founder of pragmatism C. S. Pierce wrote in 1878 that the task of thought is to dispel doubts. We don't think about and barely realize what's going on around us until something happens. A person cheerfully walks along the road of life, as long as there are no obstacles on the way, and only when a pebble gets into the sandal, he begins to think and analyze.

Exactly one hundred years later, Lauren Alloy and Lynn Abramson (both then young and promising students) experimentally confirmed what Pearce had said. The experiment went like this: a group of students were given varying degrees of control over the green light. Some of them got complete control: when these people pressed the button, the light flashed, and if they did not touch the button, then the light did not burn. For other students, the light turned on and off regardless of whether they pressed the button or not. Then all the students were asked how much the switching on of the light depended on their actions. Those who suffered from depression answered very accurately, being able to determine when they pressed the button in vain and when they did not. The students, who were in a good mood, surprised the experimenters. They also correctly listed the moments when they turned on the light themselves, but in 35% of the cases when turning on the light did not depend on them, they still believed that it was lit on their command. In a word, people prone to depression turned out to be sadder and wiser than merry fellows.

Soon, scientists found new evidence that people with a depressive warehouse look at life more realistically. They judge their capabilities more objectively, while cheerful and happy people usually overestimate themselves. 80% of Americans say they have above average social skills. Most workers consider themselves to be above average as well, and most drivers - even those who have been in accidents - again consider themselves aces.

Cheerful people usually remember more pleasant events than they actually were, and forget bad episodes faster. Sad people, on the other hand, accurately capture both. Cheerful people perceive successes and failures rather one-sidedly: they attribute success to themselves, believing that the bright streak will never end and now they can do everything - but any puncture is attributed to others, and even then as an annoying trifle. Melancholics, on the other hand, usually quite objectively evaluate both their successes and their lack of them.

Thus, in a different situation, an optimist may indeed seem "empty-headed." But not everything is so simple. At the moment, the theory of "depressive objectivity" is hotly contested. Too many cases from life practice contradict it. Lisa Aspinwall (lecturer at the University of Utah, awarded the second-class Templeton Prize in 2000) has collected a lot of evidence that, taking vital important decisions, cheerful people still act smarter than melancholic people. The experiment was as follows. Dr. Aspinwall gave her subjects nasty information about potential health risks: coffee drinkers with articles on caffeine's effects on breast cancer, sunbathers with statistics on harmful effects. sun rays and their role in melanoma formation. At the same time, the researcher divided the respondents into cheerful and sad - with the help of special tests for optimism and additional stimulation of positive feelings. Aspinwall then invited each subject to read the articles and after a week asked what they remembered from what they read. It turned out that optimists remembered much more disturbing information and found it more convincing than sad people and melancholics.

The results of the discussion about who is smarter can be summarized as follows. Under normal conditions, optimists rely on their previous positive experience, while pessimists are more skeptical. Let the light not turn on for ten minutes now, no matter how much you press the button, the optimist believes that in the end things will go smoothly and the electricity will subdue. However, when the course of events becomes threatening (“three cups of coffee a day increases the risk of breast cancer”), optimists immediately change tactics, adopting a skeptical-analytical attitude towards life.

From all the experiments mentioned, one significant conclusion can be drawn: a positive attitude sets a very special way of thinking. In my thirty years of work at the Department of Psychology, I have noticed that discussions held in dull gray classrooms among eternally grumbling and dissatisfied employees, as a rule, give zero results. In fact: if you need to decide which of several worthy candidates can be accepted into the team, no one will be accepted, since a lot of shortcomings will be found in each of the applicants. So for thirty years we rejected dozens of candidates for young teachers who later became excellent talented psychologists, and even world celebrities.

So, a cold negative attitude activates a critical mindset: a person tries to understand what is wrong, and then fix the problem. A positive attitude, in turn, leads to a constructive creative and tolerant approach, when not cons, but advantages are striking. It is possible that positive thoughts generally arise in another part of the brain as a result of completely different, special neurochemical processes.

