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Why We Fall Prey to Misinformation
Even when we know better, we often rely on inaccurate or misleading information to make future decisions. A review of scientific research explores the reasons why.
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Sleep Makes Relearning Faster and Longer-Lasting
Sleeping between study sessions may make it easier to recall what you studied and relearn what you forgot, with lasting results.
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Most Americans Think Their Opinion on Guns is Widely Shared
TIME: When it comes to how Americans view gun ownership, there is a curious contradiction: Almost everyone thinks the majority of the country agrees with them. In June, we ran a survey in partnership with social psychologists Sander van der Linden of Cambridge and Princeton Universities and Adam Pearson of Pomona College, in which readers were polled on their opinions about gun ownership and then asked to predict how other people felt about the issue. The more likely the 5,117 respondents were to agree with the statement “I think having a gun in the home increases one’s risk of death,” the more likely they were to think other Americans agreed as well, as the following graph demonstrates.
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A bit of cash can keep someone off the streets for 2 years or more
Science: If someone is about to become homeless, giving them a single cash infusion, averaging about $1000, may be enough to keep them off the streets for at least 2 years. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which finds that programs that proactively assist those in need don’t just help the victims—they may benefit society as a whole. “I think this is a really important study, and it’s really well done,” says Beth Shinn, a community psychologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville who specializes in homelessness but was not involved in the work. Read the whole story: Science
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The power of rituals
The Boston Globe: WADE BOGGS, THE Hall of Fame third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, was famous for his pregame rituals. Before each outing, he ate chicken, took batting practice at 5:17 p.m., did wind sprints at 7:17 p.m., and fielded 150 ground balls. He also wrote the Hebrew word for life (“chai”) in the dirt before going up to bat. Did these superstitions do any good? Some new research suggests they might have, and that anyone — from Olympic athletes to office workers — can benefit from the same kinds of routines. So, how does one go about testing the power of superstition?
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The Problem With Slow Motion
The New York Times: Watching slow-motion footage of an event can certainly improve our judgment of what happened. But can it also impair judgment? This question arose in the 2009 murder trial of a man named John Lewis, who killed a police officer during an armed robbery of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Philadelphia. Mr. Lewis pleaded guilty; the only question for the jury was whether the murder resulted from a “willful, deliberate and premeditated” intent to kill or — as Mr. Lewis argued — from a spontaneous, panicked reaction to seeing the officer enter the store unexpectedly. The key piece of evidence was a surveillance video of the shooting, which the jury saw both in real time and in slow motion.
