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Staring contests are automatic — especially if you’re bossy
MSNBC: Sometimes you can win a battle without lifting a finger. Just think about the time you got into a staredown over that last open parking space in the Costco lot. Somebody blinked, right? Now, a new study suggests that we may engage in staring contests without even thinking about it, especially if we're people who like to run things. Read the whole story: MSNBC
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Are You a Video Game Master or Addict?
APS Member Douglas Gentile, who runs the Media Research Laboratory at Iowa State University is interviewed via Skype by Fox News. Gentile discusses video game habits among youth and if their behavior patterns follow that of an addiction. Read the full story: Fox Excessive gaming linked to depression and anxiety in kids: MyFoxBOSTON.com
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More Americans Believe in Climate Change than in Global Warming
Reuters: A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, show that more Americans believe in "climate change" than in "global warming." The study, which will see its results published in an upcoming issure of the journal Public Opinion Quarterly, surveyed 2,267 adult Americans asking them a simple question regarding the issue of climate change/global warming. Read the whole story: Reuters
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Abstract Art Isn’t So Inscrutable, Study Finds
The New York Times: Do the canvases of Cy Twombly look like finger-painting to you? No matter how you answer, you’re probably more an of aesthete than you think. Building on a put-down commonly directed at abstract art – “my kid (or a monkey/elephant) could do that” – researchers at Boston College tested whether laypeople and art students could distinguish between abstract paintings by professional artists and those made by schoolchildren and animals. As they report in the journal Psychological Science, even non-experts could tell the difference between finger (or trunk) painting and the real deal. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Pitchers Bean More Batters in the Heat of the Summer
Pitchers’ temperatures — and tempers — seem to flare when the thermometer tops 90 degrees, research shows.
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Sleep Deprivation May Encourage Risky Decisions
Bloomberg (HealthDay): Sleep deprivation may lead to overly optimistic thinking that fails to properly consider the potential consequences of financial risks, a new study suggests. Duke University researchers assessed the effects of sleep deprivation on 29 adult volunteers who were asked to take part in several economic decision-making tasks in the morning after a normal night of sleep and again one morning after a night of sleep deprivation. Read the whole story: Bloomberg (HealthDay)