Research out of Carnegie Mellon and Harvard suggests that people tend to give more weight to thoughts that “come out of nowhere” versus ideas that arrive through a deliberate process Rather than dismissing spontaneous thoughts as meaningless or random, people tend to assume these thoughts contain more meaningful insight Even on important topics such as […]
Intuition and Judgment Read More »
Most people believe that “experts” are made, the product of deliberate practice rather than born out of innate ability (think Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule for his 2008 book Outliers). A new Princeton University study suggests the amount of practice accumulated over time does not seem to play as big of a role as originally thought
Experts: Born or Made? Read More »
New scientific research suggests that mothers are more altruistic than fathers. The reason is because they know that their children are their own, where as fathers can never be completely certain. When parents from an impoverished area were offered cash for themselves or high quality sandals for their children, fathers opted for cash when they were alone.
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1. New research suggests people who lose their spouses do better when they confide in a close friend rather than a family member 2. Having a non-family member confidant can significantly boost the physical health of widowed individuals 3. The author suggests that family members make suboptimal confidantes because the emotional complexities of family can
1. New research suggests hurricanes with feminine names are more likely to cause deaths than ones with masculine names 2. Researchers argue hurricanes with feminine names cause more death because people aren’t as intimidated by female names and thus don’t take as many precautions 3. Analysis suggests that changing a severe hurricane’s name from the
Gender Bias and Hurricanes Read More »
1. Research from Case Western Reserve University suggests a linkage between entitled attitudes—how much individuals think they deserve “special treatment”—and sexism 2. Entitled men are more likely to endorse hostile views of women 3. More surprisingly, entitled women are more likely to endorse views of women as frail and needing extra care Source: Joshua B.
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Research from Michigan State finds that overweight political candidates tend to receive fewer votes than their thinner opponents in US elections Although overweight men have a fair shot at getting on the ballot, they tend to lose to their thinner opponents The research suggests overweight women face discrimination in even getting on the ballot—this finding
Weight and Democracy Read More »
Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinary favoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a new theoretical review. “We can produce discrimination without having any intent to discriminate or any dislike for those who end up being disadvantaged by our
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Meditation isn’t just about easing stress New research shows we actually process more thoughts and feelings during mediation than when we are just relaxing Although many people attempt to suppress random thoughts during mediation, research suggests that allowing the mind to wander actually increases processing Source: Jian Xu. Nondirective meditation activates default mode network and
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A new study of social network marketing (think Facebook) illustrates that the larger your network the greater the value generated and the more stable the network…anyone remember MySpace? In low-intensity networks (like your personal network), effective management can serve as the catalyst for growth…Are you being proactive with your network? Reached out to any long
Social Networks & Your Network Read More »