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Learning New Skills Keeps an Aging Mind Sharp
Older adults are encouraged to stay active to keep their minds sharp. But new findings from a longitudinal study suggests that only demanding activities — such as learning photography — will benefit cognitive functioning.
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21st Annual RAND Summer Institute
21st Annual RAND Summer Institute, July 7-10, 2014, Santa Monica, CA. Two conferences addressing critical issues facing our aging population: Mini-Medical School for Social Scientists; Workshop on the Demography, Economics, Psychology, and Epidemiology of Aging. Interested researchers can apply for financial support covering travel and accommodations. More information and application form: www.rand.org/labor/aging/rsi.html.
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Big Salary Hikes Today Could Lead to a Psychological Fall Tomorrow
Think hefty merit raises, commissions, and bonus structures are the best motivators? Maybe not. Such remuneration schemes can actually backfire. Staff morale can take a big dive during lean times, when bonuses and raises are curtailed. Temporary declines in income—say, from lower sales commissions due to a business slowdown— have a much larger impact on our feeling of contentment than income gains of the same magnitude. A new study conducted in Europe demonstrates this.
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Adaptation to Faces and Voices: Unimodal, Cross-Modal, and Sex-Specific Effects Anthony C. Little, David R. Feinberg, Lisa M. DeBruine, and Benedict C. Jones Past research has shown that exposure to faces can alter subsequent perceptions of novel faces. The same adaptation effect has been shown for voices. In this study, the authors examined whether there is cross-modal adaptation between sound and visual stimuli. Participants' perception of female faces was assessed by having them rate the normality of masculinized or feminized faces.
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Conservatives & Liberals Equally Smug, Study Finds
LiveScience: The current government shutdown has both Republicans and Democrats laying blame, with each side claiming the other won't compromise. While science can't fix political gridlock, it can answer one big question: Is one side naturally more intransigent than the other? New research suggests not. In fact, political liberals and political conservatives are approximately equally convinced of the superiority of their views — though which views they feel smug about differ. Conservatives, for example, are certain their views on the income tax rate are superior, while liberals are sure they know best about government welfare programs.
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Why Are Hundreds of Harvard Students Studying Ancient Chinese Philosophy?
The Atlantic: Picture a world where human relationships are challenging, narcissism and self-centeredness are on the rise, and there is disagreement on the best way for people to live harmoniously together. It sounds like 21st-century America. But the society that Michael Puett, a tall, 48-year-old bespectacled professor of Chinese history at Harvard University, is describing to more than 700 rapt undergraduates is China, 2,500 years ago. Puett's course Classical Chinese Ethical and Political Theory has become the third most popular course at the university. The only classes with higher enrollment are Intro to Economics and Intro to Computer Science.