Judith Kleinfeld
Sundays columnist
Judy Kleinfeld is a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She welcomes comments or criticism.
Recent Stories
- Sometimes wise financial decisions are foolish psychological choices
- Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008
- When I was 12 years old, my parents bought a new house — the cheapest house in an expensive neighborhood. From an economic standpoint, buying this house was the wisest financial decision my family ever made. Over the years, the house soared in value. But this was a foolish decision, many scholars studying happiness would say.
- Directionless youth have trouble finding sense of purpose
- Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008
- In my own interviews with Alaskan high school seniors, whether they lived in Anchorage, Fairbanks, or in rural communities, I came across so many directionless young people. Most of them were guys.
- Family dinners help both parents and children
- Sunday, July 20, 2008
- Researchers have fingered the family dinner as a powerful force. Children who eat with their parents have higher grades in school; lower rates of drinking, smoking and drug use; fewer eating disorders; lower rates of depression and fewer suicidal thoughts; higher self-esteem and higher sociability.
- Pleasurable experiences make people happier than possessions
- Sunday, July 6, 2008
- My happiest time is Saturday, when my husband and I do mindless errands. We go to the grocery, pick up the dry cleaning, and stop at the pet store to buy dog food for our collies and litter for our persnickety cat.
- Personality changes as we age are usually for the better
- Sunday, June 8, 2008
- “What’s wrong with him? Where did we go wrong as parents?” a worried friend asked me. She had just returned from a trip Outside, combining business with the chance to see her 25-year-old son Richard.
- Rise of ‘cyberbullying’ gives a high profile to internet attacks
- Sunday, May 25, 2008
- You are looking for a new job and know that employers nowadays check you out on the Internet. So you google yourself to see what an employer might find. To your horror, you find that you are the victim of character assassination.
- For a surprising number of Americans, every day is Mother’s Day
- Sunday, May 11, 2008
- I used to think I was closer to my three adult children than most other parents. My closeness to my adult children turns out to be nothing special.
- 'Everybody’s doing it,' not 'Save the Earth,' motivates eco-friendly action
- Sunday, April 27, 2008
- Earth Day, which we celebrated this week, was filled with messages urging us to take action to protect the environment. Do these messages actually work?
- Doing good also feels good, thanks to ‘helper’s high’
- Sunday, April 13, 2008
- Many people say that doing good makes them feel good. It’s called the “helper’s high.” The exhilaration feels a lot like a “runner’s high.”