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Oxytocin: Not Such a Cuddly Hormone After All
You Beauty: Feeling all warm and fuzzy? Chalk it up to oxytocin, the touchy-feely hormone that enables mothers to bond with their babies (thus the nickname the “cuddle chemical”). Oxytocin fluctuates throughout our lives—during and after childbirth, as well as when you’re sexually aroused or reach the big O. But this feel-good chemical may have a surprising dark side, according to research published in the August issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. Rather than oxytocin making them feel like they were in the “trust tree” singing “Kumbaya,” study subjects given the chemical before playing a game of chance exhibited more gloating and envy of their opponents.
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Study Sheds Light on Auditory Role in Dyslexia
The New York Times: Many people consider dyslexia simply a reading problem in which children mix up letters and misconstrue written words. But increasingly scientists have come to believe that the reading difficulties of dyslexia are part of a larger puzzle: a problem with how the brain processes speech and puts together words from smaller units of sound. Now, a study published last week in the journal Science suggests that how dyslexics hear language may be more important than previously realized. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that people with dyslexia have more trouble recognizing voices than those without dyslexia.
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Why Nagging Women and Silent Men Drive Each Other Crazy
The Huffington Post: In a recent episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (titled "Palestinian Chicken"), Larry makes a deal with his friend: Larry won't have to pay for the damage he made to his friend's car as long as he tells his friend's critical, nagging wife how annoying it is when she says "LOL." Why the deal? Larry's friend is scared to death of his wife and thinks Larry is the man for the job. He admires Larry's willingness to always say the first thing on his mind and speak up for himself. In the parlance of psychological science, Larry is off-the-charts blirtatious and his friend is off-the-charts not.
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Don’t copycat an unpopular boss’s behavior, study reminds
MSNBC: Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but mindless mimicry can also make you look like a jerk. That’s the gist of a new study on empathetic body language that will appear in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science. In social situations, people tend to mirror one another as an unconscious show of rapport. Find yourself on a successful first date, for example, and you will often lean in at the same times during conversation. And though most mirroring is done unintentionally, some adopt it as a subtle psychological strategy for closing sales and acing big job interviews. That said, clueless copycatting may be costly.
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Eating fatty foods make people feel happier, less lonely, studies show
The New York Daily News: Stress eaters might reach for the pint of ice cream when they're feeling sad, but not because it tastes good. New research shows that fatty foods act as mood-lifters regardless of what they taste like, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation last week. Being delicious is just an extra bonus. Conducted out of the University of Leuven in Belgium, 12 healthy, nonobese subjects were hooked up to gastric feed tubes and unknowingly given either a fatty-acid solution or a saline solution, AFP RelaxNews reported. Subjects were then exposed to sad or neutral music and images and asked to report how they were feeling.
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Mirroring reflects poorly in job interviews, study finds
The Toronto Star: Be prepared, wear a suit and remember to smile. And now another tip for job interviews: cut out the mirroring. A study in the upcoming issue of Psychological Science suggests matching your interviewer’s demeanour and mannerisms isn’t a solid strategy, particularly if a third party is there to see it. “Mimicry is a crucial part of social intelligence,” co-author Piotr Winkielman said in a release from the University of California, San Diego. “But it is not enough to simply know how to mimic.
