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Psychologists have surprising advice for people who feel unmotivated
Per traditional self-help narratives, if you can’t accomplish your goal, you should ask for advice. Find someone who has successfully landed the job, gotten the promotion, made the grades, achieved the weight loss, or created the financial stability that you want. Tell this person you’re struggling. Then do what she says. According to two leading psychologists, this theory isn’t just hackneyed, it’s wrong. Their research suggests that the key to motivation is giving advice, not receiving it.
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NSF Funding For Integrative Research on Behavioral Science and Cybersecurity
The National Science Foundation is soliciting proposal submissions for the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program, which addresses security and privacy challenges through integrative research, seeking new methods for designing and operating cyber systems, protecting current systems, and educating the public about cybersecurity.
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Wider-faced politicians are seen as more corrupt
New research offers a tip for politicians who don't want to be seen as corrupt: don't get a big head. A new study showed people photos of politicians and asked them to rate how corruptible each seemed. The results were published this week in Psychological Science by researchers at Caltech. The volunteers were able to guess with significant accuracy which politicians were corrupt and which weren't. The common denominator between the politicians who seemed guilty? A wide face, a trait that past research has linked to aggressive behavior in men.
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Why senators claim to believe Ford — but still side with Kavanaugh
On Wednesday, the day before a hearing on sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, Sen. Jeff Flake made a speech defending the right of Christine Blasey Ford, the Supreme Court nominee’s accuser, to be heard. “How many times do we have to marginalize and ignore women before we learn that important lesson?” Flake (R-Ariz.) asked, taking issue with President Trump’s questions about why Ford never reported the alleged attempted rape. This followed a fortnight of sometimes surprising gestures from Kavanaugh’s ideological kin, who also seemed to draw on the language and concepts of the Me Too movement.
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Teens Sleeping Too Much, Or Not Enough? Parents Can Help
Within three days of starting high school this year, my ninth-grader could not get into bed before 11 p.m. or wake up by 6 a.m. He complained he couldn't fall asleep but felt foggy during the school day and had to reread lessons a few times at night to finish his homework. And forget morning activities on the weekends — he was in bed. We're not the only family struggling to get restful shut-eye. "What parents are sharing with us is that the 'normal life' of a typical American high schooler is interfering with sleep," says Sarah Clark, co-director of C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan.
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Want to Seem More Likable? Try This
For many of us, meeting new people can be an anxiety-inducing affair. Am I talking too much? Was my handshake too weak? Did I make too much eye contact? Too little? Am I boring? Are they boring, but they’re boring because I’m boring? It can be a mess! All of our worst social paranoias contained in a single interaction. But there’s an easy way to get around this, simultaneously coming off as more likable while working to build a deeper, more genuine connection with someone: Ask questions. --- Imagine that! Being a genuine, sincere conversation partner makes people like you more. What a world.