I advise the reader and himself to tune in the appropriate way, depending on the goal. For example, when you have to take an exam, fill out a tax return, weigh the decision to quit your job, analyze love failures, prepare for an audit, edit text for printing or choose an educational institution - without critical thinking not enough here. Such mental work is best done on a rainy day, sitting in a straight-backed chair in a quiet and modestly furnished room. This is exactly the case when a serious or sad mood not only does not interfere, but also helps to make the best decision.

However, there are many things that require a creative approach. They are planning a sales campaign, love (at its highest levels), starting a new career, deciding to get married, writing a book, and anything related to hobbies and non-competitive sports. In this case, an environment that can raise the tone will help: a comfortable chair, the sounds of pleasant music, sunny weather, fresh air. And try to be surrounded by those whom you consider the most reliable, benevolent and unselfish people.

Optimism and physical resources

High-energy positive emotions, such as joy, create a playful mood in people, and play helps to develop physically. Young chipmunks, playing, run at top speed, jump, change direction in the air and, having landed, run in the other direction. Young monkeys, having fun, jump on young trees, which bend under the weight of the animals and catapult them wherever they have to. Growing up, chipmunks and monkeys use the same tricks to escape predators. Obviously, the game helps to develop the muscles and cardiovascular system in order to successfully hunt, quickly move away from danger, fight enemies and fight for the female.

Health and longevity are also indicators of the body's physical resources. It has been proven that both depend on positive emotions. In one of the largest studies, 2,282 Mexican-Americans were demographically and emotionally tested and followed up for two years by researchers. The level of positive emotions recorded by the tests, with a good probability, made it possible to predict the possible disability or death of the survey participant. Taking into account the age, income, education, weight, smoking, alcohol use and illness of the subjects, psychologists have concluded that the likelihood of death or disability among cheerful people is half as much. Other studies have shown that positive emotions protect against the debilitating effects of aging. Let us remember that the nuns whose autobiographies were written in light and joyful colors lived longer and longer. happy life and that the Mayo Clinic optimists lived much longer than the pessimists. And also the fact that cheerful people have lower blood pressure and strong immunity. Add to this Aspinwall's findings on the perception of important information for health, and we see that optimism, without a doubt, prolongs life and improves health.

performance

One of the most important components of health and longevity is performance. It is difficult to say what is primary in this case: either satisfaction from work makes human happiness more complete, or natural cheerfulness allows you to fully enjoy your work. However, the fact remains that positive-minded people are satisfied with their work much more often than others.

Studies show that a good mood improves performance, and this, in turn, affects financial well-being. In one experiment, 272 employees were tested for positive emotions, and then the researchers looked at their performance over the past eighteen months. Cheerful people received more praise from superiors, and their earnings increased. According to a serious study among Australian fifteen-year-olds, optimism significantly increases the likelihood of getting Good work and succeed.

What is more important - cheerfulness or efficiency? Trying to answer this question in a special study, artificially creating a good mood and tracking the results, scientists found that in a good mood, both adults and children set themselves more lofty goals, work better and are able to work longer on solving any laboratory problems (for example, on deciphering anagrams).

Cheerful people in difficult circumstances

Optimists show great resilience during unpleasant trials. How long before you could hold your hand in a bucket of ice water? On average, a person is able to endure from 60 to 90 seconds. Rick Snyder, a Kansas educator and one of the founders of positive psychology, conducted an experiment live on Good Morning America. To begin with, he tested the program employees for positive emotions. One of them - Charles Gibson - noticeably surpassed all the others with his optimism. Then, live, each of the employees put their hand into the ice water. All but Gibson retreated after 90 seconds. He sat and smiled, putting his hand into the water, until they finally announced a commercial break.

