1: What is the effect of showing smokers graphic warnings on cigarette packs?

When doctors are asked this question, “In general, they believe that the images will decrease smokers’ desire for a cigarette and motivate them to quit,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

Actually, studies show the warnings have the opposite effect.

“The most threatening images (say, a lung cancer patient dying in … continue reading

1: In 1998, thirty thousand adults in the United States were asked a series of questions about stress.

How much stress had they experienced in the past year?  Do you believe stress is harmful to your health?

“Eight years later, the researchers scoured public records to find out who among the thirty thousand participants had died,” Kelly McGonigal writes in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

As predicted, … continue reading