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The Funny Business of Laughter
Focus: Chortling, sniggering, guffawing, tittering – it has so many names and yet it is one of the most mysterious aspects of human behaviour. Emma Bayley investigates a very peculiar habit. If an alien were to land on our planet and take a stroll among a crowd of earthlings, it would notice that the low hum of speech was regularly interjected by much louder exhalations and that these outbreaths were chopped into ‘ha-ha’ fragments. It might wonder what purpose this strange habit served. If we ask ourselves what triggers a good chortle, the obvious answer is that it is a response to something we find funny.
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No Such Thing as Clean Politics
Who knew we subconsciously relate cleanliness with conservatism? A study published in Psychological Science found that people who are reminded of physical purity report being more politically conservative and had harsher moral judgments regarding sexual behavior. In the first experiment, volunteers were asked to complete a questionnaire on their political attitudes. To do so, they had to either step over a hand-sanitizer or walk down an empty hallway. Results showed that people who were exposed to reminders of cleanliness reported a less liberal and more conservative political orientation than people in the control group.
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Is “If-Then” Insight the Key to Lasting Friendship?
I think of myself as a fairly easy-going guy—tolerant, not easily riled up. That is, unless a rude driver cuts me off in traffic. Rudeness triggers the worst in me, and I doubt anyone would describe me as congenial under those circumstances. I can also get moody when I’m tired, and I’m much more affable once I’ve had my morning coffee. I’m probably more cheerful on Sundays than on Tuesdays. Still, on balance I think most my friends would describe me as easy-going. What I’m describing here—this seeming contradiction—is the difference between my global personality and my more nuanced, situational “if-then” profile.
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Are Parental Decisions Driven by Reason or Emotions
Huffington Post: Many young couples face some version of this dilemma today: They've decided they want to have children in the near future -- they're not on the fence about that -- but the financial reality is that they both have to work. They need both their earnings, not for a fancy lifestyle but just to pay the bills and save a bit. So when the day comes that they do become parents, they will almost certainly have to send their young child to some kind of day care, so that they both can continue to work. That's their world. But in their hearts they believe that children are better off raised at home, by a stay-at-home parent.
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Can We Have too Many Choices?
Whether we’re deciding what to eat for lunch at the cafeteria, which store to go into at a shopping mall, or what Netflix movie to order, we are constantly surrounded by choices. That sounds like a great thing, but a study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science found that thinking about choice has some negative effects. People show reduced support for the public good and are less sympathetic to others. One experiment found that volunteers who were primed to think about choice were less likely to support policies promoting greater equality and benefits for society than volunteers who did not think about choice.
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Happiness, Comparatively Speaking: How We Think About Life’s Rewards
You win some, you lose some. You get the perfect job—the one your heart is set on. Or you get snubbed. You win the girl (or guy) of your dreams—or you strike out. Such are life’s ups and downs. But what if you win and lose at the same time? You land a good job—but not a great one. Or you do get a plum offer—but not the one you wanted? A study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, says you’ll find a way to be happy anyway. “Good outcomes have relative value and absolute value, and that affects our happiness,” explains Carnegie Mellon assistant professor Karim S.
