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Sex on the Brain
Slate: Are male brains different from female brains? If so, how? And does it matter? This week, five researchers debated these questions at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Their panel session, “The Promise and Peril of Research on Sex Differences,” didn’t settle the controversy, because it isn’t binary, and evidence is complex. But the exchange did clarify common mistakes to watch out for. Here’s a guide. Read the whole story: Slate
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Right-handed people don’t care for reggae
msnbc: The hand you use to write, brush your teeth, and throw a ball may also tip people off to your taste in music, a new study reveals. An Ohio researcher has found that people with a strong preference for using their right hand for most everything they do, seem to like popular types of music and tend to shy away from less familiar genres, especially bluegrass and reggae. Strong righties, the study suggests, may be less open to new musical experiences and tend to gravitate toward styles they're more familiar with. Read the whole story: msnbc
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Does The Military Make The Man Or Does The Man Make The Military?
“Be all you can be,” the Army tells potential recruits. The military promises personal reinvention. But does it deliver? A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that personality does change a little after military service - German conscripts come out of the military less agreeable than their peers who chose civilian service. It’s hard to do long-term studies on how personalities change.
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What You Want In A Mate May Not Actually Be What You Want, Study Suggests
The Huffington Post: Think you know what you want in a mate? That may not matter when it comes to actually choosing one, a new study suggests. "People have ideas about the abstract qualities they're looking for in a romantic partner," study researcher Paul W. Eastwick, an assistant professor of psychology at Texas A&M University, said in a statement.
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Seven healthy sins: Some of the bad things you’ve been warned about may actually be good for you
Canada.com: Everything in moderation. I think of those three words as my mother's superhero buzz-phrase. Not quite as catchy as Bart Simpson's "Don't have a cow, man," or Captain Marvel's "Shazam!" but possibly more instructive. After decades of scare stories on TV and in magazines and newspapers about the dangers of red meat, alcohol, marijuana and sexually transmitted diseases, it's a wonder anyone even gets out of bed in the morning. It's dangerous out there. Liquor, red meat and anger can seriously harm you. And let us not forget the moral, legal and medical complications that travel hand-in-glove with marijuana and sex.
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Is There A Hidden Bias Against Creativity?
CEOs, teachers, and leaders claim they want creative ideas to solve problems. But creative ideas are rejected all the time. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people have a hidden bias against creativity. We claim to like creativity, but when we’re feeling uncertain and anxious—just the way you might feel when you’re trying to come up with a creative solution to a problem—we cannot recognize the creative ideas we so desire. Generally, people think creativity is good. Before starting this study, the researchers checked that with a group of college students.