Cheerful people not only tolerate pain better and take better care of their health and safety - positive emotions help to neutralize negativity. Barbara Fredrickson showed the students an excerpt from the movie "Cornice", where a man, holding onto a wall, walks along the cornice of a skyscraper, at some point stumbles and hangs at a great height. All the spectators had their pulse quickened with excitement. After that, the students were offered to watch one of four videos: the soothing story "Wave", the funny one - "Puppy", the neutral one - "Sticks" and the sad one - "Crying". "Puppy" and "Waves" normalized the heartbeat of the audience, and from "Crying" the pulse became even faster.

Development of social skills

My youngest daughter, Carly Dylan, took her first memorable developmental steps at the age of seven weeks. Lying in her mother's arms, she pulled away from her chest, looked into her eyes and smiled. My wife Mandi beamed and smiled back, and the baby's smile grew even wider. This exchange of smiles bonds mother and child for life, creating the basis of a warm relationship. Growing up, a happy child excels in almost every way, including perseverance, independence, inquisitiveness, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. The ability to feel and clearly express positive emotions is the foundation of any relationship based on love and friendship. It has always amazed me that the closest friends are not work colleagues (although we sympathize with each other and spend a lot of time together), not some wise intellectuals, but partners in poker, bridge and volleyball.

Exception proves the rule. People born with Mobius syndrome - paralysis of the facial muscles - are deprived of the possibility of expressing emotions: during the most intimate conversation, their face remains cold and motionless, like a mask. Not surprisingly, such people find it difficult to find friends. As soon as the natural chain is broken: positive emotions - their expression - reciprocal positive emotions, the music of love leaves our relationship.

Usually psychologists are interested in pathologies: they seek out the most gloomy or angry people and ask them to tell about themselves. I, too, conducted similar studies for a good twenty years. And not so long ago, Ed Diener and I decided to step back from the stereotype - to evaluate the personal characteristics and lifestyle of the most optimistic representatives of the human race. We selected 222 students at random and rated their cheerfulness in six dimensions. Thus, we chose the 22 most positive people and began to work with them.

The "most cheerful" students differed from the ordinary and depressive ones mainly in that they led a surprisingly full-blooded and rich social life. They spent less time alone and much more - in society, received excellent references from friends and acquaintances. All twenty-two respondents admitted that they have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Everyone on average earned a little more than ordinary students, but otherwise the “most cheerful” did not differ much from their classmates: about the same number of sad and joyful events happened in their lives, they spent about the same amount of time sleeping, watching TV, sports, smoking drinking or going to church. The researchers were only able to prove that cheerful people have more acquaintances and close friends, they are more likely to marry and participate more actively in social activities.

Happiness and the game without losing: revisiting the achievements of evolution

Barbara Fredrickson's theory and other research convinced me to try to bring more positive feelings into my life. Once upon a time, like many others, I thought that the mood is not so important, the main thing is to maintain normal relations with others. However, positive feelings do more than just lift our spirits—they help us get along with people, make friends and loved ones, improve our health, and achieve success. Fredrickson's theory answers the questions at the beginning of this chapter: why are positive emotions so pleasant and why do we feel anything at all.

Spiritual growth and positive development are the main characteristics of what positive psychology calls a win-win situation. By the way, writing and reading this book is also a no-lose game: by putting all my strength into writing it, I have grown noticeably intellectually, much the same will happen to you if you manage to hold on to the end. Love, friendship, parenting - all these are games without losing. Virtually all advances in technology—the printing press and the tea rose hybrid—belong to this category.

Negative feelings signal that we are about to win or lose. Positive - attract to a game in which you cannot lose. By disposing people to creativity and tolerance, positive emotions increase social, intellectual and physical potential.

Now that I hope everyone understands how much it is necessary to develop cheerfulness in oneself, the next question arises: how to increase the level of positive feelings in your life?

