-
Older teenagers ‘quicker to improve maths and reasoning skills’
The Guardian: Older teenagers and young adults are able to improve their fundamental maths skills and reasoning abilities more rapidly than younger teens, according to research that overturns longstanding assumptions about children’s learning. The research, published by academics from University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, also upends ideas that tests used in grammar school selection can be made “tutor-proof” to assess potential.
-
Psychology can explain why wildly successful teams get tempted to the dark side
Quartz: A few years ago, Google conducted a massive internal study to understand how to build an effective team. Researchers concluded that the most important ingredient for good teamwork was psychological safety—in which members of a team feel comfortable expressing conflicting opinions and taking risks, knowing that their colleagues have their back. ... The news gets worse from there. According to a 2009 paper published in Psychological Science, when one individual feels safe enough to be brazenly unethical, others who identify as part of that group are tempted to go down the same road. In other words, one bad apple can rot the whole barrel.
-
Why putting on a fake smile doesn’t make you feel happy
New Zealand Herald: For years nervous exam takers and job interviewees have been advised to smile to make themselves feel better. Sadly it seems there isn't a glimmer of truth in faking a beaming grin to make yourself feel happier and more relaxed. For a myth-busting review of an old study reveals grinning won't always improve your mood, just as frowning doesn't make you feel unhappy. A 1998 study asked participants to hold a pen between their teeth, causing them to 'grin', or between their lips, inducing a 'frown'. Read the whole story: New Zealand Herald
-
People Love Working with Extraverts, Until the Going Gets Tough
The same qualities that led to an “extravert advantage” when teams functioned smoothly led to exacerbated tensions when teammates faced conflicts.
-
When It Comes to Success, Age Really Is Just a Number
The New York Times: The question hangs over the career of every ambitious soul: Is there still time to make a mark? Charles Darwin was 29 when he came up with his theory of natural selection. Einstein had his annus mirabilis at age 26; Marie Curie made big discoveries about radiation in her late 20s. Mozart’s Symphony No. 1 in E flat: 8 years old. For years, scientists who study achievement have noted that in many fields the most electrifying work comes earlier in life rather than later. After all, younger people can devote their life to a project in a way that more senior people cannot, and young stars attract support, mentors and prestigious appointments.
-
Turns Out, Faking a Smile Might Not Make You Happier After All
Live Science: Perhaps you've heard that you can brighten your mood just by faking a smile. But that idea, which came out of a psychological experiment from the 1980s, may not be true after all, as scientists were not able to repeat the results in a lab setting in a large, rigorous new study. The hypothesis, called the facial-feedback hypothesis, dates back to a 1988 study in which participants rated the humor of cartoons while inadvertently mimicking either a smile or a pout. The participants were simply asked to hold a pen in their mouths, either with their lips (which pushes the face into a frown-like expression) or their teeth (which mimics a smile).
