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At the Ballot Box: Are You a Political Extremist?
Election Day 2014 arrives at a time of extreme political division in the U.S., and moderates of both parties are worried about the fringe. It’s always the case, and especially in mid-term elections, that extremists in their zeal will vote and canvas and rally their troops, while moderates will disengage and stay home. But who are these extremists really? Some dismiss citizens with extremely strong political opinions as rigid and dogmatic, intolerant of ambiguity and fearful of uncertainty and change. And it’s certainly not hard to find examples of such overzealous—even loony—extremism on the political stage today.
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Extraordinary Experiences Are Socially Isolating (So Next Time, Take a Friend)
Big Think: Think twice before motorbiking across India or seeking out other extraordinary experiences, say a team of Ph.D. students studying the effects of great experience on conversation. Having a much more interesting time with life than your peers is a recipe for social isolation, according to their report published in Psychological Science. In an experiment which supported the group's conclusion, individuals given a very interesting video to watch later felt excluded when the majority of the group had watched a far more boring video. Contrary to what the people who watched the interesting video expected, conversation seems to thrive on the mundane. Read the whole story: Big Think
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Can You Learn Self-Control?
The New York Times: Walter Mischel conducted one of the most famous experiments in 20th-century psychology. In the late 1960s, he oversaw a test at Stanford University using a group of preschoolers. These studies gave him access to children whom he subsequently tracked for decades, collecting data on each child’s education, health and other factors. Now, more than 40 years later, he’s published a book, “The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self Control,” about the experiments. In the marshmallow test, Mr.
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Is Anybody Watching My Do-Gooding?
Slate: Hero means everything and nothing. It encompasses the firefighters who rushed into the burning twin towers, long-distance runners who compete through chronic disease, and the wag on Twitter who makes a point you agree with. The highly specific, armor-bright figure of classical myth has grown a thousand faces. We still want him around (DC Comics recently announced 10 new superhero films to unspool over the next six years, including one about a her: Wonder Woman), but his omnipresence makes him easy to mock.
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Can Tylenol Ease the Pain of a Home Sale?
The Wall Street Journal: Agents to sellers: “Take two Tylenol and call me in the morning.” A new study finds that taking the painkiller acetaminophen, better known by the brand name Tylenol, can reduce the psychological pain of decision-making. That led Spread Sheet to wonder: Could the painkiller compel homeowners to reduce their asking price? The article, “Can Acetaminophen Reduce the Pain of Decision-Making?” to be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology next year, builds on previous work that shows emotional pain can overlap with the physical kind.
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Gender Fairness Prevails in Most Fields of Academic Science
Women are significantly underrepresented in many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, and attempts to understand why have only resulted in disagreement among researchers, the lay public, and policymakers. In a comprehensive new report, an interdisciplinary team of psychological scientists and economists aims to cut through the confusion, synthesizing available research and providing a host of new analyses to identify the factors that drive women's underrepresentation in STEM.