From the book Laws of Eminent People the author Kalugin Roman

Negative criticism should be ignored. For the most part, outstanding people ignore unconstructive criticism, and besides, they never allow ill-wishers to weaken their resolve. The ability to ignore the opinions of those who seek to belittle you is an important

From the book Business Psychology author Morozov Alexander Vladimirovich

Test No. 9 SPIELBERGER-KHANIN test. ASSESSMENT OF THE EMOTIONAL STATE (LEVEL OF REACTIVE AND PERSONAL ANXIETY) Using this test the level of anxiety at the time of its implementation (RT) is determined, reflecting the reaction to a short-term momentary situation and the level

From the book Pickup. seduction tutorial author Bogachev Philip Olegovich

Kinesthetic level test, or K-Test Magazines for men don't give much advice about sex, as men think, "I already know what to do. Just give me a naked woman!" Jerry Seinfeld. Imagine that you have traveled far from your home, say, kilometers

From the book How to beat stress and depression author McKay Matthew

Efficiency Development of balanced alternative statements - effective method resist perfectionism, get rid of the habit of procrastination, reduce depression and anxiety. The techniques described in this chapter are based on Aaron's Cognitive Psychotherapy

From the book How to Manage Your Reputation and Your Life Scenarios author Kichaev Alexander

Effectiveness The Thought and Evidence Log has been used effectively in the treatment of depression, anxiety and comorbidities. Numerous studies over the past twenty years confirm the usefulness of this

From the book Reasonable World [How to live without unnecessary worries] author Sviyash Alexander Grigorievich

Effectiveness Several studies undertaken National Institute mental health United States, have proven the effectiveness of the activity planning method as an element of a cognitive-behavioral program for the treatment of depression. By itself, leveling up

From the book Capital Growing Guide by Joseph Murphy, Dale Carnegie, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Barbara Sher, Neil Walsh the author Stern Valentin

Effectiveness Hidden modeling can be used to improve existing behaviors or to learn new ones that may differ in many ways from your usual way of doing things. This method helps to minimize the avoidance reaction,

From the book Receptions by Joseph Murphy and Dale Carnegie. Use the power of the subconscious and consciousness to solve any problems! the author Narbut Alex

Efficacy Covert sensitization has been used with great success in the treatment of sexual deviations such as sadistic fantasies, pedophilia, transvestism and exhibitionism. The method is also used to get rid of kleptomania, gambling, shopping addiction,

From the book Dudling for creative people[Learn to think differently] by Brown Sunny

What purpose attracts and generates positive energy? Here are some conditions for an effectively defined goal.1. The goal contains a challenge - it is slightly above your current capabilities. But not too high, so as not to create a feeling of hopelessness or

From the book Thank you for your feedback. How to properly respond to feedback by Hin Sheila

Visualizing a Negative Emotion Try to visualize on your inner screen what your fear, anger, annoyance, guilt, or other emotion that doesn't please you looks like. It should be a negative image that you will not like. For example, fear can be represented as

From the book Olympic Calm. How to reach it? the author Kovpak Dmitry

You can find a positive side in any problem. You can rebuild your consciousness and subconsciousness so that you can benefit from any problem and trouble and never lose heart, never give up, no matter what happens. Faced with a problem - immediately ask yourself two

From the book Bad Habits of Good Children author Barkan Alla Isaakovna

There is a positive side to any problem. One of Dale Carnegie's main pieces of advice is: "If you got a lemon, make lemonade."

From the author's book

Attitudes and reactions to negative feedback and troubles How we perceive ourselves and the feedback we receive, as well as how we react to it, depends on our attitude to the opportunities for self-development.

From the author's book

How to Challenge a Negative Thought Once you have learned to recognize habitual negative (erroneous, irrational) thoughts, the next step is to learn how to turn them into realistic, positive, expedient. That is, to critically analyze thoughts and think through,

From the author's book

VM test (indicative test of school maturity - verbal thinking) I. Irazek Which animal is bigger - a horse or a dog? Horse = 0, incorrect answer = -5. In the morning we have breakfast, and at noon ...? We have lunch. We eat soup, pasta and meat = 0. Have lunch, dinner, sleep, etc. wrong

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So:

Test answers:

Test results

RESULTS: An interesting test by Sigmund Freud