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Women Hate Sexy Ads, Unless They’re for Something Expensive
TIME: Women are turned off by sexually explicit images in advertisements. Unless, that is, the item being advertised is very precious. And valuable. And rare. Like, maybe, a once a year type gift. At least, that’s the findings of a new study by an international group of marketing professors. Kathleen D. Vohs, Jaideep Sengupta and Darren W. Dahl used made-up advertisements for watches to test a theory in sexual economics that women want sex to be seen as something special, or at least not cheap. Sexual economic theory is “probably the least romantic theory about sex you’ll ever have learned,” says Vohs, who’s a researcher at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
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Dealing With Burnout, Which Doesn’t Always Stem From Overwork
The New York Times: IT’S the end of the year, and lots of us are feeling a little overwhelmed. Tired, unfocused and ready to take a nice break with our families (or away from our families in some cases). We may be feeling garden-variety stress. Or more ominously, we may be burned out. Although most of us tend to use those phrases interchangeably, researchers say stress is to burnout as feeling a little blue is to clinical depression — a much more serious and long-term problem that doesn’t get the attention it should, but can affect all aspects of our lives and workplace. Burnout is not just when you need a vacation to recharge.
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Want to Remember Your Museum Visit? Don’t Take Pictures
LiveScience: When it comes to looking at art and artifacts, new research may encourage habitual shutterbugs to put away their cameras. A study suggests museum-goers are less likely to remember objects they photograph than objects they simply observe. However, taking a zoomed-in photo of a specific part of a painting, mosaic or statue could help preserve memory of the entire piece, the researchers found. Psychology researcher Linda Henkel, of Fairfield University in Connecticut, said her study was inspired by real-life observations, from seeing concert-goers compulsively document performances to watching tourists hardly pause to take in natural wonders. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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Solving The Conundrum Of Multiple Choice Tests
NPR: According to just published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, the answer — perhaps surprisingly — can sometimes be choice D. But it depends on how multiple choice questions are designed and deployed. Here's a hint: they shouldn't just appear on the final exam. Researchers have known for a long time that — by, for example, answering multiple choice or free-response questions — is more effective than repeatedly reviewing that material when it comes to remembering it one week later. They've also known that it's better to spread out studying over a long period of time rather than cramming right before an exam.
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Even When Test Scores Go Up, Some Cognitive Abilities Don’t
Schools whose students have the highest gains on standardized test scores do not produce similar gains in tests that measure abstract and logical thinking, a data analysis shows.
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It’s Not That Easy Being Mean
An impatient commuter shoves us out of the way to get onto the subway train. The bullying boss enjoys berating us in front of colleagues. We routinely deal with people who seem socially reckless, quick to retaliate at any perceived slight, and unremorseful if not downright sadistic. And some of us ourselves can spew misery on our colleagues, friends, and family members. In truth, though, the modern mantra “mean people suck” fails to capture many underlying drivers of aggression, cruelty, and hostility — traits that often fire up rampant conflict in the workplace.
