How many times do you check your Moments or Facebook page in a day to see whether your latest post has got another “like” or “thumbs up”?

    Although you might be embarrassed to admit how many times you do this, don't worry. Psychological findings have shown it's completely normal.

    In fact, the pleasure we derive from (取自) getting a “like” is equal to that of eating chocolate or winning money, and we can't help wanting more.

    According to the findings of the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, which observed 32 teens aged between 13 and 18, the feedback circuit (反馈电路) in the teens' brains are particularly sensitive, and the “social” and “visual” parts of their brains were activated when they received “likes” on a social network. The research also showed that though the thumbs up might come from complete strangers, the good they derive from it worked equally.

    So does it mean we should try our best to win as many thumbs up as possible?

    Not necessarily so if we know the reasons behind our desire for attention.

    In “Why do people crave (渴望) attention” by M. Farouk Radwan, he explained several cases in which people naturally longed for attention. Radwan said people who were an only child, who were used to being the center of attention in their house, may try to reproduce these conditions. Feeling “overlooked and unappreciated” might also lead you to be eager for attention. Other times, the state of being jealous or wanting to cover your mistakes may also contribute to such longings.

    In fact, too much desire for attention can create anxiety, and in turn ruin your happiness even when you get it. So what can we do about it? The answer is quite simple.

    “If people could adopt goals not focused on their own self-esteem (自尊) but on something larger than their self, such as what they can create or contribute to others, they would be less sensitive to some of the negative effects of pursuing self-esteem,” wrote psychology professor Jennifer Crocker in the Journal of Social Issues.

    It's holiday season and time for shopping. There are a bunch of items on your shopping lists ranging from small gifts, toys and festive decorations to Christmas and New Year cards. What's your first react ion to products labeled “Made in China”? If you still tend to relate “Made in China”to poor quality. You need to update your ideas. China's ability to produce high-quality product s has been recognized by a growing number of foreigners. It's a misunderstanding to associate low quality with“Made in China”.

    Cameron Purdy, a Web user, says that China manufactures poor-quality products does not mean it cannot manufacture high-quality product s. He explains that the poor-quality products one purchases in the US for example, are made in the quality that the American companies ask for. “The price that you pay for the product has no relationship to the cost of its manufacturing,” suggested Purdy. For example, for an item priced at $20 in the US, the cost of manufacturing it paid by the American company is usually less than $1. To guarantee the room for profit, the Chinese co-manufacturer spends less than $1to produce the item.

    Amanda Wu, who lives in Shanghai, noted that many top brands have manufacturing factories located in China, and the most convincing example of China's manufacturing quality is Apple products. On the back of the iPhone, one can find the product is Made in China—“Designed by Apple in California. Assembled (装备) in China. ”Chinese and foreign Web users commented that some Chinese pro ducts with good reputations around the world are Haier, Lenovo, GREE, Huawei and China Railway High-speed.

    On the other hand, foreign misunderstandings can sometimes affect Chinese people's minds. For instance, when Chinese people travel abroad, some would still avoid buying products Made in China. It's time for the world to stop relating Made in China with low-quality products. Just remember, you get what you pay for.

    Patients with light or moderate depression can be successfully treated by swimming with dolphins, researchers said on Saturday.

    The study was carried out in Honduras, including patients who were thought by the doctors with light of moderate depression coming from the United States and Honduras.

    For two weeks, half of the group swam and snorkeled (潜泳) with dolphins for an hour a day. At the same time the other half group carried out the same type of water activities, but with the absence of dolphins. Researchers want to find out the influence of water and the natural setting.

    All the study volunteers didn't continue to take any drugs or psychotherapy ( 心理治疗) at least for weeks before the start of the study and did not take any drugs during the study, said the researchers from the division of clinical Psychiatry at t e the University of Leicester Medical School.

    By the end of the study, those people who swam with the dolphins had a greater average reduction in their depressive symptoms than those who did not.

    The researchers noted that the study supports the theory of biophilia, which thinks that human health and well-being depends partly on the human connection with the natural world. The findings appeared in the issue of the British Medical Journal.

