Latest news with #sociologists
Free Malaysia Today
22-05-2025
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
Why there's no one-size-fits-all solution to finding happiness
There's no magic formula for happiness. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : In recent years, happiness has become a serious subject of study. Psychologists, economists and sociologists have joined forces to unravel the inner workings of human fulfilment. With this in mind, researchers from several North American universities have analysed the lives of over 40,000 people in five countries. Over a period of almost 30 years, they examined their level of general satisfaction, as well as their relationship to five essential dimensions of existence: health, income, housing, work and relationships. It turns out that there is not just one, but a multitude of ways to be happy, specific to each individual and each context. For some, happiness is based on tangible criteria such as income, employment or housing. For others, it depends on personal traits such as resilience or the search for meaning. Some combine these two dimensions, while a minority seem to deviate from any pre-established model. These findings call into question the two main theoretical models that have dominated until now. The first, termed 'bottom-up', assumes that happiness derives from satisfaction in the various areas of life. The second, called 'top-down', argues that certain personal dispositions, such as optimism or emotional stability, influence one's perception of happiness independently of external circumstances. This study proposes a third, more flexible path, closer to reality, with a 'bidirectional model,' in which internal and external factors are intertwined. 'These things are treated separately, but they aren't really. They feed into each other at a personal level,' explained Emorie Beck, assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis and first author on the paper, quoted in a news release. To promote well-being, public policies should be designed to take account of this diversity, rather than rely on universal approaches. 'We have to understand the sources of happiness to build effective interventions,' said Beck. In other words, raising a society's level of happiness means taking each individual's needs into account. The same policy can transform the lives of some, while making no difference to others. This study has served as a reminder that there's no magic formula for happiness. It is complex, specific to each individual, and sometimes even elusive. But one thing seems certain: to better understand it, people need to stop thinking of happiness as a universal standard, and start thinking of it in terms of the individual.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This Claim About Lingerie And The Declining Birth Rate May Be The Dumbest Argument Ever
From 2014 to 2020, the birth rate in the United States consistently decreased by 2% annually. U.S. births increased by just 1% in 2024, still near the record-setting low of 2023. Statisticians and sociologists chalk up the baby bust to a number of structural cultural factors, including sky-high child care costs, an unaffordable housing market, inflexible work schedules and demanding work cultures, and the economic fallout of the pandemic. The long-term trend can also happily be attributed to a substantial reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies over the last several decades. In a post that's gone viral this week, X user @thegenesisbl0ck volunteered a competing theory for plummeting fertility rates: People aren't having sex because women go to bed looking like absolute slobs! 'Birth rates would sky rocket if girls wore this at home instead of some oversized homeless core outfit,' wrote the poster, who goes by Andrea D. Huberwoman, a feminization of Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and podcast host who's popular with self-optimization bros. In the accompanying photos, we see two women with long blond hair wearing lacy pink lingerie sets. Birth rates would sky rocket if girls wore this at home instead of some oversized homeless core outfit. — Andrea D. Huberwoman, Ph.D. (@thegenesisbl0ck) May 3, 2025 Men and women on X and Bluesky were quick to call out lady Huberman for the bad take. 'I used to incinerate money on Stella McCartney stuff like this and it's a total waste. My ex preferred when I wore a cropped t shirt to bed. You're doing this nonsense for you not him,' replied podcast host Aimee Terese. 'Speaking as a guy this sort of weird woman shaming stuff about dressing sexy at home is very overrated because if a guy finds you attractive you can pretty much dress like Fred Durst and we'd still have sex with you whenever,' @ wrote on Bluesky of the post. Some responded with hard evidence: 'Spend all you want on Victoria's Secret lingerie but granny wore something like this and gramps gave her eight kids and paid all the bills,' one woman posted along with a photo of a woman wearing a baggy house dress in a pink generic animal print (a decidedly unsexy animal print, we should add). Spend all you want on Victoria's Secret lingerie but granny wore something like this and gramps gave her eight kids and paid all the bills. — The Lone Actor (@TheLoneActor) May 4, 2025 There's obviously a lot wrong with the lingerie-encouraging post. First, people are still very much into and buying lingerie: Victoria's Secret is still alive and kicking. Luxury lingerie brand Agent Provocateur saw its revenues double over the past three years. In spite of the narrative that men are visual creatures, most straight men don't really care all that much about