-
Are We More—or Less—Moral Than We Think?
If asked whether we’d steal, most of us would say no. Would we try to save a drowning person? That depends—perhaps on our fear of big waves. Much research has explored the ways we make moral decisions. But in the clinch, when the opportunity arises to do good or bad, how well do our predictions match up with the actions we actually take? A study by Rimma Teper, Michael Inzlicht, and Elizabeth Page-Gould of the University of Toronto Scarborough tested the difference between moral forecasting and moral action—and the reasons behind any mismatch.
-
Why Speaking More than One Language May Delay Alzheimer’s
Time: There are many ways in which speaking another language may contribute to a well-lived life. You can talk to a whole lot more of Earth's inhabitants, for one thing. You can also enjoy books, music and films in their original language, and throw a few more "skills" onto your résumé. Now add to that list the findings of new studies suggesting that speaking multiple languages may also help protect cognitive health over the long term. Read the whole story: Time
-
The Stanford Marshmallow Test
The Huffington Post: I've spent my entire life on education, and several years ago while writing a chapter on education for my SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity, I stumbled across Walter Mischel's "Stanford Marshmallow Test" of 4-year-old children. You can read what happened by clicking on that link, but to quickly summarize: 1. Four-year-old children were placed in a test room having a chair, table and plate holding one marshmallow. The child is told by the tester that he would need to leave the room and will be gone for a few minutes, but if that marshmallow was still on that plate when he returned, the reward would be a second marshmallow. 2.
-
Early Attachment May Affect Our Ability to Resolve Conflict in Relationships
Scientific American: Many relationship experts say it's not the fights that matter so much as the making up post-fight. Well a long-term study found that attachment to our caregivers during infancy can predict an ability for resolving an argument later in life. Scientists out of the University of Minnesota have been following a group of subjects since the mid-1970s and recently had them come into the lab with their romantic partners. Couples were asked to discuss something they disagreed on, and then they were given a cool-down period, talking about something they both liked. Read the whole story: Scientific American
-
To Feel Less Pain, Don’t Look Away
Dreading getting your flu shot? Surprisingly, if you want the shot to hurt less, don’t look away—look at the shot! A study published in Psychological Science found that people experienced less pain from hot contact on their skin when they were looking at their hand, and even less so when they were viewing an enlarged version of it. Volunteers were instructed to press a foot pedal when they began to feel pain from a heat probe on their left hand that gradually increased in temperature while they viewed, through mirror manipulations, either their own hand or a wooden object appearing where the hand would be.
-
Can’t let an argument go? Blame your parents, not your partner
The Daily Mail: If a lovers’ tiff leaves your blood boiling for hours afterwards, don’t blame your partner. Blame your parents. The better relationship you had with your mother and father as a child, the better you are at getting over arguments as an adult, scientists claim. So whether you can’t help holding a grudge or are happy to bury the hatchet has more to do with your childhood than your partner’s failure to empty the bin. Read the whole story: The Daily Mail
