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Hey! What Are You Laughing At?
NPR: Humor is a funny thing. We know it when we see it, but identifying why something is humorous is another thing entirely. In fact, explaining why a joke is funny is a pretty reliable way to sap it of all humor. Yet, psychologists have taken on a more ambitious task: the task of explaining what differentiates the humorous from the unhumorous — the funny from the not-so-much. In a paper published last month in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, psychologists Caleb Warren and Peter McGraw find support for what they call the "benign violation" theory of humor.
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Do Children in France Have a Healthier Relationship With Alcohol?
The New York Times: The Italian Senator Dario Stefàno proposed a bill last month that would require schools in Italy to teach one hour of wine culture a week to students starting at age 6. Mr. Stefàno clarified that the intention was to teach children about the cultural importance of wine in Italy, rather than to teach them to drink. But the idea of wine education for children would seem very foreign to most American parents. ... One of us, Katherine Kinzler, was part of a team of researchers that found that by 12 months, babies are learning what foods are eaten in their culture. In the study, American babies were given two foods to try.
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How a dating app for burrito-lovers exposed one of online dating’s biggest myths
The Washington Post: The only conceivably good thing about branded April Fools’ pranks is that they’re confined to a 24-hour period. The press releases go out; the “jokes” get mocked and aggregated; and within a day it’s all disappeared from our minds and homepages. But this year, one prank remains stubbornly present, almost four weeks after the day came and went. In fact, Burrit-oh! — the dating site that pairs singles based solely on their taste in portable Mexican — has proven so unexpectedly successful that maker Zoosk is thinking of keeping it. “We all thought this was a really good idea and hoped it would take off,” said Megan Murray, the site’s senior content strategist.
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Choice May Sometimes Be A Cognitive Illusion
We may believe that we’re making decisions consciously when the decisions have actually already been made, results from two studies show.
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When does the future begin? A study in maximising motivation
aeon: The answer to the question ‘When does the future begin?’ – which, by the way, is not right now – matters because humans are attuned to focus on the ‘right now’ situation. This is not a flaw. Failure to focus on the opportunities and obstacles in the moment can be dangerous. From an evolutionary perspective, humans around today all descended from ancestors who paid attention in the moment, and hence, didn’t become meals for any predator straying into their path while pondering future goals. Read the whole story: aeon
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4 Telltale Signs You’re A Workplace Ambivert
Forbes: Are you an introvert or extrovert? Not so fast, there is a third category. Consider your office mates. ... In a 2013 research paper in Psychological Science, Adam Grant of The Wharton School deconstructs the traditional belief that extroverts have a natural advantage in sales. Over a three-month study, Grant discovered that ambiverts produced 32% more revenue than extroverts. Read the whole story: Forbes