lingerie. Most will be happy with a good old-fashioned naked woman (quite a visual in and of itself), or even a woman they're attracted to who just so happens to be wearing sweats and an old, ratty T-shirt as a comfy prelude to nakedness. William Costello, a doctoral researcher who studies evolutionary psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, asked about the lingerie theory in an unscientific poll on X, and found that most straight men and women who responded don't feel that lingerie makes much of a notable difference when it comes to triggering male desire. Men & women with opposite-sex partners:Has regularly wearing sexy lingerie instead of generic underwear reliably caused a shift from not wanting sex to wanting it (vs. just mildly increasing male desire)?Are you male (M) or female (F)? — William Costello (@CostelloWilliam) May 4, 2025 All this said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with putting a little effort into looking good for your partner, or for yourself. Some people feel especially sexy in lingerie, and more power to them. But you not slipping on a pricey Fleur du Mal garter belt before going to bed is not the reason the birth rate has taken a tumble. 'As a sex therapist who works with men, women and couples, I can tell you with confidence: No, men do not 'need' lingerie to be turned on,' said Tammy Nelson, a sex and relationship therapist and author of 'Open Monogamy: A Guide to Co-Creating Your Ideal Relationship Agreement.' What turns people on is considerably more complex, Nelson said. 'Eroticism starts in our head — it's emotional connection, availability, confidence and responsiveness,' she said. 'Just being naked works just fine for many couples. And yes, someone showing up — even in sweats — and being present, engaged, and into their partner can be incredibly sexy,' she told HuffPost. If anything is a sexual buzzkill right now, it's this stress of trying to make a living wage while maintaining your sanity in these chaotic, capital-letter Unprecedented Times. Working and just getting by can easily lead to compounded stress and anxiety, which can do a number on your libido. 'Wearing lingerie is a leisure activity, and as a sex therapist, I can attest that for most people today ― especially parents ― leisure is in very short supply,' said Stephen Snyder, a sex therapist in New York City and the author of 'Love Worth Making: How to Have Ridiculously Great Sex in a Long-Lasting Relationship.' The real barriers to intimacy and reproduction today are economic pressure, chronic stress, exhaustion from caregiving, and disconnection in relationships, Nelson said. She added that the framework of the social media post ― blaming women for this narrative of 'not turning on their man' ― reinforces the outdated idea that women are responsible for maintaining male desire and that their appearance alone should be responsible for sexual behavior. 'The idea that not wearing lingerie is somehow impacting birth rates is not only reductive, it's sexist and frankly absurd,' she said. Tasking women with the sexual responsibility to look sexy when they go to bed ― when they're also usually the ones doing most of the emotional labor at home, plus actual labor at work ― is ridiculous to Nelson. 'Passion is co-created,' she said. 'Real intimacy comes from mutual effort, vulnerability, and trust — not lingerie.' I Became A Bikini And Lingerie Model When I Was At My Highest Weight Ever The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Led To A 'Baby Bust,' Not A Baby Boom This 47-Year-Old Claims To Have The Penis Of A 22-Year-Old — And Doctors Have Thoughts
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poll shows 47% of Ukrainians have positive expectations from US minerals deal
A poll has shown that 47% of Ukrainians, as of early May, have fairly positive expectations regarding the signing of a US critical minerals deal. Source: the poll, conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Details: The survey also found that 22% of respondents anticipate negative consequences from the deal, 19% believe it will have no impact on Ukraine, and 12% were undecided. Sociologists noted that the current balance of positive and negative expectations stands at +25%, indicating that positive views prevail. In terms of regions, there are slightly fewer positive expectations in Ukraine's east and west, although in both cases, the share of those with negative expectations does not exceed a quarter, and the balance of positive and negative expectations remains positive (given the rather small sample size in each region). For reference: The KIIS survey was conducted on 2 May by telephone, using a nationwide sample of adults residing in government-controlled areas of Ukraine. A last-minute addition to the survey included a question about the perceived impact of the agreement. The field phase of the survey is set to continue until mid-May 2025, but as of 6 May, 561 interviews have been conducted. This sample size is sufficient to draw preliminary conclusions, with a margin of error of 5.4% at a 95% confidence level and a design effect of 1.3. According to KIIS, the final results are unlikely to differ significantly. Background: On 1 May, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the minerals deal. On 2 May, the Ukrainian government submitted the Kyiv-Washington agreement on the establishment of the Reconstruction Investment Fund to parliament for ratification. On the same day, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal expressed hope that parliament would ratify the minerals agreement with the US by 8 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
