Dr. David DeSteno
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Like when someone passes, you cover your mirror.
Why would you cover your mirror?
Well, there's lots of research in psychology that shows when you look into a mirror, whatever emotion you were feeling becomes intensified.
So if you're happy and you look into a mirror, you'll feel more happy.
If you're sad, you'll feel more sad.
Those are solid data?
Those are solid data from like the 1970s or 80s.
Interesting.
Yeah.
And so they would give people emotional inductions.
They'd have a group who would look into the mirrors and groups who didn't.
They would then measure their emotions after.
Always goes up.
Selfies.
Yeah.
And so by simply covering mirrors at a time when you are feeling intense sadness and grief, it reduces that.
They also, enduring shiver, you're supposed to reduce self-focus.
So you're not supposed to shave.
You're not supposed to wear your best clothes.
There's work coming out showing that reductions in self-focus and focusing on you and your needs actually reduces grief.