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The psychology of terror
WXIA: Anthony Lemieux is a professor at the Emory School of Medicine whose speciality is the psychology of terror. 11Alive News talked to him about al-Qaeda's threat of violence to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Professor Lemieux says he is not surprised by that threat. He says al-Qaeda likes to warn of violent attacks on symbolic dates, such as this anniversary. He says what is interesting is that in this instance, we are talking about three individuals, which is very stripped down from the scale of the attacks ten years ago.
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Progressive Tax Rates Linked To National Happiness: Study
The Huffington Post: Detractors of Warren Buffett take note: The more a country taxes its richest citizens, the happier everyone in that country will be. Such are the findings of a new study, led by University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi, which compares 54 different countries and finds a correlation between progressive tax policies -- that is, higher tax rates for higher tax brackets -- and overall contentedness. It may not be the case that a progressive tax system automatically leads to a happier population, however. The report emphasizes that what matters is what governments do with the tax dollars they collect.
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Do Fat CEO Faces Equal Fat Profits?
Time: We generally don’t include the shape of a business exec’s face in our investing advice. But according to a new study, maybe we should. In the November issue of the journal Psychological Science, a new study suggests that CEOs with wider faces achieve much greater financial performance than CEOs with thinner mugs. Before you make your own face, there’s some legitimate science behind it. For the last few years, a number of studies have been published showing that greater facial width-to-height ratio (WHR) is associated with more aggressive behavior in men. Hockey players with wider faces spend more time in the penalty box. And men with higher facial width often feel more powerful.
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The connected car: New services pit convenience against safety
Consumer Reports: With the increased popularity of smart phones and social networks, automakers are tapping these connected technologies in vehicles to allow drivers to update Facebook, send a Tweet, check stocks, surf the Web, and more. However, will the need to stay connected affect driver safety? Our latest investigative report provides insight into this trend. In our October report “Connected Cars: A New Risk,” we look at the some of the technologies automakers are offering in their vehicles, address the potential for driver distraction, and speak to a wide range of industry insiders and safety advocates.
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Sick Body, Vigilant Mind
We know that in keeping the body physically healthy, the mind both conscious and unconscious is a principle actor. Indeed, research has shown that the biological, or physiological, immune system that fights pathogens once they’ve entered the body can be kick-started by the “behavioral immune system,” with which we notice, feel repulsed by, and act to avoid people who might make us sick. Now a study in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, offers intriguing new evidence of the connection moving in the other direction: from physiological to psychological immune reactions.
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Seeing is not always believing
The Times of India: Paying attention to keep a close watch may quite have the reverse effect. It actually distorts perception of where things are in relation to one another, says a research. "Figuring out where objects are in the world seems like one of the most basic and important jobs the brain does," says Yale University cognitive psychologist Brandon Liverence, who led the study. "It was surprising to discover that even this simple type of perception is warped by our minds," adds Liverence, the journal Psychological Science reports.
