People wise

Q My friend has been in a relationship with a French man for a couple of years now and has started to pick up his accent. Is this normal?

Apparently so. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, your friend's mimicking of her boyfriend's accent could be a subconscious expression of her feelings for him.

In the same way that after reading Pride and Prejudice, you might feel inclined to start calling your mother ‘Mama', when you start bonding with someone, you instinctively pick up aspects of their language style. Study author Molly E. Ireland says, "Because style matching is automatic, it serves as an unobtrusive window into people's close relationships with others."

Interestingly, the researchers analysed poems written by couples, namely 19th century poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, and 20th century poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, and found that their language style-matching mapped their relationship highs and lows.

Grey's on the brain

Curling up with the latest series of Grey's Anatomy or House might make for a good weekend, but it may leave you in fear for your life. A study published in Mass Communication and Society found that not only does watching TV make you feel dissatisfied with your material possessions, but it also often instils a fatalistic attitude towards health. Lead researcher Yinjiao Ye says, "TV viewing leads [people] to believe that they have a greater likelihood of being victimised by health risks as well as a strong belief in the severity of those risks. So, as people become more knowledgeable, they enjoy life less. Ignorance, at least of TV's presentations of medical information, is closer to bliss."

Get career connected

If, like us, you have been hiding away in a cave of social media denial for the last few years, you may have heard of LinkedIn - and perhaps even joined it - but may not realise its potential to help boost your career.

Rick Itzkowich started using LinkedIn a few years ago to help market his business. He is now known as ‘The LinkedIn guy'. He says, "LinkedIn is not just for job seekers - it's a career goldmine. To get the most out of it, make sure your profile is complete with key words, a good photo and recommendations. Spend time building a network - this is where the power of LinkedIn lies. Finally, bring a ‘pay it forward' attitude. If you help others with referrals, recommendations and answers, people will return the favour."

For details on Rick's next visit, check out www.rightselection.com.

Did you know?

If a guy is checking out your body more than your face, he is probably not looking for anything serious, say psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin. Apparently, men look to a woman's body for signs of her fertility and to her face for long-term reproductive value. Of course, being women, we already knew this...