-
Psychologists: Getting Liberals to Agree Really Is Like Herding Cats
Scientific American: When he was President, Bill Clinton famously (and perhaps apocryphally) complained that getting Democrats to agree on a course of action was like herding cats, while the Republicans didn’t seem to have this problem. All political parties are large coalitions of people with varied interests and beliefs, but is it possible that ideological differences between the parties could play a decisive role here? A new paper by researchers at New York University, in press at Psychological Science, suggests that the answer is yes. A large body of psychological research has shown that people tend to overestimate how much others share their beliefs, feelings, and practices.
-
Altruistic Acts More Common in States With High Well-Being
People are much more likely to decide to donate a kidney to a stranger — an extraordinarily altruistic act — in areas of the United States where levels of well-being are high, researchers find.
-
The Option to Quit Can Make You More Determined
Stephen King’s novel, Carrie, was rejected 30 times before it finally got published — and launched a legendary literary career. Thomas Edison failed thousands of time before he finally perfected the light bulb. Most of us aren’t aiming to create a revolutionary invention or get a novel published. But we all have professional goals, and will face at least some degree of failure or hardship in achieving them. In some cases, we have no choice but to keep trying. Giving up on a complex project you’ve been assigned at work could cost you your job.
-
Ink on Paper: Some Notes on Note Taking*
I went to college long before the era of laptops, so I learned to take notes the old-fashioned way: ink on paper. But that does not mean my note-taking system was simple. Indeed it was an intricate hieroglyphic language, in which asterisks and underscoring and check marks and exclamation points all had precise meaning, if only to me. It’s a lost art. Many college students have some kind of electronic note-taking device nowadays, and most will swear by them. And really, only a Luddite would cling to pen and notebook in the 21st century. Typing is faster than longhand, producing more legible and more thorough notes for study later on. But has anyone actually compared the two?
-
Looks Like You Can Detect Sickness By Smell
Refinery29: Sneezing, coughing, and a pasty complexion are all telltale signs that someone is under the weather. But, according to a new research published in Psychological Science, you can detect whether or not someone is sick just by smelling them. Even more, researcher Mats Olsson of Karolinska Institutet in Sweden claims there's scientific evidence that postulates some diseases have distinct aromas. For instance, it's been noted that the breath of people with diabetes can smell like acetone or rotten apples. “There may be early, possibly generic, biomarkers for illness in the form of volatile substances coming from the body,” says Olsson. Read the whole story: Refinery29
-
In Defense of Kids and Parenting: They Can Be Amazing (If That’s What You Want)
TIME: It seems the latest trend in parenting is to bash it. Quite a few folks are getting attention for making the case that having kids makes your life worse—and they have some studies to support their argument. Parents report being more stressed, anxious and generally unsatisfied with their lives than singles. Me, I was never goo-goo-eyed about babies or tots. I was married seven years before I decided to have my first. Mostly, I felt ready (if scared) and wanted kids. I also believed that if I didn’t have them, I’d be missing out on one of life’s most profound experiences. ...
