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Researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple way to get kids to eat more veggies
The Washington Post: It seems like an age-old problem — kids not eating their vegetables — and it is. Little ones, more interested in macaroni and cheese than sautéed spinach, are still leaving the latter largely untouched. The proof is both anecdotal — what parent hasn't tussled with this? — and borne out in data. Nine out of 10 children, after all, still don't eat enough vegetables, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ... Researchers at Texas A&M University, looking for patterns in food consumption among elementary school children, found an interesting quirk about when and why kids choose to eat their vegetables.
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Iconic Gestures Facilitate Discourse Comprehension in Individuals With Superior Immediate Memory for Body Configurations Ying Choon Wu and Seana Coulson Iconic gestures are those that depict an aspect of the object or action to which they are referring. The researchers hypothesized that sensitivity to the meaning of these types of gestures is linked to differences in kinesthetic working memory (KWM). The researchers assessed participants' KWM span and had them watch short video clips in which a person's gestures were congruent or incongruent with the accompanying audio track.
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Think Remembering Is Always Best? Forget About It!
NPR: I forgot to schedule a haircut last week. I regularly forget my usernames and passwords. I've forgotten anniversaries, birthdays and promises. If these confessions sound familiar, it's because we forget all the time. And when wenotice we've forgotten, it usually means the thing we forgot was important. Forgetting in these cases is a failing and we naturally wish our memories were more complete. It's no wonder, then, that forgetting has a bad rap. But we also constantly forget in ways we don't notice — and a lot of this forgetting isn't bad. In fact, it could be crucial to making our memories work as well as they do. That's right: Forgetting can be a good thing.
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Economic Growth Can’t Buy Happiness
New psychological findings show why a country’s economic growth doesn’t always translate into greater happiness for its citizens.
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Homework: A New User’s Guide
NPR: If you made it past the headline, you're likely a student, concerned parent, teacher or, like me, a nerd nostalgist who enjoys basking in the distant glow of Homework Triumphs Past (second-grade report on Custer's Last Stand, nailed it!). Whoever you are, you're surely hoping for some clarity in the loud, perennial debate over whether U.S. students are justifiably exhausted and nervous from too much homework — even though some international comparisons suggest they're sitting comfortably at the average. Well, here goes. I've mapped out six, research-based polestars that should help guide you to some reasonable conclusions about homework. ... Better yet, how much is just right?
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The Use of Apps for Mental Health Has Outpaced the Scientific Evidence
The New York Times: One of every five Americans will experience major depression or anxiety every year. Unfortunately, most who suffer go untreated. To meet the need, a cottage industry has developed: Well-intentioned and enterprising individuals have designed over 3,000 apps dedicated to mental health, only some of which are free. The apps vary in function but most fall in line with the current zeitgeist of Track Thyself (whether it be calories, weight, steps or depression). The good news is that these kinds of apps increase access to health support and that access is portable. But their use should be supplemental, rather than a primary therapeutic avenue.
