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Watch the Influence of ‘Prospect Theory’ Grow
The Wall Street Journal: You’ve been hearing a bit about Daniel Kahneman, the psychologist and Nobel laureate, recently, thanks to the publication of his new book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” This graphic illustrates how the influence of the most famous paper by Kahneman and his frequent collaborator, Amos Tversky, “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk,” spread after its publication, in Econometrica, in 1979. According to data from Thomson Reuters, the paper was cited 778 times in 2009 alone, in 504 papers and books. From the humanities to computer science, there are few fields that have not embraced the paper. Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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Focusing on negatives helps catalyse change
The Times of India: If you want people to change, you have to get them to notice what is wrong with existing norms. That's the idea on which a new study, 'Why people pay attention to negative information about the system when they believe it can be changed for the better', is based. "Take America's educational system. You could find some flaws in that," says India Johnson, graduate student at Ohio State University, who co-authored the study with Kentaro Fujita, a professor at the university, the Psychological Science journal reports. "But we have to live with it every day, so people tend to focus on the positive and reinforce the system," says Johnson, a university statement said.
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Daniel Kahneman: ‘We’re beautiful devices’
The Guardian: The Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman lives in an airy penthouse on the 14th floor of an apartment block in downtown Manhattan, not far from the Eighth Street subway station. But never mind that for a moment. Instead, without thinking too hard about it, try answering the following question: roughly what percentage of the member states of the United Nations are in Africa? (I'll wait.) The correct figure isn't what's important here.
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Better Scientific Research
The New York Times: “Fraud Case Seen as a Red Flag for Psychology Research” (news article, Nov. 3) discussed my concerns about current scientific practices within the context of a critique of psychology. I believe that the practice of publishing only a portion of collected data can enable scientists to present a biased perspective, even inadvertently (as I discuss in a recent Nature commentary). However, neither such biases nor the entirely different case of outright fraud are unique to psychology. Both are problems faced across disciplines. Indeed, psychology should be applauded for detailing how current scientific practices can lead to erroneous conclusions.
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One-Day Holiday and Christmas Shopping Plan
Real Simple: 8 a.m. Fuel up. It’s hard to shop sensibly when your blood sugar is crashing, so skip the bagels, the donuts, and the sugary breakfast cereals, says Keri Glassman, a registered dietitian in New York City and the author of The Snack Factor Diet ($14, amazon.com). Choose a meal loaded with fiber, protein, and healthy fats—like oatmeal made with skim milk and almonds. Find healthy breakfast recipes here. Don’t dress just for comfort. When people are feeling insecure, they tend to buy more, according to Darren Dahl, a professor of applied marketing research at the Sauder School of Business, in Vancouver.
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The seven healthy sins: Sometimes the bad can also do good
Vancouver Sun: Everything in moderation. I think of those three words as my mother’s superhero buzzphrase. Not quite as catchy as Bart Simpson’s “Don’t have a cow, man,” or Captain Marvel’s “Shazam!” but possibly more instructive. After decades of scare stories on TV and in magazines and newspapers about the dangers of red meat, alcohol, marijuana and sexually transmitted diseases, it’s a wonder anyone even gets out of bed in the morning. It’s dangerous out there. Liquor, red meat and anger can seriously harm you. And let us not forget the moral, legal and medical complications that travel hand-in-glove with marijuana and sex.
