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To “Think Outside the Box”, Think Outside the Box
Want to think outside the box? Try actually thinking outside of a box. In a study to be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers had students think up solutions to problems while acting out various metaphors about creative thinking and found that the instructions actually worked.
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Science’s “most beautiful theories”
Reuters: From Darwinian evolution to the idea that personality is largely shaped by chance, the favorite theories of the world's most eminent thinkers are as eclectic as science itself. Every January, John Brockman, the impresario and literary agent who presides over the online salon Edge.org, asks his circle of scientists, digerati and humanities scholars to tackle one question. In previous years, they have included "how is the Internet changing the way you think?" and "what is the most important invention in the last 2,000 years?" This year, he posed the open-ended question "what is your favorite deep, elegant or beautiful explanation?" Read the full story: Reuters
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What’s Behind the Phenomenon of Aging and Happiness?
International Business Times: Older people are generally happier, and some researchers believe it is because they tend to focus and remember more positive events while leaving behind negative ones, according to a study. These cognitive processes help older people control their emotions and let them see life more enthusiastically and in a sunnier light, researchers said. There is a lot of good theory about this age difference in happiness," said psychologist Derek Isaacowitz of Northeastern University, "but much of the research does not provide direct evidence" of the relationships between the phenomena and actual happiness. Read the full story: International Business Times
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Can Money Buy Self-Esteem?
Scientific American: Sellers have long charged a premium for objects that confer some kind of social status, even if they offer few, if any, functional benefits over cheaper products. Designer sunglasses, $200,000 Swiss watches, and many high-end cars often seem to fall into this category. If a marketer can make a mundane item seem like a status symbol—maybe by wrapping it in a fancy package or associating it with wealth, success or beauty—they can charge more for it. Although this practice may seem like a way to trick consumers out of their hard-earned cash, studies show that people do reap real psychological benefits from the purchase of high status items.
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Who’s mummy’s little darling? How bond with mother in first 18 months can shape our love life
Daily Mail: A baby’s relationship with their mother during the first 18 months of life affects their behaviour in future romances, a study has shown. The ability to trust, love and work through arguments is defined early on in childhood. A mistreated infant becomes a defensive arguer while the baby whose mother was attentive and supportive is able to work through problems with their partner. And while attitudes can change with new relationships, old patterns rear up during times of stress. A team studied 75 children of low-income mothers whom they had been assessing from birth into their early 30s, including their close friends and romantic partners.
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The values diet
The Boston Globe: Losing weight is hard. Wouldn’t it be nice if a simple one-time exercise could shave off several pounds over several months? Researchers asked women to write about their most important value and why it was important to them, or about a less important value and why it might be important to someone else. Two and a half months later, women who had written about their most important value had lost weight, whereas women who had written about a less important value had gained weight. The first group also had smaller waists and better cognitive performance than the second group.
