" Chatting with the Cashier Will Improve Your Mood ( Is efficiency , overrated ? ) "

 Wed 30 Oct 2013

Researching Finding : 

" Chatting with the Cashier Will Improve Your Mood ( Is efficiency , overrated ? ) " 

If you buy your coffee quickly at Starbucks ( or at any coffee shop )  without saying much of anything, you’ll probably arrive at the office sooner, but if you stop to chat with the cashier, you might get to work in a better mood !  

Experiment : 

Research participants who smiled, made eye contact, and briefly conversed with the cashier subsequently reported greater satisfaction with the visit and were in better moods (4.31 versus 3.80 and 4.22 versus 3.60, respectively, on 1-to-5 scales) than those who avoided unnecessary conversation . 

  Seemingly trivial interactions can confer a sense of belonging, an effect that people tend to overlook in their quest for efficiency, the researchers say.

Research Courtesy :  Gillian M. Sandstrom and Elizabeth W. Dunn of the University of British Columbia.

SOURCE: Is Efficiency Overrated? Minimal Social Interactions Lead to Belonging and Positive Affect