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Cornell’s Stephen Ceci on Changing Landscape for Women in Academic Science
Psychological scientist Stephen Ceci is the H. L. Carr Chaired Professor of Developmental Psychology at Cornell University. His research focuses on a range of subjects, including cognitive development of children’s memory, intelligence, and women and academic science. Below is a Q&A with Ceci on his recent report, Women in Academic Science: A Changing Landscape, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. What advice, if any, would you give parents to encourage their daughters on a path to the fields of geoscience, engineering, economics, mathematics, and physical sciences (GEEMP)?
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How Parents Teach Children to Tidy Up Toys
The Wall Street Journal To keep the toys tidy, Susan Lutz Klauda finally turned to her Excel spreadsheet skills. Dr. Klauda, a 35-year-old Washington, D.C., education researcher, decided she was “fed up with the toys overtaking our living room,” especially after the birth of her second child earlier this year. She created a spreadsheet that labeled more than 100 household toys by category (arts & crafts, building sets and games) and developmental level (baby, toddler or preschool). Then she brought most of them to basement storage. Every couple of weeks, she selects a few to bring upstairs.
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Whether you face your past or walk into your future, time and space are complex
The Guardian: Time is a deeply confusing thing for us humans to think about – and the ways in which we talk about it don’t always help. For instance, here’s a heads-up to my editors: if you commission an article from me, then try to “move the deadline forward”, don’t expect me to send it to you sooner.
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Take Notes From the Pros
The New York Times: When it comes to taking lecture notes, Laura Gayle, a sophomore at Florida State University, has her methods. A smiley face connotes an important person. If the professor says, “Make sure you know this,” she uses an asterisk. A triangular button signals a video clip played in class. Later, she will organize the notes, write a video summary and check uncertainties against the textbook or with the professor. For “Introduction to Classical Mythology,” she’ll even alphabetize a list of Greek gods and goddesses. Then, a few days before the exam, she puts it all up for sale.
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What Makes a Child an Art Prodigy?
The Atlantic: Stand before any abstract painting—try a Jackson Pollock or a Cy Twombly— and it’s inevitable someone will say: My child could have done that. For many, the dripping splatters or scribbles seem haphazard and simplistic, not unlike something an average toddler might do with a set of finger paints. And as contemporary art becomes more conceptual, it’s harder to know what makes a piece of art great: the object itself, the story behind it, or both?
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It Literally Pays to Have a Reliable Spouse
New York Magazine: Conscientiousness is not really up there among the sexiest qualities a person can have, but maybe it should be. New research in Psychological Science found that people who have careful, reliable partners tend to do better at work; they make more money, get more promotions, and are happier at their jobs. Marry a put-together person, in other words, and their put-together-ness will spill over into your own life, even into your workplace. Suddenly, put-together-ness seems very sexy. The researchers gathered their data via an annual survey in Australia that collects economic and social information.
