Our language is filled with metaphors (Gibbs, 1994). We have “bright” ideas, try to stay “balanced”, and feel “close” to others, but sometimes feel “down”, have “dark” thoughts, and “explode” with rage. What is the purpose of such language? According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980; 1999), metaphors allow us to understand abstract thoughts and feelings that cannot be directly seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted. Stated a different way, we may speak metaphorically because we think metaphorically. Social psychologists have provided some evidence for this idea (Landau, Meier, & Keefer, 2010...

Have you ever found yourself eating a tempting chocolate cake, although you want to lose a few pounds? Have you ever found yourself watching television, although you planned to work on an important but maybe boring project that day? Did you ever procrastin ate with submitting your tax declaration , preferring to go to a hockey game that night? Or did you ever catch yourself flirting with another person, although you feel strongly committed to your intimate relationship? All these challenging sit uations require a large amount of willpower and thus put a person ’ s self-discipline or self-...

Recent research in social psychology has demonstrated that the facial appearance of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and other business leaders predicts their companies’ financial performance. In this article, we review initial evidence illustrating the relation between CEO facial appearance and corporate success. We then delve into more recent research on how this relationship varies by economic climate, leader ethnicity, and CEO sex. Further studies are discussed that examined how facial cues related to CEO success vary across cultures. Finally, we discuss the implications of this research,...

Are supporters of the political left more prosocial and altruistic than their right-wing counterparts? In theory, this link is very plausible. This article summarizes the empirical research on the link between political orientation and prosocial behaviors and personality traits.