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Si vous vous sentez stressé, souriez ! (If you feel stressed, smile!)
Le Figaro: Un sourire, même forcé, abaisse le rythme cardiaque pendant une activité stressante, révèle une étude américaine. Les scientifiques avaient déjà révélé l'effet relaxant d'un sourire, mais l'on pensait celui-ci réservé au «vrai sourire» spontané, également appelé sourire de Duchenne, qui entraîne une contraction du muscle orbiculaire situé autour des yeux. Or il semblerait que même un sourire «standard» - certain diront forcé - qui ne sollicite que les muscles autour de la bouche (zygomatiques), ait aussi un effet déstressant, selon une étude publiée dans la revue Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Le Figaro
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Why Men (Yes, Men) Are Better Multitaskers
The Huffington Post: We should all be forgiven for believing that women are good at multitasking, and far superior to men. After all, that's the popular image that has been in circulation for some time. In this depiction, a vibrant 30-something woman, still in her business suit after a demanding day at the office, is cooking a gourmet meal, balancing a toddler on her hip, all while talking on the phone, presumably raising money for a local charity. Popular books, like Why Men Can Only Do One Thing at a Time and Women Never Stop Talking, reinforce the idea that men are incapable of matching women's cognitive balancing act.
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International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 28th Annual Meeting
The 28th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies will be held November 1-3 in Los Angeles, CA. For more information visit: www.istss.org/Home1.htm
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Psychological Science Goes to Mars
Teamwork is important in most jobs — but it’s especially critical for people who have to complete an expensive, high-stakes, and technically complicated mission all while locked in a zero-gravity chamber with their co-workers for eighteen straight months. That’s why NASA is calling on psychological scientists like Eduardo Salas and Kimberly Smith-Jentsch to design strategies that astronauts can use to help each other stay healthy and safe during a voyage to Mars that is planned for 2030. In 2010, Salas and Smith-Jentsch, both of the University of Central Florida, were awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant by NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
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Don’t Fear the Cybermind
The New York Times: THE line that separates my mind from the Internet is getting blurry. This has been happening ever since I realized how often it feels as though I know something just because I can find it with Google. Technically, of course, I don’t know it. But when there’s a smartphone or iPad in reach, I know everything the Internet knows. Or at least, that’s how it feels. This curious feeling of knowing has settled over most of us. In a group, someone always seems to be “checking” something in the conversation, piping up with handy facts culled from a rapid consultation with the Great and Powerful Man Behind the Curtain.
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Study: Forcing a Smile Genuinely Decreases Stress
The Atlantic: PROBLEM: Happiness makes us smile, but can smiling make us happy? Even if it's a fake smile, because your mouth is propped open by chopsticks? There's the standard smile, which remains located in the muscles surrounding the mouth, and the genuine (or Duchenne) smile, which spreads to the eyes and, at least anecdotally, both looks and feels warmer and more natural. Does one work better than the other? METHODOLOGY: In an experiment that was smile-worthy in its own right, researchers used chopsticks to manipulate the facial muscles of their 169 participants into a neutral expression, a standard smile, or a Duchenne smile.
