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Is Success in Our Genes?
Many factors influence the course of a person’s career, from a strong personal motivation to succeed to a leg up because of a family connection. One factor that psychological scientists are increasingly exploring is the extent to which our professional success is shaped by our genes. In a recent study, published in Psychological Science, a team of researchers led by Daniel W. Belsky of Duke University School of Medicine investigated the link between genetics and upward social mobility.
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‘Like’ it or not, teen brain is primed to join the crowd
The Washington Post: About the easiest action you can take in social media is to "like" a tweet or a photo. If you're a teenager, your brain is particularly primed to "like" what others have "liked," according to researchers from UCLA. Their new study, published in Psychological Science, is thought to be the first to replicate the social media experience while people are inside an fMRI scanner. The findings underscore the importance of both reward-seeking behavior and peer acceptance in adolescence. Read the whole story: The Washington Post
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CASUAL SEX: EVERYONE IS DOING IT
The New Yorker: Zhana Vrangalova had hit a problem. On a blustery day in early spring, sitting in a small coffee shop near the campus of New York University, where she is an adjunct professor of psychology, she was unable to load onto her laptop the Web site that we had met to discuss. This was not a technical malfunction on her end; rather, the site had been blocked. Vrangalova, who is thirty-four, with a dynamic face framed by thick-rimmed glasses, has spent the past decade researching human sexuality, and, in particular, the kinds of sexual encounters that occur outside the norms of committed relationships.
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Who Blames the Victim?
The New York Times: IF you are mugged on a midnight stroll through the park, some people will feel compassion for you, while others will admonish you for being there in the first place. If you are raped by an acquaintance after getting drunk at a party, some will be moved by your misfortune, while others will ask why you put yourself in such a situation. What determines whether someone feels sympathy or scorn for the victim of a crime? Is it a function of political affiliation? Of gender? Of the nature of the crime? Read the whole story: The New York Times
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A recent experiment at Google suggests there’s a simple way to stop mindless snacking at work
Business Insider: They looked like any other Googlers, tapping away on their laptops while sitting in a common area in the Google New York office. But in reality, they were spies. Scientists had sent them there on a single reconnaissance mission: Observe the snack choices people made while walking through the nearby "micro-kitchen," or the break room. The micro-kitchen was designed so that one beverage station was located about six feet from a snack bar containing M&Ms, nuts, and other treats. The other beverage station was located about 18 feet away. ...
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A new federal report discusses an unexpected theory for why murders are rising in U.S. cities
The Washington Post: More people were murdered in large U.S. cities last year than in 2014 — the first substantial increase in homicides in a quarter-century, after years of improving safety on American streets — and criminologists still are not sure why. There has been a fierce debate about the causes of the violence, but one possible explanation has not received enough public attention so far, according to the the author of a report published Wednesday by the Justice Department.
