1669 quotes by psychologists for you to enjoy

When someone is complimenting you, they are sharing how your actions or behaviors impacted them. They are not asking if you agree. Mark Goulston

You Impacted Someone Sharing How Behaviors Them Asking Your Agree Actions

People often say, 'I don't need recognition,' and the truth is they are right. We don't need it. But like healthy food and exercise, life is a whole lot better with it. Mark Goulston

Life Truth Food Truth Is People Better Life Is A Healthy Say Recognition Like Exercise Lot Often Whole Right Need

Happy couples resist the temptation to go to bed at different times. They go to bed at the same time, even if one partner wakes up later to do things while their partner sleeps. Mark Goulston

If and when they have a disagreement or argument, and if they can't resolve it, happy couples default to trusting and forgiving rather than distrusting and begrudging. Mark Goulston

Happy Argument Resolve Rather Disagreement Couples Trusting Than Forgiving Default

Have you ever heard someone tell a story but felt they are just mouthing the words without being emotionally connected? When you do this, you often create a more negative reaction than if you hadn't told a story at all. That's because others can see that you're just going through the motions. Mark Goulston

You Words Negative Others Tell See Someone More Through Emotionally Reaction Because Felt Without Motions Heard Than Going Often Just Being Story Create Connected Ever

You may have heard the saying, 'When you're in love, smoke gets in your eyes.' Well when you're talking, smoke gets in your eyes and ears. Once you're on a roll, it's very easy to not notice that you've worn out your welcome. Mark Goulston

One reason some people are long-winded is because they're trying to impress their conversational counterpart with how smart they are, often because they don't actually feel that way underneath. If this is the case for you, realize that continuing to talk will only cause the other person to be less impressed. Mark Goulston

You People Smart Cause Will Some People Impress Other Way Some Case Only Counterpart Feel Talk Underneath Because How Continuing Impressed Person Trying Often Conversational Realize Less Reason Actually

People act on what they want more often than what they need. Mark Goulston

People More Than Often Want Act Need

People really don't like to be inconvenienced. If you don't agree with that, ask yourself how you like it when it happens to you. Mark Goulston

You Yourself People Like How Happens Ask Really Agree

P is positive emotion, E is engagement, R is relationships, M is meaning and A is accomplishment. Those are the five elements of what free people chose to do. Pretty much everything else is in service of one of or more of these goals. That's the human dashboard. Martin Seligman

Positive Service People Goals Free Else Relationships Everything Everything Else Those Pretty More Free People Emotion Accomplishment Five Human Meaning Much Engagement Chose Elements

The word 'happiness' always bothered me, partly because it was scientifically unwieldy and meant a lot of different things to different people, and also because it's subjective. Martin Seligman

Happiness Me People Word Bothered Also Partly Because Always Scientifically Subjective Lot Different Meant Different People Different Things Things

I believe psychology has done very well in working out how to understand and treat disease. But I think that is literally half-baked. If all you do is work to fix problems, to alleviate suffering, then by definition you are working to get people to zero, to neutral. Martin Seligman

Work You Suffering People Treat Problems Believe Think Definition Out Alleviate Neutral Half-Baked Well Understand How Very Fix Get Disease Done Literally Psychology Then Working Zero

If you were an optimistic teen, then you'll be an optimist at 80. People's reactions to bad events are highly stable over a half century or more. Martin Seligman

You People Events Half Teen Bad More Highly Over Half Century Reactions Were Optimist Optimistic Stable Century Then

I don't mind being wrong, and I don't mind changing my mind. Martin Seligman

Mind Changing Wrong Being

One of my worries about America is the epidemic of depression we've been in. One of the possibilities about that is that the 'I' gets bigger and bigger, and the 'we' gets smaller and smaller. Martin Seligman

Depression Worries Possibilities About Smaller Been America Gets Bigger Epidemic

I'm all for past influences; the question is whether they are deterministic. Freud and the behaviorists argue that what we are at any given moment is billiard balls whose past determines our future course. That doesn't take into account that we are forever generating internal representations of positive futures and choosing among them. Martin Seligman

Positive Future Past Our Futures Determines Given Argue Take Generating Course Freud Balls Question Account Forever Any Any Given Moment Influences Whether Them Choosing Internal Moment Whose Among

We have children to pursue other elements of well-being. We want meaning in life. We want relationships. Martin Seligman

Life Other Relationships Pursue Well-Being Children Want Meaning Elements

Optimistic people generally feel that good things will last a long time and will have a beneficial effect on everything they do. And they think that bad things are isolated: They won't last too long and won't affect other parts of life. Martin Seligman

Life Time Good People Good Things Will Long Bad Things Long Time Think Too Other Beneficial Everything Bad Generally Feel Parts Isolated Affect Effect Optimistic Things Last

There is an interesting scientific dispute about realism and optimism. Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out. Martin Seligman

Good Reality People Control Think Others Benign Out Find Some About More Scientific Still Optimism Very Optimistic Handle Than May Jury Realism Interesting Themselves Skill Found Illusions Dispute Actually

Suppose you could be hooked up to a hypothetical 'experience machine' that, for the rest of your life, would stimulate your brain and give you any positive feelings you desire. Most people to whom I offer this imaginary choice refuse the machine. It is not just positive feelings we want: we want to be entitled to our positive feelings. Martin Seligman

Positive Life You Experience People Rest Entitled Feelings Our Machine Hooked Would Give Could Hypothetical Suppose Most Stimulate Brain Up Offer Any Just Refuse Want Choice Your Whom Imaginary Desire

I have never worked on interrogation; I have never seen an interrogation, and I have only a passing knowledge of the literature on interrogation. With that qualification, my opinion is that the point of interrogation is to get at the truth, not to get at what the interrogator wants to hear. Martin Seligman

Truth Knowledge Seen Only Point Never Qualification Opinion Passing Hear Get Wants Literature Worked Interrogation

In human history, we are going from knowledge to omniscience, from potence to omnipotence, from ethics and religion to righteousness. So, in my view, God comes at the end of this long process. This may not happen in our lifetimes or even in the lifetime of our species. Martin Seligman

I have spent most of my life working with mental illness. I have been president of the world's largest association of mental-illness workers, and I am all for more funding for mental-health care and research - but not in the vain hope that it will curb violence. Martin Seligman

Life Hope World Care Will My Life Research Vain President Spent Mental Mental Illness More Most Am Been Curb Workers Working Illness Largest Funding Violence Association

Quotes by Psychologists