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9/11: What else it taught us
Boston Globe: Sept. 11 transformed the world of American ideas in many ways—fueling sharp debates about America’s role in world affairs, about the clash of religions, about freedom and security. Money flowed into counter-terrorism research. Universities hired experts on Islam and the Middle East; students flocked to courses on any subject they thought might help them understand what had happened. The attacks also began to reshape our knowledge in ways that didn’t make headlines, revealing gaps in our knowledge of terrorism, of the costs of security, of the human response to trauma.
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Breast-Feeding Makes Women ‘Mama Bears’
Yahoo! Canada: Like mama bears ferociously protecting their young, new research suggests human moms, at least those who are breast-feeding, can act more aggressively than others. In a controlled lab setting, breast-feeding moms were indeed more aggressive toward people who were rude to them. "Breast-feeding mothers aren’t going to go out and get into bar fights, but if someone is threatening them or their infant, our research suggests they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner," study researcher Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, of the University of California in Los Angeles, said in a statement.
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Narcissists Make Horrible Bosses: Study
U.S. News & World Report: Narcissists' too-high opinion of themselves means they don't make good business or political leaders, according to a new study. Traits such as high self-esteem, confidence and dominance often help narcissists rise to the top, but once they take over, their self-involvement and authoritarianism get in the way, the researchers explained. The researchers' study of 150 people who were asked to make decisions in groups of three showed that narcissists' self-centeredness impeded the free and creative exchange of ideas, which is a crucial part of effective group decision-making and performance. In the study, each group was asked to choose a job candidate.
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The psychology of terror
WXIA: Anthony Lemieux is a professor at the Emory School of Medicine whose speciality is the psychology of terror. 11Alive News talked to him about al-Qaeda's threat of violence to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Professor Lemieux says he is not surprised by that threat. He says al-Qaeda likes to warn of violent attacks on symbolic dates, such as this anniversary. He says what is interesting is that in this instance, we are talking about three individuals, which is very stripped down from the scale of the attacks ten years ago.
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Breast-feeding moms more aggressive, study says
CBS News: Girl power? Maybe it should be grrrrl power, at least when it comes to mothers who breast-feed their babies. Nursing moms protect their babies twice as aggressively as their bottle-feeding counterparts, according to a provocative new study. "Breast-feeding mothers aren't going to go out and get into bar fights, but if someone is threatening them or their infant, our research suggests they may be more likely to defend themselves in an aggressive manner," study author Dr. Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a UCLA psychologist, said in a written statement. What explains a phenomenon that some are calling the "mama bear" effect?
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Don’t let others stress you out
CNN: When I tell Pam, my stressed-out lawyer friend, that stress is contagious, she seems unimpressed. “I have always kind of suspected that,” she says, “ever since in 'Ghostbusters II,' when the guys discover that people’s nonstop negativity has created an evil slime that threatens humanity. Then they find out the slime reacts to both positive and negative emotions, so they have a bunch of New Yorkers hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ to it in Central Park or something. And boom! The slime dissolves.” I’m sort of speechless, though the comparison is oddly compelling.
