By Christy Barritt

Different States, Different Moods

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology broke down the different moods that were prevalent in different states throughout the country. Researchers based their results on a survey that measured the openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism of people from coast to coast.

West Virginia was labeled the most neurotic state, Utah the most agreeable, and Wisconsin the most extroverted.

Researchers noted that various factors impacted these results. For instance, people in the West were described as relaxed and creative. Researchers said this is because pioneers who moved West were more likely to be people with open, curious, and flexible temperaments. These traits were passed down through DNA.

Other results showed that people in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states were temperamental and uninhibited, while people in the South and Midwest were friendly and conventional. 

The study spanned 13 years and included almost 1.6 million respondents.

State Attorney General’s Law License Suspended

A federal court suspended the law license of a former Kansas attorney general after he investigated the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Phill Kline filed suit against Planned Parenthood in 2007 after discovering that the organization had committed 107 criminal acts, including falsifying records to cover up illegal late-term abortions. The investigation contributed to Planned Parenthood being defunded by some states and local governments.

Political enemies and the mainstream media immediately began attacking Kline for his actions.

The Kansas Disciplinary Administrator claimed last year that Kline had breached the Rules of Professional Conduct in 11 instances. This led to him losing his law license.

Dana Cody, executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, said, “What began as a political lynching has ended with a further travesty of justice.”

Kline is now an assistant professor of law at Liberty University in Virginia. He’s denied any wrongdoing.

Choir Singing Good for Heart

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience claims that singing in a choir is good for the heart. In fact, the activity can have some of the same positive effects as yoga.

The regular breathing patterns required for choral numbers can reduce the variability of a person’s heartbeat. The study also found that when people sing in a choir, their heartbeats synchronize, so the pulse of choir members increases and decreases in unison.

This variability of a person’s heartbeat can enhance the spirit of cooperation in a group because it helps regulate activity in the vagus nerve, which is linked to emotions and communication with others.

Researchers monitored the heart rate of 15 choral singers for their study.

A prior study showed that singing in a choir also helps form social bonds and triggers the release of endorphins.

Online Dating

A new study by Pew Research has found that one in 10 Americans have used an online dating site or mobile dating app. Of those people, 66 percent have gone on a date with someone they met through a dating site or app, and 23 percent have met a spouse or have begun a long-term relationship through these sites.

Another change the study noted was that public attitudes have improved toward online dating in recent years. This could have to do with the fact that the number of users for these sites has increased rapidly over the past five years. 

In 2008, only 3 percent of American adults had used a dating site. In 2013, around 11 percent had.

Online dating is especially common among the college-educated and those in their mid-20s to mid-40s. Thirty-eight percent of Americans who are currently single and actively looking for a relationship have used online dating at one point or another.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
www.christybarritt.com