Judith Kleinfeld
Sundays columnist
Judy Kleinfeld is a professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She welcomes comments or criticism.
Recent Stories
- Protect yourself against health scares
- Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008
- When the media trumpeted new research showing that drinking coffee increased pancreatic cancer, I gave up my two cups of morning coffee. Then I heard that drinking tea also increased pancreatic cancer. So I gave up tea.
- Americans say they are closer to their pets than their parents
- Americans say they are closer to their pets than their parents
- Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008
- While many industries are feeling the pain of the current economic crisis, the pet industry is booming.
- Despite the election forecasts, Republicans are still happy campers
- Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008
- Look at the bright side, Republicans! Yes, McCain is apt to lose the election, and your wealth is spiraling downward, but soon after Tuesday, you are still going to be happier than Democrats.
- Making a decision: Research says, go with your gut
- Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
- My husband decided to marry me in a single evening. We met at a party and danced together. He cut in on my other partners time and again.
Exasperated, I gave him my telephone number and the cold shoulder. I wanted to meet as many other guys as I could. But he got me to leave with him and announced a few hours later that he was going to marry me. - Studies show sleep really does make you smarter
- Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008
- A friend of mine is worrying himself sleepless about getting enough sleep. He is convinced that he just isn’t smart after a short night’s sleep.
- The rules of persuasion: Magic words help get what you want
- Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
- Looking for a gift for my daughter when I was in Nevada this summer, I spotted a turquoise bracelet that cost just $10. I figured it was probably junk.
- 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.
