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The yuck factor: The surprising power of disgust
New Scientist: DAVID PIZARRO can change the way you think, and all he needs is a small vial of liquid. You simply have to smell it. The psychologist spent many weeks tracking down the perfect aroma. It had to be just right. "Not too powerful," he explains. "And it had to smell of real farts." It's no joke. Pizarro needed a suitable fart spray for an experiment to investigate whether a whiff of something disgusting can influence people's judgements. His experiment, together with a growing body of research, has revealed the profound power of disgust, showing that this emotion is a much more potent trigger for our behaviour and choices than we ever thought.
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Olympics 2012: Superstition is the way some star athletes keep their winning edge
New York Daily News: U.S. women's judo champ Kayla Harrison wore lucky socks that were a gift from her grandmother when she won Olympic gold. British hockey player Laura Unsworth has banned a teammate from straightening her hair for fear it will cost them a medal. Swimming legend Michael Phelps removes his headphones and swings his arms three times as he's about to step on the starting block and race. The Olympians in London are a competitive bunch who will stop at nothing to give themselves an edge over their rivals, and that includes superstitions and rituals. Read the whole story: New York Daily News
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Dating in a Digital World
Scientific American: Romantic relationships can begin anywhere. When Cupid's arrow strikes, you might be at church or at school, playing chess or softball, flirting with a friend of a friend at a party or minding your own business on the train. Sometimes, however, Cupid goes on vacation, or takes a long nap, or kicks back for a marathon of Lifetime original movies. Instead of waiting for the capricious arrow slinger to get back to work, people are increasingly joining online-dating sites to assert some control over their romantic lives. Read the whole story: Scientific American
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Una sonrisa para rebajar el estrés (A smile to lower stress)
ABC: Aunque la sonrisa es síntoma de que nos sentimos bien también puede ser una buena herramienta para mejorar nuestro humor cuando el estrés nos invade. Así lo asegura un estudio de la Universidad de Kansas, que se publicará próximamente en la revista «Psychological Science». Los psicólogos Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman han investigado los potenciales beneficios de sonreír y cómo los diferentes tipos de sonrisa influyen en la capacidad de cada uno para recuperar de episodios estresantes. Los investigadores reclutaron a 169 participantes universitarios para confirmar su hipótesis.
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How to De-Stress—Instantly
Cosmopolitan: Completely stressed out? Take a sec to smile. No, seriously. According to new research from the University of Kansas, grinning helps you relax when you're stressed. In the study, researchers split participants into three groups. Each group was trained to recreate a different facial expression by holding chopsticks in their mouths. One group held their sticks in a way that created a neutral expression, another used them to create a standard smile, and the last group used them to create a genuine smile. Read the whole story: Cosmopolitan
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Did Your Brain Make You Do It?
The New York Times: ARE you responsible for your behavior if your brain “made you do it”? Often we think not. For example, research now suggests that the brain’s frontal lobes, which are crucial for self-control, are not yet mature in adolescents. This finding has helped shape attitudes about whether young people are fully responsible for their actions. In 2005, when the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty for juveniles was unconstitutional, its decision explicitly took into consideration that “parts of the brain involved in behavior control continue to mature through late adolescence.” Similar reasoning is often applied to behavior arising from chemical imbalances in the brain.
