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Les puissants se voient plus grands qu’ils ne sont
Le Monde: En avril 2010, la destruction de la plate-forme pétrolière de BP, Deepwater Horizon, provoque la plus importante marée noire jamais enregistrée aux Etats-Unis. Quelques semaines plus tard, le président de BP fait scandale en déclarant, au sujet des victimes de cette catastrophe : "Nous nous soucions des petites gens." Comme s'il y avait d'un côté les grands hommes et, de l'autre, les minus de la plèbe. C'est à la suite de cette phrase que deux chercheurs américains ont l'idée d'explorer une étonnante hypothèse : l'expérience du pouvoir modifie-t-elle la perception que les puissants ont de leur propre taille ? Read the full story: Le Monde
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Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures watched by 2.4million
University of Bristol News: The recent Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures, delivered by renowned experimental psychologist Professor Bruce Hood from Bristol University, were enjoyed by 2.4million viewers over the festive period. Professor Hood, Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre, invited viewers to Meet Your Brain in a demonstration-packed, three-part series of lectures, delivered in the iconic theatre at the Royal Institution between 27 and 29 December and broadcast on BBC Four. Read the whole story: University of Bristol News
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Majority Doesn’t Care Whether Boss Is Male or Female
Forbes: It’s not all Devil Wears Prada out there in the workplace. A recent study showed that “fewer and fewer Americans care whether the boss is a man or a woman. A 1953 Gallup poll showed that 25% of participants had no preference for a male or female boss; by 1983, the number had risen to 36%, and by 2006, it was at 43%. A recent online survey of more than 60,000 people by Kim M. Elsesser of UCLA and Janet Lever of California State University shows that the proportion having no preference now stands at 54%. Read the full story: Forbes
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Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect When it Comes to Understanding Risk
People aren't very good at making decisions that involve risk. Many people are afraid of airplanes, although accidents are extremely rare; some people even drive to avoid flying, putting themselves at more risk. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines how people learn about risk and finds that practice does not make perfect.
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What Is Classical Conditioning? (And Why Does It Matter?)
Scientific American: Classical conditioning is one of those introductory psychology terms that gets thrown around. Many people have a general idea that it is one of the most basic forms of associative learning, and people often know that Ivan Pavlov’s 1927 experiment with dogs has something to do with it, but that is often where it ends. The most important thing to remember is that classical conditioning involves automatic or reflexive responses, and not voluntary behavior (that’s operant conditioning, and that is a different post). What does this mean?
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Why do older people view life in a sunnier light than the young?
Examiner: Why do older people view life in a sunnier light than the young? Have older folks come to terms with loss, change, and the ability to let it go--at least when it comes to body images and family attachments? Are young people more or less attached to family than older people? Is it really the opportunities that existed with lower unemployment statistics between 1945 and 1965 and the cheaper prices of homes, cars, and college education or vocational training that makes the silent generation so much more happier than today's twenty-somethings?
