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How to Fat Into American Life
Baseball and democracy – two things we’re proud to call American. Unfortunately, to immigrants, eating junk food is also associated with being a typical American. A study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found that immigrants will eat more fatty foods to fit in as Americans. To show this, scientists measured Asian Americans’ food preferences. To trigger the threat of not being identified as an American, some were asked “Do you speak English?” before the experiment. Seventy-five percent of those in the threat group mentioned a typical American food as their favorite food as opposed to only 25 percent who did in the non-threat group.
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Study links willingness to cheat, viewpoint on God
Los Angeles Times: A new study on the link between one's view of God and willingness to cheat on a test is the latest example of social scientists wading into the highly charged field of religion and morality. The study, titled "Mean Gods Make Good People: Different Views of God Predict Cheating Behavior" was peer reviewed and published earlier this month in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. In line with many previous studies, it found no difference between the ethical behavior of believers and nonbelievers. But those who believed in a loving, compassionate God were more likely to cheat than those who believed in an angry, punitive God.
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Hazy Recall as a Signal Foretelling Depression
The New York Times: OXFORD, England — The task given to participants in an Oxford University depression study sounds straightforward. After investigators read them a cue word, they have 30 seconds to recount a single specific memory, meaning an event that lasted less than one day. Cues may be positive (“loved”), negative (“heartless”) or neutral (“green”). For “rejected,” one participant answered, “A few weeks ago, I had a meeting with my boss, and my ideas were rejected.” Another said, “My brothers are always talking about going on holiday without me.” The second answer was wrong — it is not specific, and it refers to something that took place on several occasions.
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Why We Celebrate a Killing
The New York Times: A MAN is shot in the head, and joyous celebrations break out 7,000 miles away. Although Americans are in full agreement that the demise of Osama bin Laden is a good thing, many are disturbed by the revelry. We should seek justice, not vengeance, they urge. Doesn’t this lower us to “their” level? Didn’t the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. say, “I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy”? (No, he did not, but the Twitter users who popularized that misattributed quotation last week found it inspiring nonetheless.) Why are so many Americans reluctant to join the party?
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Now, to Find a Parking Spot, Drivers Look on Their Phones
The New York Times: SAN FRANCISCO — It is the urban driver’s most agonizing everyday experience: the search for an empty parking place. It is part sleuthing and part blood sport. Circling, narrowly missing a spot, outmaneuvering other motorists to finally ease into a space only to discover that it is off limits during working hours. In this city, it is also a vexing traffic problem. Drivers cruising for parking spots generate 30 percent of all downtown congestion, city officials estimate. Now San Francisco professes to have found a solution — a phone app for spot-seekers that displays information about areas with available spaces. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Immigrants pack on the pounds in America
OTTAWA CITIZEN: Moving to the U.S. could be bad for your waistline, according to the results of a study linking fatty foods with the desire to belong. Within 15 years of moving to the United States, immigrants approach American levels of obesity -a finding previously linked to the ubiquity of cheap, high-calorie fast food and larger portion sizes. But investigators now suggest it's not simply the presence of such dishes but also immigrants' notion that eating them somehow validates their "Americanness." Read the whole city: OTTAWA CITIZEN
