It is well known that everybody hates Mondays, but a new research suggests Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are equally loathed.
US researchers who looked at a poll of 340,000 people found moods were no worse on Mondays than other working days, bar Friday.
People were happier as they approached the weekend, lending support for the concept of “that Friday feeling”.
The report authors told the Journal of Positive Psychology that the concept of miserable Mondays should be ditched.
US researchers who looked at a poll of 340,000 people found moods were no worse on Mondays than other working days, bar Friday
Prof. Arthur Stone of Stony Brook University said: “Despite our global beliefs about lousy Mondays, we conclude that this belief should be abandoned.
“Cultural myths may vastly over-emphasize actual day of the week mood patterns.”
Similarly, claims that the Monday of the last full week of January – dubbed “blue Monday” – is the most depressing of the whole year have been debunked by others.
Prof. Arthur Stone’s team analyzed data collected by Gallup from telephone interviews.
People reported more enjoyment and happiness and less stress or worry on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays compared with the rest of the week.
Prof. Arthur Stone says it is the contrast in mood from Sunday to Monday that has led to Mondays being unfairly singled out.
Psychologists say actually getting angry can be the best way to solve marriage problems.
James McNulty, associate professor at the University of Tennessee, found that forgiving may actually build up resentment.
He said the “short-term discomfort of an angry but honest conversation” can benefit the health of a relationship in the long term.
“I continued to find evidence that thoughts and behaviors presumed to be associated with better wellbeing lead to worse wellbeing among some people – usually the people who need the most help achieving wellbeing.”
Psychologists say actually getting angry can be the best way to solve marriage problems
Prof. James McNulty therefore set out to examine the potential costs of positive psychology. In a set of recent studies, he found that forgiveness in marriage can have some unintended negative effects.
“We all experience a time in a relationship in which a partner transgresses against us in some way,” he said.
“For example, a partner may be financially irresponsible, unfaithful, or unsupportive.
“When these events occur, we must decide whether we should be angry and hold onto that anger, or forgive.”
His research found a variety of factors can complicate the effectiveness of forgiveness, including a partner’s level of agreeableness and the severity and frequency of the transgression.
“Believing a partner is forgiving leads agreeable people to be less likely to offend that partner and disagreeable people to be more likely to offend that partner,” he said.
Additionally, he claims, anger can serve an important role in signaling to a transgressing partner that the offensive behavior is not acceptable.
“If the partner can do something to resolve a problem that is likely to otherwise continue and negatively affect the relationship, people may experience long-term benefits by temporarily withholding forgiveness and expressing anger.”
However, Prof. James McNulty found there was no single answer to the problem.
There is no “magic bullet”, no single way to think or behave in a relationship.
“The consequences of each decision we make in our relationships depends on the circumstances that surround that decision.”
