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The Incalculable Value of Finding a Job You Love
The New York Times: Social scientists have been trying to identify the conditions most likely to promote satisfying human lives. Their findings give some important clues about choosing a career: Money matters, but as the economist Richard Easterlin and others have demonstrated, not always in the ways you may think. Consider this thought experiment. Suppose you had to choose between two parallel worlds that were alike except that people in one had significantly higher incomes. If you occupied the same position in the income distribution in both — say, as a median earner — there would be compelling reasons for choosing the richer world.
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Science reveals how to take the perfect vacation
Business Insider: Vacations are deceptively complex. By their very nature they’re meant to be stress-free, so we assume we shouldn’t put too much thought into them. But the research from behavioural science tells us that certain strategies will almost always make some trips better than others — both in cost and overall satisfaction. Here’s how to take the perfect vacation. Read the whole story: Business Insider
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Entitled at the Top: Are Leaders More Selfish Than the Rest of Us?
Leaders’ propensity for generosity seems to depend on whether they feel like they’ve earned their high-status position, according to new research conducted by psychological scientists Nicholas Hays (Michigan State University) and Steven Blader (New York University). The findings indicate that a boss or colleague who feels that their high-status position is unearned is likely to be much more generous compared to someone who feels like they’re entitled to a spot at the top.
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With Coercive Control, the Abuse Is Psychological
The New York Times: Lisa Fontes’s ex-boyfriend never punched her, or pulled her hair. But he hacked into her computer, and installed a spy cam in her bedroom, and subtly distanced her from her friends and family. Still, she didn’t think she was a victim of domestic abuse. “I had no way to understand this relationship except it was a bad relationship,” said Dr. Fontes, 54, who teaches adult education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. ... Dr. Stark, the author of “Coercive Control,” noted that the English law pertains to a course of conduct over time.
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A Pair of Witnesses Can Be Better Than One
The Wall Street Journal: If you witness a crime, what’s the best way to recall what happened? Minutes to months later, police might ask you the color of the perp’s eyes, the design of his tattoo or how long it took him to pull out a gun after he entered the room. Would it be better to recount your story on your own or alongside the person you were with at the time? Anyone who has ever watched a police procedural can answer that question. Witnesses are always interviewed alone, in a dismal, windowless holding cell—that is, if the interview takes place in Hollywood. ...
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Can a Brain Scan Tell What You’re Thinking?
Pacific Standard: Mind reading stands as one of science fiction’s most enduring improbabilities, alongside light-speed space travel and laser guns. But unlike those latter two, mind reading actually has a whiff of reality: In a new demonstration, psychologists have shown they can figure out how far along someone’s brain is in the process of solving a sophisticated math problem—a result that, more than anything else, indicates the promise of new brain-scanning techniques for understanding the human mind.
