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Dogs Learning Words Focus on Size, Not Shape
The New York Times: Toddlers just learning to speak associate words with shape, not size or texture. Anything shaped like a telephone, for instance, might be called “phone.” But a new study suggests that dogs tend to associate words with size rather than shape. This difference makes it “very doubtful that there is a single mammalian feature in word learning,” said Emile van der Zee, a psychologist at the University of Lincoln in England and the first author of the study, which appears in the journal PLoS One.
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Why does ‘CEO’ mean ‘white male’?
Los Angeles Times: A pedestrian holding a map approaches you and asks for directions. You engage in a short conversation, which is briefly interrupted when two workers walk between you carrying a door. A second later, you continue your conversation. What you don't notice is that the pedestrian is now someone else. Yep, that's right: A different person took his place when the door passed between you. And you didn't even notice. In fact, fully 50% of people who participated in this 1998 experiment by psychologist Daniel Simons were blind to the switch. Why did so many people fail to notice such an obvious change?
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Post-Divorce Journaling May Hinder Healing for Some
Following a divorce or separation, many people are encouraged by loved ones or health-care professionals to keep journals about their feelings. But for some, writing in-depth about those feelings immediately after a split may do more harm than good, according to new research. In a study of 90 recently divorced or separated individuals, psychological scientist David Sbarra of the University of Arizona and colleagues found that writing about one’s feelings can actually leave some people feeling more emotionally distraught months down the line, particularly those individuals who are prone to seeking a deeper meaning for their failed marriage.
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Why Holiday Season ‘Self-Gifting’ Is Such a Huge Retail Trend
TIME: We’ve all heard that it is better to give than receive. During the holiday shopping period, there’s a new twist to this old adage: With the rise of “self-gifting,” many consumers are clearly big fans of the idea of “giving” — to themselves. The “self-gifting” trend, which has been gaining in popularity for years, will reach all-time highs this year. According to the National Retail Federation, the average shopper who is honest enough to admit they plan to spend on themselves over the holidays will drop $237 on “self-gifts.” That’s a 27% jump in five years. For retailers, this is significant. Over 20% of the average shopper’s gift kitty is expected to be self-designated in 2012.
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En entreprise, culpabiliser est une vertu (In business, guilt is a virtue)
Le Monde: On se sentait coupable de se sentir coupable. Cette éternelle impression que l'on aurait pu mieux faire — éviter une erreur comme d'avoir blessé quelqu'un inutilement, une gaffe, mieux se comporter vis-à-vis de nos collègues, collaborateurs, supérieurs hiérarchiques — empoisonnait doucement notre vie et celle de notre entourage. Et aussi bien à la maison, comme au bureau, où la moindre remarque était facilement mal ressentie et nous rongeait alors les entrailles. Ce qui ne facilitait guère les relations avec les tiers. Nous savions que ce sentiment n'avait pas lieu d'être.
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Order of Psychiatric Diagnoses May Influence How Clinicians Identify Symptoms
The diagnostic system used by many mental health practitioners in the United States -- known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- assumes that symptoms of two disorders that occur at the same time are additive and that the order in which the disorders are presented doesn’t matter. But new research suggests that order actually plays a significant role in determining how clinicians think about psychiatric disorders.
