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Three Views of Marriage
The New York Times: Two years ago the Northwestern University psychologist Eli Finkel had an article in The Times describing how marriage is polarizing: The best marriages today are better than the best marriages of generations ago; the worst marriages now are worse; over all, the average marriage is weaker than the average marriage in days of yore. Expectations about marriage have risen, Finkel wrote. People now want marriage to satisfy their financial, emotional and spiritual needs. But while some people spend a lot of one-on-one time working on their marriage, and reap the benefits, most people spend less time, and things slowly decay. ...
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Diversity at work: Report examines why it matters and how to achieve it
Chicago Tribune: The diversity controversy at the Oscars — or, as host Chris Rock called them, the "White People's Choice Awards" — resonates far beyond Hollywood. Employers striving for diverse workforces often encounter resistance or rely on rhetoric that does little to move the needle — a detriment to business, a recent academic article suggests, given evidence showing that diversity has widespread benefits as long as it is executed well.
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To Spot a Liar, Listen Closely
In an analysis of public remarks by corporate fraudsters, psychological researchers identified certain speech patterns the executives fell into while lying.
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In this economy, many do feel the burn
The Boston Globe: SUPPORTERS OF Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are seemingly concerned with economic insecurity (whether caused by Wall Street, trade, or immigration). But if new research is correct, then you should be nice to them, since they’re probably in more pain, too. In a series of experiments, people who were made to feel more economically insecure — by highlighting unemployment in their state or by writing about an economically insecure period in their life — reported more physical pain. Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
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Put Down the Broom: Tidying Up Can Hamper Creativity
Wired: IF CLUTTER DRIVES you nuts, you’re in good company. There’s been a burst of excitement recently about neatness, propelled by The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo’s best-selling guide that urges us to toss out anything that doesn’t “spark joy.” If we can succeed at decluttering, Kondo says, we will feel pure bliss. “The lives of those who tidy thoroughly and completely,” she writes, “in a single shot, are without exception dramatically altered.” As the biggest neatnik and picker-upper in my casually messy family, I thrill to this idea. ... This is particularly true at work.
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Innovators May Be Non-Conformists, But They Are Not Risk-Takers
Smithsonian: Adam Grant, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, had a hit on his hands with his first book, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, a look at how generosity can drive professional success. With his second book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, published earlier this month, he questions conventional wisdom about what makes a successful innovator. Over the course of his research, which involved studying and interviewing innovators in different fields, reading up on the history of creative thinkers and analyzing various social science studies, he reached a number of surprising findings.