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Poor People Judge Harm-Doers More Harshly
Pacific Standard: How harshly do you judge someone with a habit of hitting people? How about a lout who engages in sexual harassment? Newly published research suggests the answer depends in part on how well you’re doing financially. A study published in the journal Psychological Science finds people with low incomes judge wrongdoers more severely. French researchers Marko Pitesa and Stefan Thau report this dynamic only applies to ethical issues involving injury or loss, and suggest it reflects the poor’s “lower ability to cope with the effects of others’ harmful behavior.” Read the whole story: Pacific Standard
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Psychologists: Getting Liberals to Agree Really Is Like Herding Cats
Scientific American: When he was President, Bill Clinton famously (and perhaps apocryphally) complained that getting Democrats to agree on a course of action was like herding cats, while the Republicans didn’t seem to have this problem. All political parties are large coalitions of people with varied interests and beliefs, but is it possible that ideological differences between the parties could play a decisive role here? A new paper by researchers at New York University, in press at Psychological Science, suggests that the answer is yes. A large body of psychological research has shown that people tend to overestimate how much others share their beliefs, feelings, and practices.
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Looks Like You Can Detect Sickness By Smell
Refinery29: Sneezing, coughing, and a pasty complexion are all telltale signs that someone is under the weather. But, according to a new research published in Psychological Science, you can detect whether or not someone is sick just by smelling them. Even more, researcher Mats Olsson of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden claims there's scientific evidence that postulates some diseases have distinct aromas. For instance, it's been noted that the breath of people with diabetes can smell like acetone or rotten apples. “There may be early, possibly generic, biomarkers for illness in the form of volatile substances coming from the body,” says Olsson. Read the whole story: Refinery29
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In Defense of Kids and Parenting: They Can Be Amazing (If That’s What You Want)
TIME: It seems the latest trend in parenting is to bash it. Quite a few folks are getting attention for making the case that having kids makes your life worse—and they have some studies to support their argument. Parents report being more stressed, anxious and generally unsatisfied with their lives than singles. Me, I was never goo-goo-eyed about babies or tots. I was married seven years before I decided to have my first. Mostly, I felt ready (if scared) and wanted kids. I also believed that if I didn’t have them, I’d be missing out on one of life’s most profound experiences. ...
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Why Being Able To Compartmentalize Is A Key Ingredient For Risk-Taking
Forbes: It’s a crazy morning at home, and your spouse is furious at you. Harried, you slam the car door shut and race off to work where an important task awaits. Your ability to tune out the situation at home and focus on the job at hand is facilitated by your emotional understanding. It’s a form of emotional intelligence, according to Jeremy Yip, a lecturer and research scholar at Wharton. Compartmentalizing enables a person to identify what is stressing them out and to allow other, unrelated factors in their life to stand on their own merits, Yip says.
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In These Gyms, Nobody Cares How You Look In Yoga Pants
NPR: If you want to lift weights or use the treadmill at Downsize Fitness, you have to be at least 50 pounds overweight. Kendall Schrantz is a fan – and a member. The 24-year-old has struggled with her weight since she was in the second grade. The looks she got at other gyms made her uncomfortable. But now she drives more than an hour to Downsize Fitness in Fort Worth three times a week, just to exercise. "It's worth every single penny I paid for gas," she said. "It's worth the time I spend on the road, the miles." ...
