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The Upside of a Long Commute? Time to Think
According to a 2011 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, it takes the average commuter about 38 minutes to reach their workplace. This means the average commuter spends almost 300 hours each year just getting to and from work. Research has shown that long commutes have a negative impact on many aspects of life, from mental health and blood pressure to divorce rates. Commuting is such a negative experience that, according to a recent analysis conducted by FiveThirtyEight, New Yorkers are willing to shell out an extra $56 a month to cut their commuting time by just one minute.
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New evidence-based policy team in Washington, DC hiring psychological scientists
A new scientific team in the Executive Office of the Mayor of Washington, DC is hiring psychological scientists, data scientists, and others, with a September 19 deadline. This new team, called The Lab @ DC, was founded and is directed by David Yokum, formerly of the U.S. Social and Behavioral Sciences Team and GSA Office of Evaluation Sciences, who spoke at the 2016 APS Convention on ways that psychological scientists can get involved in day-to-day governance.
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The Psychological Pros and Cons of Connectivity
A study of employees in South Africa indicates that people generally view their experiences with smart phones, emails, and wireless networks with more positivity than negativity.
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A Good Mood Is a Good Motivator
IYou need to alphabetize those files, transcribe last week’s meeting, and then look up some tax codes, but actually motivating yourself to take care of these tedious tasks can be a real challenge. According to new research from APS Fellow James J. Gross (Stanford University) and colleagues, people are much more likely to take on boring, unpleasant tasks when they’re in a good mood. Using a smartphone app to gather data, Gross and colleagues were able to monitor the moods of over 28,000 people in real time across an average of 27 days.
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Stereotypes Skew Our Predictions of Others’ Pains and Pleasures
Every day, millions of people – including senators, doctors, and teachers -- make consequential decisions that depend on predicting how other people will feel when they experience gains or setbacks. New research looking at events ranging from college football games to US elections shows that our predictions about others are less accurate when we have information about the groups they belong to, such as which political party or sports team they’re rooting for. This research suggests that our reliance on stereotypes about social groups interferes with accurately predicting how others will feel.
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Experience Buying and Selling Reduces Financially Costly Biases
When it comes to decisions about buying and selling, businesses are supposed to use evidence and observations about the market for goods to make profitable decisions. In classical economics, it’s assumed that people make financial decisions based on rational rules of thumb—buy low, sell high, diversify portfolios, that kind of thing. But the reality about how we make financial decisions appears to be much more complicated than simply assessing the rational value of goods.