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How Not to Be the Next Brian Williams
Slate: For years, Brian Williams told various versions of a story about his experiences during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Last week, he admitted he had gotten crucial facts wrong, and he apologized. It’s possible that Williams was lying all along for self-aggrandizing reasons, but his serial misstatements could also be the product of ordinary, unintentional memory distortion. We may never know which is true. But the scientific evidence for the fallibility of human memory is now so well established and widespread that claims of false memory should no longer earn anyone a free pass.
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A Solo Traveler’s Guide to Meeting People
The New York Times: When you are traveling solo, it’s not always a breeze to strike up a conversation with a stranger. In fact, how do you meet other single travelers or locals in the first place? And if you’re looking for friendship — or even something more — how do you ensure that amid all the fun you don’t neglect to take safety precautions? Before we get to tactics, it’s helpful to know that you are likely to be rewarded for overcoming apprehensions about approaching someone new when you’re on the road.
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Just Feeling Like Part of a Team Increases Motivation on Challenging Tasks
New research finds that just the sense that we’re working together with others can dramatically increase our motivation to complete difficult tasks—even when we’re actually working alone. Across five experiments Stanford psychological scientists Priyanka B.
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The Psychology of the Firefighter
Regulatory flexibility may help to explain why some firefighters who experience trauma develop PTSD and other don’t, researchers find.
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Mistargeted Messages Could Spur Help-Seeking for Depression
Many people suffering from depression are not seeking treatment, but researchers have identified a possible communication technique that could spur help-seeking.
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Time-as-Money Mindset Decreases Green Behaviors
Pacific Standard: How can people be convinced to think about the environmental consequences of their behaviors? New research suggests one surprising piece of the answer may be: Pay them a salary, rather than an hourly wage. “People are less likely to engage in environmentally friendly behavior if they are paid by the hour, a form of compensation that leads people to see their time as money,” write University of British Columbia psychologists Ashley Whillans and Elizabeth Dunn.
