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Early Music Lessons Have Longtime Benefits
The New York Times: When children learn to play a musical instrument, they strengthen a range of auditory skills. Recent studies suggest that these benefits extend all through life, at least for those who continue to be engaged with music. But a study published last month is the first to show that music lessons in childhood may lead to changes in the brain that persist years after the lessons stop. Researchers at Northwestern University recorded the auditory brainstem responses of college students — that is to say, their electrical brain waves — in response to complex sounds.
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Babies learn humour from parents: study
The Telegraph: Researchers discovered that between the ages of six months and one year, small children learn what is absurdly funny by watching the reaction of their parents. A study of 30 children carried out by Dr Gina Mireault of Johnson State College and Dr John Sparrow at the University of New Hampshire, in America, involved recording the reaction of babies watching normal and absurd events. The project explored whether 6-month-olds look to their parents for emotional guidance during absurd events, a phenomenon known as 'social referencing'. Read the whole story: The Telegraph
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Study Finds Link Between SAT Scores and Freshman Grades
The Chronicle of Higher Education: The debate over whether the SAT reliably predicts success in college has another argument in the test's favor: an article published in the journal Psychological Science, conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and financed by the College Board, which owns the SAT. The article, "The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT-Grade Relationships and in College Admissions Decisions," responds to persistent criticism that the test widely used in college admissions is a poor indicator of future academic performance and that it disadvantages low-income and minority students.
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Too Soon? Study Reveals ‘Sweet Spot’ in Joking About Tragedy
LiveScience: When is it okay to joke about a tragedy? New research shows that a comedian must carefully balance how bad and how distant an unfortunate event is to make a joke about it that won't leave an audience stone-faced or shouting, "Too soon!" Researchers from the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted several studies to explore how psychological distance and severity impact humor about an unlucky turn of events. In the first study, participants in an online survey were asked to describe a personal experience that became either less funny or funnier as time passed, and then to rate its severity. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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The candidates’ message: I might be so-so, but the other guy is terrible
The Washington Post: Four stories are at the heart of any campaign. If you understand them, you know who controls the message — and with it, perhaps the election. These stories make up what campaign strategists call the “message grid,” which has four quadrants. The first two comprise the positive stories the candidates are telling about themselves; the other two feature the negative stories each candidate is telling about the other. In some elections, one quadrant of the grid dominates the conversation — for example, when the economy or a candidate is particularly strong or weak.
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Prejudice Can Cause Depression at the Societal, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal Levels
Although depression and prejudice traditionally fall into different areas of study and treatment, a new article suggests that many cases of depression may be caused by prejudice from the self or from another person.
