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Why We Keep Losing Our Keys
The Wall Street Journal: You've put your keys somewhere and now they appear to be nowhere, certainly not in the basket by the door they're supposed to go in and now you're 20 minutes late for work. Kitchen counter, night stand, book shelf, work bag: Wait, finally, there they are under the mail you brought in last night. Losing things is irritating and yet we are a forgetful people. The average person misplaces up to nine items a day, and one-third of respondents in a poll said they spend an average of 15 minutes each day searching for items—cellphones, keys and paperwork top the list, according to an online survey of 3,000 people published in 2012 by a British insurance company.
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‘Like Little Language Vacuum Cleaners,’ Kids Suck Up Swear Words
NPR: Most parents are pretty concerned about their kids using foul language. Dr. Timothy Jay, a psychologist and expert in swearing, says parents worried about bad words might be fighting a losing battle. "As soon as kids start talking, they pick up this kind of language," Jay says. "They're like little language vacuum cleaners, so they repeat what they hear." They pick it up from parents, as much as they may try to hide it, from siblings and peers and from entertainment. Jay, a professor at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, examines when and why children incorporate taboo language into their lexicons in a recent paper in the American Journal of Psychology.
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ADHD Drug May Help Preserve Our Self-Control Resources
Methylphenidate, also known as Ritalin, may prevent the depletion of self-control, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Self-control can be difficult -- sticking with a diet or trying to focus attention on a boring textbook are hard things to do. Considerable research suggests one potential explanation for this difficulty: Exerting self-control for a long period seems to “deplete” our ability to exert self-control effectively on subsequent tasks. “It is as if self-control is a limited resource that ‘runs out’ if it is used too much,” says lead researcher Chandra Sripada of the University of Michigan.
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Creative Hobbies Linked With Job Performance
At some point or other, most of us probably feel like our work lives are gobbling up our personal lives, leaving little time for hobbies. But new research indicates that people who spend time on
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Psychological Science in the Public Interest: Call for Editor Nominations
Deadline: June 1, 2014 (nominations have been closed) The Association for Psychological Science (APS) invites nominations for Editor of Psychological Science in the Public Interest (PSPI). Now in its 15th year of publication, this highly respected journal features three commissioned reports per year on topics of national interest by panels of the field’s most distinguished researchers. Elaine F. Walker, Emory University, is the current Editor. PSPI reports provide definitive, state-of-the-science summaries — juried analyses — on subjects in which psychological science both plays a central role and has something important to say.
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Perspectives on Psychological Science: Call for Editor Nominations
Deadline: April 1, 2014 (nominations have been closed) Nominations are now being invited for Editor of the APS journal Perspectives on Psychological Science to succeed Barbara Spellman, whose term will end in 2015. Perspectives on Psychological Science publishes an eclectic mix of provocative reports and articles, including broad integrative reviews, overviews of research programs, meta-analyses, theoretical statements, and articles on topics such as the philosophy of science, opinion pieces about major issues in the field, autobiographical reflections of senior members of the field, and even occasional humorous essays and sketches.