GROW YOUR POSITIVE BODY IMAGE
Wanting to improve your body appreciation and feel better about yourself? Grab a shovel and some seeds and head out into the garden. New research by Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University has found that gardening promotes positive body image. The study found that gardeners had significantly higher levels of body appreciation, significantly higher levels of body pride, and significantly higher levels of appreciation for their body’s functionality, compared to nongardeners. The study also discovered that the longer period of time the participants spent gardening, the larger the improvement in positive body image.
Previous research has shown that gardening is associated with improved psychological wellbeing and physical health and this new study adds to previous work by Professor Swami demonstrating that exposure to natural environments helps to promote positive body image.
If you have ever found yourself drawn to fictional evil characters, new research has shown there’s a scientific explanation. According to a new study by researchers at Northwestern University people may find fictional villains likeable when they share similarities with the viewer or reader.This attraction to potentially darker versions of ourselves in fictional stories occurs even though we would be repulsed by real-world individuals who have similarly immoral or unstable behaviours.
One reason for this shift, the research indicates, is that fiction acts like a cognitive safety net, allowing us to identify with villainous characters without tainting our self-image. “People want to see themselves in a positive light,” says Rebecca Krause, a PhD candidate at Northwestern University and lead author on the paper. “Finding similarities between oneself and a bad person can be uncomfortable.”
Krause and her co-author, Derek Rucker found that putting the bad person in a fictional context can remove that discomfort. “When you are no longer uncomfortable with the comparison, there seems to be something alluring and enticing about having similarities with a villain,” explains Rucker. “People who see themselves as tricky and chaotic may feel especially drawn to The Joker in the Batman movies, while a person who shares Lord Voldemort’s intellect and ambition may feel more drawn to that character in the Harry Potter series,” said Krause. “Perhaps fiction provides a way to engage with the dark aspects of your personality without making you question whether you are a good person in general,” concludes Krause.