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Infectious Diseases and Perceptions of Self
The threat of infection seems to increase individuals’ interest in improving their physical appearance.
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New Research From Psychological Science
A sample of new research exploring action-specific perception, intuitive judgments about the limits of science, and group reputation and prosocial behavior in children.
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To earn an opponent’s respect, speak—don’t type
The degree of polarization in American society has become impossible to ignore. People don’t just disagree with one another about politics, guns, taxes, and freedom of speech; they also disrespect those with whom they disagree. Consider what happens when you enter “gun advocates are” into Google. The first autofill option is “gun advocates are idiots.” The second? “Gun control advocates are idiots.” When we disagree with others, we reliably assume that the opposition is more than just wrong. We assume they are stupid. ...
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AI algorithms to prevent suicide gain traction
A growing number of researchers and tech companies are beginning to mine social media for warning signs of suicidal thoughts. Their efforts build on emerging evidence that the language patterns of a person's social-media posts, as well as the subconscious ways they interact with their smartphone can hint at psychiatric trouble. Businesses are just starting to test programs to automatically detect such signals. Mindstrong, for instance, an app developer in Palo Alto, California, is developing and testing machine-learning algorithms to correlate the language that people use and their behaviour — such as scrolling speed on smartphones — with symptoms of depression and other mental disorders.
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The Carpenter Vs. The Gardener: Two Models Of Modern Parenting
Parents these days are stressed. So are their kids. The root of this anxiety, one scholar says, is the way we understand the relationship between parents and children. Alison Gopnik, a psychology and philosophy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, thinks parents—especially middle-class parents—view their children as entities they can mold into a specific image. "The idea is that if you just do the right things, get the right skills, read the right books, you're going to be able to shape your child into a particular kind of adult," she says.
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SHOWING CONSERVATIVES THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE CAN SHIFT THEIR VIEWS ON THE ISSUE
Political conservatives are particularly unwilling to accept the reality of climate change. Recent research reiterated this reluctance, and noted that it appears to stem from "worry about the economic and political ramifications of climate science," rather than an inherent distrust of scientists. In other words, the implications of a warming planet challenges their worldview, and they're understandably resistant to revisit some of their most fundamental beliefs. ... "The vast majority of people want to conform to societal standards. It's innate in us as a highly social species," lead author Sander van der Linden, a University of Cambridge psychologist, said in announcing the findings.
