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The perils of hindsight judgment
Scientific American: Paul Meehl was renowned for many things: his insistence on statistical and research rigor; his prescient views on schizophrenia; his advancements in psychotherapy; his creation of one of the scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI—one of the most widely used tests of personality in clinical research and practice.) He is equally famous for his aversion to academic conferences. “We never see Dr. Meehl at a case conference,” whines one of Meehl’s hypothetical students. “Why is this?” This presumptive lament is the instigation for one of Meehl’s most widely cited papers, “Why I do not attend case conferences.” ...
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A Simple App For A Happier Life
Forbes: There are more social apps out there these days drawing inspiration from social science researches – and maybe rightly so. For example, Path personal network is inspired by the Dunbar’s number, which is the maximum and optimum number of friends a person can sustain stable inter-personal relationship with, at any point in time. Lift app is based on the theory of operant conditioning, where positive reinforcement such as praises from others and a sense of achievement can lead habit formation. The Happier app, which was launched in February this year, is created based on the principle of happiness. ...
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Superhero or Supervillain?
Slate: From invisibility to superhuman strength to telekinesis, a wave of emerging technologies promise to give people powers once reserved for comic-book characters. Which raises an important question: If humans become superhuman, will we turn out to be superheroes—or supervillains? ... The findings suggest that acquiring a superpower can spark benevolent tendencies. Give someone Superman’s abilities, and she’ll start to behave a little more like Superman. Clinical psychologist Robin Rosenberg, who helped design the experiment, said its outcome supported her hypothesis that people might treat an extraordinary ability as a sort of gift that brings with it a responsibility to help others.
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Weight Gain Linked With Personality Trait Changes
People who gain weight are more likely to give in to temptations but also are more thoughtful about their actions, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. To understand how fluctuations in body weight might relate to personality changes, psychological scientist Angelina Sutin of the Florida State University College of Medicine and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) examined data from two large-scale longitudinal studies of Baltimore residents. “We know a great deal about how personality traits contribute to weight gain,” said Sutin.
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As College Applications Rise, So Does Indecision
TIME: Welcome to Decision Day, when high school seniors choose which college to attend and send in deposits to secure their place. It’s supposed to be the fun part — the reward for all those long nights spent writing papers, cramming for tests and putting the finishing touches on science projects. But with more students applying to a larger number of schools than ever before, the May 1 deadline to formally accept an offer of admission from just one of those colleges comes with its own set of anxieties. ... Applying to more schools just makes everything worse,” says Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Lessand a psychology professor at Swarthmore College.
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Fearful expressions help pin-point danger
The Telegraph: Researchers found that the expressions people pull when they are frightened enlarge their visual field whilst simultaneously signalling to others around them where to look for threats. Therefore the expressions are functional in ways that directly benefit both the person who makes the expression and the person who observes it, it is claimed. The findings show that widened eyes provide a wider visual field which can help us to locate potential threats in our environment. These widened eyes also help to send a clearer gaze signal telling observers to "look there" - which may enhance their ability to locate the same threat, as well.
