In Romance, Opposites Attract
Grab your popcorn, Coke, and
Raisinets, because the curtain is about to rise at your local movie house:
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From 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry L. Beyerstein. Copyright © 2010 by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, and Barry L. Beyerstein. This material is reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Newsweek: Why do psychologists reject science? (from Psychological Science in the Public Interest)
By Sharon Begley
Newsweek columnist Sharon Begley discusses a new PSPI report on the current state of clinical psychology and what psychologists can do to steer their field (and their patients) in the right direction.
Click here for more coverage
The Origin of Cultural Differences in Cognition: The Social Orientation Hypothesis (from Current Directions in Psychological Science)
By Michael E. W. Varnum, Igor Grossmann, Shinobu Kitayama, and Richard E. Nisbett
Culture influences how we think--Westerners tend to be more analytic while East Asians tend to be more holistic. Recent studies suggest that differences in social orientation (i.e., independence versus interdependence) may be responsible for this difference in thinking style.
Do Green Products Make Us Better People? (from Psychological Science)
By Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong
Purchasing green products may help the environment, but buying these products may not be as beneficial to our moral well-being. Volunteers acted less altruistically and were more likely to cheat and steal after buying green products than after purchasing conventional products, suggesting that purchasing green products may produce the counterintuitive effect of promoting unethical behaviors by establishing moral credentials (i.e., by building up moral credit).
The Psychology of Residential Mobility (from Perspectives on Psychological Science)
By Shigehiro Oishi
The number of times we move (i.e., residential mobility) influences our social relationships and well-being, affecting everything from the type of friendships we have to how we describe ourselves. Residential mobility is associated with an emphasis on the individual over the group. Although residential mobility can be appealing due to economic opportunities and freedom, it is also associated with lower levels of well-being and, especially for introverts, a higher mortality risk.
How Delaying a Choice Reduces the Appeal of (Descriptively) Normative Options (from Psychological Science)
By Niels van de Ven, Thomas Gilovich, and Marcel Zeelenberg
People generally prefer the status quo over trying something new. However, following a self-imposed delay, the appeal of an alternative option may be enhanced: Volunteers who chose to delay making a decision were less likely to pick the default option than were volunteers who made a selection immediately. Delaying a choice that could have been made earlier may indicate that one is not confident of which alternative is best; that doubt might make people less likely to choose the standard option.
