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Do-gooder or Ne’er-do-well? Behavioral Science Explains Patterns of Moral Behavior
Does good behavior lead to more good behavior? Or do we try to balance our good and bad deeds? The answer depends on our ethical mindset, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Psychological scientist Gert Cornelissen of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and colleagues found that people who have an “ends justify the means” mindset are more likely to balance their good and bad deeds, while those who believe that what is right and wrong is a matter of principle are more likely to be consistent in their behavior, even if that behavior is bad.
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Psychologists Launch a Bare-All Research Initiative
Science: A group of psychologists are launching a project this week that they hope will make studies in their field radically more transparent and prompt other fields to open up as well. With a pledge of $5.25 million from private supporters, they have set up an outfit called the Center for Open Science. It is collaborating with an established journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science, to solicit work from authors who are willing to work completely in the open and have their studies replicated. Read the whole story: Science
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Your Child’s Fat, Mine’s Fine: Rose-Colored Glasses And The Obesity Epidemic
NPR: About 69 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, and more than four in five people say they are worried about obesity as a public health problem. But a recent poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health revealed a curious schism in our national attitudes toward obesity: Only one in five kids had a parent who feared the boy or girl would grow up to be overweight as an adult. Put another way, assuming current trends persist, parents of 80 percent of American children think all these kids will somehow end up being among the lucky 31 percent of adults who are not overweight.
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How Facebook Improves Memory
TIME: Checking status updates on Facebook may be just the distraction your memory needs. Facebook and other social media are generally considered distractions, rather than aids, to building memory. Interrupting whatever you’re doing to check your status or watch that cute cat video seems unlikely to help you retain the information you need, particularly for older people whose attention can be more fragmented. Read the whole story: TIME
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Marriage Research: Study Shows A 21-Minute Writing Task Can Improve Your Marriage
The Huffington Post: While millions of couples spend hours trying to learn how to improve their marriages through books or therapy, one recent study found that sustaining a happy marriage may only take 21 minutes, a pencil and a piece of paper. A Northwestern University study set to be published in "Psychological Science" later this year surveyed 120 married couples for two years about their relationship satisfaction, and asked them to describe their most significant recent arguments.
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Food for Thought
What you eat each meal impacts your body — and your brain. March is National Nutrition Month, and psychological science can help us understand the social, mental, and behavioral factors that impact how we choose food on a daily basis. Here are a few psychological scientists at the forefront of food research: Neal D. Barnard is a clinical researcher and an adjunct associate professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He has been featured in popular documentaries such as Forks Over Knives and Super Size Me.
