-
Save the world – but nick a bit of it for yourself
Times Higher Education: If you have ever felt the urge to mug an old lady after buying a package of eco-friendly soap powder, you may not be alone. According to social science publisher Sage's most downloaded article of 2009-10, going "green" boosts our tendency to lie and steal. The article, "Do green products make us better people?", was published in the Sage journal Psychological Science. It describes a series of experiments devised by Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong, both assistant professors in the University of Toronto's School of Management. Read the whole story: Times Higher Education
-
How old do you feel inside?
Chicago Tribune: Those of us lucky enough to grow old must contend with the miserable stereotypes of what it's like: the frailty, the forgetfulness, the early bird specials. But in aging, as in many things, attitude can make all the difference. Research has shown that how people feel inside, and their expectations of their capabilities, can have a greater impact on health, happiness and even longevity than the date on their birth certificates. In her seminal "counterclockwise" study, in 1979, Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer brought men in their 70s and 80s to a weeklong retreat that was retrofitted, from the music to the newspapers, to look and feel like 1959.
-
Women, Men and the Bedroom
In the racy television hit show, Sex and the City, Carrie, one of the main characters tells her best girlfriends that “Men who are too good looking are never good in bed because they never had to be.” This is just one of the many gender stereotypes that audiences were exposed to in this show. The show challenged many stereotypes about sex and gender and refrained from the gender caricatures that typify so much television fare.
-
I’m not okay, neither are you
The Sydney Morning Herald: Self-esteem is big business. Peruse the self-help section of any bookshop and you'll find row after row of books dedicated to feeling good, getting happy and making the most out of you. But despite all these apparent solutions, a recent survey by health insurer Bupa found that Australia is the world's most depressed nation. (To make matters worse, the survey also helpfully pointed out that we're rather fat.) Being positive may seem like a good idea - but it's not guaranteed to make our lives more fulfilled. In fact, positive thinking can create an "empathy deficit", argues Barbara Ehrenreich in Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World.
-
Deux soirées à guichets fermés
Sud Ouest: Le centre culturel de Montignac affichait complet, vendredi et samedi, pour la deuxième mi-temps du duo Jean Bonnefon et Daniel Chavaroche. Les deux artistes étaient de retour pour présenter leur nouveau spectacle « Y'a pas que le rugby dans la vie ». Ils ont à nouveau emmené le public à Bellecombe, mais cette fois-ci non pas sur le terrain de rugby, mais dans la vie des gens de ce village. Read the whole story: Sud Ouest
-
Good Manners are Bad for You
Express: Psychologists say that although being polite helps get us through awkward social situations, it can have hidden perils in emergencies. They found that our tendency to be vague and evasive in order to spare someone’s feelings can cause confusion when a person’s safety is at risk. Examples include a nurse failing to spell out a doctor’s potential error to avoid embarrassment, or an air controller lacking assertiveness with a pilot in trouble. The study, published in the journal Current Directions In Psychological Science, said we resort to “politeness strategies” when forced to point out someone’s mistake or bad choice.
