Thinking about how to connect with distant friends and family? Searching for how to drop ten pounds in a week?
The holiday season brings its own special issues, and several researchers from the School of Human Ecology—Karen Fingerman, Molly Bray and Sara Sweitzer—address them in recently published commentary.
Fingerman, a professor of human development and family sciences, reminds readers of Psychology Today and the Dallas Morning News about the importance of email or traditional mail holiday cards. In 1999, she and a colleague found that holiday messages increase a sense of connection: older adults feel more "socially embedded," and younger adults often are inspired to reach out to others.
Other researchers have more of a cautionary message, with advice to be careful about post-holiday dieting. Writing in the Waco Tribune-Herald and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Bray and Sweitzer of the Department of Nutritional Sciences acknowledge that while it is tempting to fall for a fad diet, they often do not work. People should instead develop personal plans that change the way they eat—for the rest of their lives.
Read the whole piece by Karen Fingerman:
Reaching Out to People Still Matters: The Science of Christmas Cards
And the piece by Molly Bray and Sara Sweitzer:
Holiday Pounds? There's No Quick Fix, So Do Your Research
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