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Why do drivers hate cyclists?
CBC: On last week's program, we had a conversation about a proposal to license cyclists in Vancouver. That unleashed a torrent of feedback - more than we've ever had on a single item, and much of it hostile to cyclists. This week, we asked psychologist Ian Walker why drivers get so angry about cyclists. Walker studies traffic and transportation psychology in the United Kingdom. Read the whole story: CBC
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Why Screams Are So Upsetting
Scientific American: If there is one sound that bettered our ancestors' chances of survival, it might be the scream. When a baby needs food, it hollers; if a ravenous lion prowls a little too close, a blood-curdling shriek alerts the tribe. Yet from an acoustic standpoint, screams—and how our brain processes the sound—have been largely overlooked by researchers, until now. A study published in July in Current Biology found that screams are sonically unique in a way that perfectly captures our attention.
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Many Children Under 5 Are Left to Their Mobile Devices, Survey Finds
The New York Times: A small survey of parents in Philadelphia found that three-quarters of their children had been given tablets, smartphones or iPods of their own by age 4 and had used the devices without supervision, researchers reported on Monday. The survey was not nationally representative and relied on self-reported data from parents. But experts say the surprising result adds to growing evidence that the use of electronic devices has become deeply woven into the experience of childhood. ... It was not clear how often the parents had bequeathed old devices as digital hand-me-downs or had bought new ones.
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Job crafting and creating meaning in your work
re:Work: Rarely are jobs designed to match the talents, preferences, and aspirations of the individual. Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, discusses the art and science of job crafting. Read the whole story: re: Work
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Psych Majors Hash(tag) It Out on Twitter
Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush recently criticized psychology majors with an offhand remark during a South Carolina town hall series: “Hey, that psych major deal, that philosophy major thing, that's great, it's important to have liberal arts … but realize, you're going to be working at Chick-fil-A." Bush has been trying to capture the interest of college voters during his campaign, and while this may not have been the exact response he anticipated, college students are definitely paying attention. Here is just a glimpse of the meaningful work being completed by psychology majors: View more #ThisPsychMajor tweets.
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The Needless Complexity of Academic Writing
The Atlantic: “Persistence is one of the great characteristics of a pitbull, and I guess owners take after their dogs,” says Annetta Cheek, the co-founder of the D.C.-based nonprofit Center for Plain Language. Cheek, an anthropologist by training who left academia in the early 1980s to work for the Federal Aviation Commission, is responsible for something few people realize exists: the 2010 Plain Writing Act. In fact, Cheek was among the first government employees to champion the use of clear, concise language. Once she retired in 2007 from the FAA and gained the freedom to lobby, she leveraged her hatred for gobbledygook to create an actual law.
