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Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
NPR: Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a familiar refrain among company leaders. But the latest research shows connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological cost. A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction. "There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread," says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist.
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The Day Care Dilemma
Slate: In its cover story a few weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine followed up with nearly two dozen mothers who had decided, a decade ago, to walk away from successful professional careers to stay home with their kids. Although none of these moms outright regret their choices, many wish they had at least continued to work part-time. Career options dry up, it seems, the longer you forgo them. For me—the parenting columnist—the elephant in the room when I read the article was: So what was best for their kids? Parents often decide to stay home because they think doing so is better for their children.
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Children bullied in school may have more problems as adults
Chicago Tribune: Bullying doesn’t end in the school yard, but casts a shadow across adulthood, when victims are far more likely to have emotional, behavioral, financial and health problems, a new study suggests. Those who were both victim and perpetrator as schoolchildren fared the worst as adults: they were more than six times more likely to be diagnosed with a serious illness or psychiatric disorder, and to smoke regularly, according to the study published Monday in the journal Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Chicago Tribune
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Fans of Losing Teams Are Less Healthy
Discovery News: Find yourself heading to the fridge after your favorite NFL team suffers an overtime defeat to a rival? You’re not alone: Researchers found that fans in cities whose teams had lost games on Sunday ate 10 percent more calories the next day, including 16 percent more saturated fat. Fans in cities with a team that won actually ate less than usual: 5 percent fewer calories, and 9 percent less saturated fat, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Discovery News
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Drangsalierte Kinder leiden noch als Erwachsene (Bullied children suffer as adults)
Suddeutsche Zeitung: Wer als Kind gemobbt wurde, hat einer aktuellen Studie zufolge als Erwachsener überdurchschnittlich häufig soziale, finanzielle und gesundheitliche Probleme (Psychological Science, online). So fiel es den gemobbten Probanden schwerer, Arbeits- und Freundschaftsbeziehungen aufrechtzuerhalten, außerdem litten sie als Erwachsene häufiger an schweren Krankheiten. "Wir dürfen Mobbing nicht als harmlosen Ritus des Erwachsenwerdens ansehen", mahnt Dieter Wolke von der Universität Warwick. Er und sein Team verfolgten den Werdegang von fast 1300 Kindern, die gemobbt wurden, selbst Mobbing ausübten, in beide Kategorien fielen oder ohne diese Probleme aufwuchsen.
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Evidence-based justice: Corrupted memory
Nature: In a career spanning four decades, Loftus, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, has done more than any other researcher to document the unreliability of memory in experimental settings. And she has used what she has learned to testify as an expert witness in hundreds of criminal cases — Pacely's was her 101st — informing juries that memories are pliable and that eyewitness accounts are far from perfect recordings of actual events. Her work has earned her plaudits from her peers, but it has also made her enemies. Critics charge that in her zeal to challenge the veracity of memory, Loftus has harmed victims and aided murderers and rapists.
