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Piecing Together the Flight 370 Narrative
It’s been 13 days since the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished. In that time, there have been hundreds of news reports positing different theories about its whereabouts and its fate. But by virtue of the fact that the plane is still missing, each of those stories is based on circumstantial evidence -- no one truly knows what happened, and the leads and hypotheses that seemed plausible for Flight 370 a week ago have since changed. This is an especially trying situation for those with family or friends on board -- people who want nothing more than to hear a clear-cut story about the fate of their loved ones.
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How Science and Technology Can Help Each Other Flourish
Psychological science and technology stand side by side as two of the fastest-growing areas of interest in the world, yet they rarely intersect or interact to mutually benefit one another. This Presidential Cross-Cutting Theme program at the 2014 APS Annual Convention, May 22–25 in San Francisco, will feature three subpanels on behavioral genetics, mobile sensing, and social networks.
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The Science of Older and Wiser
The New York Times: Since ancient times, the elusive concept of wisdom has figured prominently in philosophical and religious texts. The question remains compelling: What is wisdom, and how does it play out in individual lives? Most psychologists agree that if you define wisdom as maintaining positive well-being and kindness in the face of challenges, it is one of the most important qualities one can possess to age successfully — and to face physical decline and death. Vivian Clayton, a geriatric neuropsychologist in Orinda, Calif., developed a definition of wisdom in the 1970s, when she was a graduate student, that has served as a foundation for research on the subject ever since.
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Have a Patience Problem? Here’s a Solution
Inc.: Gratefulness and patience don't always come easily--especially in the tough, early days of a startup. However, recent research suggests that one trait might naturally boost the other, which is something you can use to your benefit the next time you're feeling antsy. According to a blog post on the Association for Psychological Science website, adopting a grateful attitude could be a tool for practicing patience. A forthcoming study, which will appear in the journal Psychological Science, looked at the impact that gratitude and happiness have on an individual's propensity to wait for an outcome.
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Parents, Wired to Distraction
The New York Times: Every age of parenthood — and parenthood at every age — yields some discouraging metric, some new rating system on which parents can be judged and found wanting. We endlessly jury family dinner rituals, day care and nannies, parents’ readiness to follow schedules, or to ignore the rules and follow their child’s directives. Whatever you are doing is probably wrong. Yes, you, yes, right now. Put down that cellphone and listen to me. In a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, researchers observed diners in Boston-area fast food restaurants, looking at the new family configuration of adult, child and mobile device.
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How Actors Create Emotions: A Problematic Psychology
The Atlantic: Early on in her career, Deborah Margolin realized that she was a woman nobody liked, not even herself. She was a “homely person who was pregnant all the time”—not because she enjoyed sex, according to Margolin, but because of a sense of self-loathing that led her toward the same dead end, over and over again. She was married to a man but wished that she were with a woman. Or, rather, she wished that she were a woman—a different one. She wished she were Patience or Sarah, two women whom everyone around her seemed to want. Historical-fiction buffs might recognize the name Patience and Sarah as a novel set in the 19th-century adapted for stage.