    Coming from the Greek, biophilia means “love of life”, and it has been developed by biologists to reflect the humans' natural tendency to connect with nature and animals, leading to interactions and positive emotions that result in psychological treatment.

    Running your small business requires good staff. Once you find them, you don't want to let them go elsewhere.

    During an employee's time with a company, there are a number of forces that influence his or her behavior. I like to refer to them as "push" and "pull". You're either pushing an employee towards the door, or pulling them deeper into your organization.

    Suppose that you've made a good hire and you want to keep the employees, the trick is to recognize individual needs of employees and satisfy those needs, within reason, in order to keep pulling them away from the door. Even if you can't pull them away from the door, at least don't do things to push them out of the door.

    Recognize that some employees will lose interest and need something fresh to keep their interest. If you can't continually provide challenges, opportunities for promotion and other interesting and rewarding opportunities, then you'll have some employees leave through no fault of your own.

    The important thing is to identify your key employees and make certain they are being treated well. Communicate with them on a regular basis to make certain that you understand what makes them behave in a particular way, and be aware of concerns they may have about job satisfaction.

    Frequently, we speak about people being “color-blind” but very few of us are. Even those who describe themselves as color-blind are normally just color lack. A strongly, color-blind person will still be able to tell 20 different colors, compared to the 100 or so that normal-sighted people see.

    Pingelap, a tiny island in the Pacific, is a beautiful spot but one that has a genetic trouble. It is known as Color-blind Island because so many people who live on this remote island can only see black and white.

    Not being able to see colors is bad enough. But one islander, Herrol, who's a fisherman, also struggles in full sunlight because all he sees is a painful burnt-out image. “I find it difficult to go outside in the sun,” he says, “because when it's sunny I cannot see to do my work.”

    But if being truly color-blind is rare, why is it that around 10% of the population of Pingelap live in a totally black and white world?

    Well, we know that in 1780 the population of Pingelap was all but wiped out by a tsunami (海啸). As few as 20 people survived, one of whom was the king. It's believed he had a genetic fault that causes colour-blindness and he passed this fault on to his many generations.

    There is one advantage. Herrol can see well, really well, in the dark. So when it gets dark, Herrol and his friends get in their boats and hunt flying fish. They hang up flaming torches and the fish are attracted to the flames. “This type of fishing is fun,” Herrol says, “especially if we catch plenty. So even though it's hard work we enjoy it.”

    Being crazy about perfection(完美) among young people has risen by more than 30 per-cent over the last three decades, a study has found.

    Many of them believe that their environment is very demanding and that others judge them strictly, according to analysis of data from more than 40,000 British, Canadian and American university students from 1989 t0 2018.

    The research, carried out by the University of Bath and York St John University, found that the extent to which young people attach an irrational importance on being perfect, hold unrealistic expectations of themselves and are highly self-critical has increased by 10 percent when compared to previous generations. The authors suggested their findings point to the impact of three decades of neoliberalism (新自由主义) forcing young people to compete against one another.

    Lead author Dr Thomas Curran from the University of Bath's Department for Health said he hoped organizations responsible for guarding the welfare of young people, such as schools, universities, and policymakers who shape the environments in which these organizations operate, would resist the promotion of competitiveness at the expense of young people's psycho-logical health.

    He said, "Rising rates of perfectionism highlighted in this study correspond to three decades of neoliberalism, which has forced young people to compete against each other in an in-creasingly demanding social and economic environment." The study also found the extent to which young people impose (迫使) unrealistic standards on those around them and evaluate others critically has increased by 16 percent.

    The researches defined perfectionism as a combination of extremely high personal standards and overly harsh self-criticism, leading to psychological difficulties.

    Co-author Dr Andrew Hill of York St John University added, "The increase in mental health difficulties among young people makes for a setting for our findings. The higher level of perfectionism may be a key contributing factor to such difficulties. Young people are trying to find ways to cope with increasing demands being placed on them and they are responding by becoming more perfect towards themselves and others."