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“Myth-Busting” Can Impair, Rather Than Correct, Consumers’ Health Knowledge, Study Suggests
Powell writes that many educational materials are designed with the best intentions but should be tested empirically to ensure people understand the information correctly.
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A New Approach to the Marshmallow Test Yields Complicated Findings
A new study on the classic “marshmallow test” suggests that the widely studied link between children’s ability to delay gratification and their life outcomes is heavily influenced by social and economic backgrounds.
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NIH Releases Strategic Plan for Data Science
Following an open comment period seeking community input, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released its first-ever Strategic Plan for Data Science in recognition of the challenges inherent to storing, managing, and publishing behavioral
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Bad Vibes? Heavy Marijuana Users Hold on to Negative Feelings
Many people tend to look back on the past with rose-colored glasses, remembering the good times and the good feelings, while forgetting the bad. But a new study suggests that heavy marijuana users may have some trouble letting go of negative emotions tied to memories — a phenomenon that's also seen in people with depression. Earlier research has also linked marijuana use with depression. Although the new results are very preliminary, the findings, presented here Friday (May 25) at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, may offer clues about the link between marijuana use and depression.
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How competition fuels inequality and conflict
Inequality is one of the best predictors of conflict ever found. Except when it isn’t. Consider homicide in the United States. In 1990 and again in 2010, there was an impressive correlation between income inequality and the homicide rate. Among the states where inequality was high, so was homicide; and where inequality was low, homicide was too. But over those same 20 years, inequality grew while homicides fell — the opposite of what you would expect. Call it the inequality paradox: The effect of inequality on conflict depends profoundly on the way it’s measured. --- With the help of a colleague, I tested this idea in an experiment just published in the journal Psychological Science.
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Put a Ring on It? Millennial Couples Are in No Hurry
The millennial generation’s breezy approach to sexual intimacy helped give rise to apps like Tinder and made phrases like “hooking up” and “friends with benefits” part of the lexicon. But when it comes to serious lifelong relationships, new research suggests, millennials proceed with caution. --- “People are not postponing marriage because they care about marriage less, but because they care about marriage more,” said Benjamin Karney, a professor of social psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
