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We identify people by their body, when face is no help
The Telegraph: When trying to recognise someone from far away or when their face is obscured, the brain uses information from a person's body size and shape to figure out who it is. Scientists had previously thought recognition relied solely on facial features but the latest discovery found that working out who someone is from far away relies on other physical cues. The finding could have implications for security and law enforcement, who currently rely on facial features for recognising people. Researcher Allyson Rice said: "Psychologists and computer scientists have concentrated almost exclusively on the role of the face in person recognition.
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Stop Making Eye Contact
New York Magazine: It's always tough to determine the appropriate amount of time to hold someone's gaze. Too short, and you risk seeming bored or distractible; too long, and you look like you might be a robot, or flirting. The conventional wisdom is that people who make unflinching eye contact are more trustworthy, but a new study (noticed by Katy Waldman at Slate) suggests that if you’re arguing with someone who disagrees with you, you’ll be more likely to persuade them if you don’t look directly into their eyes. Read the whole story: New York Magazine
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Genes May Predispose Some People to Focus on the Negative
New research finds that a previously known gene variant may predispose individuals to perceive emotional events — especially negative ones — more vividly than others. The new findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “This is the first study to find that this genetic variation can significantly affect how people see and experience the world,” says psychological scientist Rebecca Todd of the University of British Columbia.
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Making eye contact can hurt your argument, study finds
The Washington Post: “Look at me when I’m talking to you!” If you’ve ever used that line during a disagreement, you might want to think again. Forcing eye contact when trying to change someone’s mind may actually cause listeners to become more stubborn, a new study shows. Researchers found that subjects made to hold eye contact with a speaker were less open-minded and held steadfast to their original opinion, more so than those who looked elsewhere. “Eye contact is a very intimate thing,” said Julia A. Minson, study author and a social psychologist.
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For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov
The New York Times: Say you are getting ready for a blind date or a job interview. What should you do? Besides shower and shave, of course, it turns out you should read — but not just anything. Something by Chekhov or Alice Munro will help you navigate new social territory better than a potboiler by Danielle Steel. That is the conclusion of a study published Thursday in the journal Science.
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Time is not money
The Economist: “The love of money”, St Paul memorably wrote to his protégé Timothy, “is the root of all evil.” “All” may be putting it a bit strongly, but dozens of psychological studies have indeed shown that people primed to think about money before an experiment are more likely to lie, cheat and steal during the course of that experiment. Another well-known aphorism, ascribed to Benjamin Franklin, is “time is money”. If true, that suggests a syllogism: that the love of time is a root of evil, too. But a paper just published in Psychological Science by Francesca Gino of Harvard and Cassie Mogilner of the University of Pennsylvania suggests precisely the opposite.
