-
Dishonesty Can Foster Creativity
Pacific Standard: Want to be more creative? As we have noted, there are many ways to achieve that laudable goal, ranging from dimming the lights to sitting at a disorderly desk. Or you could just lie and cheat. After Harvard Business School researcher Francesa Gino reported in 2011 that that highly creative people are more likely to engage in unethical activities, she began to wonder whether dishonesty could actually enhance creativity. Her latest paper suggests the answer is yes.
-
People Are More Moral in the Morning
Scientific American Mind: Most of us strive to do the right thing when faced with difficult decisions. A new study suggests that our moral compass is more reliable when we face those decisions in the morning rather than later in the day. In a series of studies at Harvard University and at the University of Utah, 327 men and women participated in tasks designed to measure cheating or lying behavior either in the morning or in the afternoon. For instance, in one study the subjects attempted to solve math problems, some of which were impossible, knowing they would be paid five cents for every solved problem.
-
Marriage and Poverty
Inside Higher Ed: In today’s Academic Minute, Matthew Johnson of the State University of New York at Binghamton explores the link between poverty and marriage stability. Johnson is a professor of psychology at Binghamton and director of the university's Marriage and Family Studies Laboratory. Read the whole story: Inside Higher Ed
-
Floods or Family Conflict? Bad Dreams Differ By Gender
NPR: I think it's safe to say most of us do not enjoy nightmares - that cold sweat, sitting up straight in bed, our pulse racing. But when Antonio Zadra, professor at the University of Montreal, began working on a study about nightmares he found that the narrative animating those bad dreams tended to be very different between men and women. He is coauthor of a new study that has a lot to say about the differences in the way we dream. He joins us now from Montreal. Welcome to the program. ANTONIO ZADRA: Thank you for having me. MARTIN: So, what were the differences you noticed in the nightmare scenarios of men and women?
-
A Happy Life May Not Be a Meaningful Life
Scientific American: Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl once wrote, “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” For most people, feeling happy and finding life meaningful are both important and related goals. But do happiness and meaning always go together? It seems unlikely, given that many of the things that we regularly choose to do – from running marathons to raising children – are unlikely to increase our day-to-day happiness. Recent research suggests that while happiness and a sense of meaning often overlap, they also diverge in important and surprising ways. ...
-
Expand Pre-K, Not A.D.H.D.
The New York Times: THE writing is on the chalkboard. Over the next few years, America can count on a major expansion of early childhood education. We embrace this trend, but as health policy researchers, we want to raise a major caveat: Unless we’re careful, today’s preschool bandwagon could lead straight to an epidemic of 4- and 5-year-olds wrongfully being told that they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Introducing millions of 3- to 5-year-olds to classrooms and preacademic demands means that many more distracted kids will undoubtedly catch the attention of their teachers.
