-
Why David Bowie Was So Loved: The Science of Nonconformity
Live Science: In the aftermath of David Bowie's death at age 69 from cancer, a re-occurring theme has appeared in tributes to the famously idiosyncratic performer: his importance to those who felt like misfits. ... Subsequently, the apes continued their tried-and-true method of getting treats from the box. But 2-year-olds switched their method 50 percent of the time, researchers reported in the journal Psychological Science. The toddlers were more likely to copy others' behavior when their peers were watching them play than when alone.
-
Children’s Lies Are a Sign of Cognitive Progress
The Wall Street Journal: Child-rearing trends might seem to blow with the wind, but most adults would agree that preschool children who have learned to talk shouldn’t lie. But learning to lie, it turns out, is an important part of learning in general—and something to consider apart from fibbing’s ethical implications. The ability to bend the truth is a developmental milestone, much like walking and talking. Research led by Kang Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, shows that lying begins early in precocious children. Among verbal 2-year-olds, 30% try to pull the wool over their parents’ eyes at some point. At age 3, 50% regularly try it.
-
Are cycle helmets really safe? Psychologists discover people take MORE risks when wearing protective head gear
Daily Mail: Cycle helmets are promoted as a way of reducing injury if someone is knocked off their bike, but new research suggests they may be increasing the risk of accidents in the first place. Psychologists have discovered that people wearing cycle helmets tend to take more risks than they would if they did not have one protecting their head. This suggests much of the protective edge provided by a helmet may be lost by making cyclists more likely to have an accident in the first place. ...
-
The Stanford professor who pioneered praising kids for effort says we’ve totally missed the point
Quartz: It is well known that telling a kid she is smart is wading into seriously dangerous territory. Reams of research show that kids who are praised for being smart fixate on performance, shying away from taking risks and meeting potential failure. Kids who are praised for their efforts try harder and persist with tasks longer. These “effort” kids have a “growth mindset” marked by resilience and a thirst for mastery; the “smart” ones have a “fixed mindset” believing intelligence to be innate and not malleable. But now, Carol Dweck, the Stanford professor of psychology who spent 40 years researching, introducing and explaining the growth mindset, is calling a big timeout.
-
Couples’ Quality of Life Linked Even When One Partner Dies
When one spouse passes away, his or her characteristics continue to be linked with the surviving spouse’s well-being, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings also indicate that this link between the deceased spouse and surviving spouse is as strong as that between partners who are both living. “The people we care about continue to influence our quality of life even when we they are gone,” says lead researcher Kyle Bourassa, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Arizona.
-
A New Way to Beat the Market: Invest in Workplace Wellness
In 1979, Jim Burke the chief executive of Johnson & Johnson started a state-of-the-art workplace wellness program in order to improve employee wellbeing and cut healthcare costs. The program’s goal was to make Johnson & Johnson employees “the healthiest in the world.” The expectation was that improving employees’ health and well-being would ultimately have a positive impact on the company's bottom line. It appears that Burke was onto something: A new study finds that companies that prioritize employee health also had significantly higher stock returns.
