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That Devil on Your Shoulder Likes to Sleep In
The New York Times: It is often asked why good people do bad things. Perhaps the question should be when. More likely, it’s in the afternoon or evening. Much less so in the morning. That’s the finding of research, published in the journal Psychological Science, which concludes that a person’s ability to self-regulate declines as the day wears on, increasing the likelihood of cheating, lying or committing fraud. This so-called morning morality effect results from “cognitive tiredness,” said Isaac H.
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Finding the Right Fit May Help Veterans Transition to Civilian Jobs
For many veterans, the leap from military service to corporate cubicle can be a difficult career transition. Since 2001, nearly 3 million members of the U.S. military have completed their service and returned to civilian life. However, the unemployment rate for veterans remains high – particularly among younger veterans who have served since 2001. New research from Stacie Furst-Holloway, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Cincinnati, identifies strategies that organizations can use to help keep veterans on the job once they’re hired.
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Guilt Versus Shame: One Is Productive, the Other Isn’t, and How to Tell Them Apart
The Wall Street Journal: When Russell Robinson visited his mother recently, she made a request: Would he please attend an important family event 75 miles away that was happening the next day, the ordination ceremony of his aunt, who was becoming a minister. Dr. Robinson, a 44-year-old professor of mass communication who is divorced and lives in Durham, N.C., told his mother he would like to go but had made plans to spend the weekend with his 7-year-old son, who was visiting. Dr. Robinson’s mom persisted. “Family members are expected to attend,” she said. He said he understood, but it was too late for him to change the plans with his son. She asked again. He declined again.
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A Workout for the Mind
The New York Times: Becca Levy, a psychologist at the Yale School of Public Health, has been measuring the impact of stereotypes about old age for close to 20 years. They have potent effects, she and her colleagues have found. The researchers developed an “image of aging” scale to determine whether subjects are likely to see old people as “capable” and “active” and “full of life,” or as “grumpy” or “helpless” or other negative attributes. They’ve used the scale to measure how much those descriptions match older people’s own self-perceptions.
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Want a successful career? Look for this trait in a spouse.
The Washington Post: A recent study by the Pew Research Center made waves when it reported that what never-married women want in a spouse, more than anything else, is someone with a good job. A full 78 percent of women said steady employment was important to them in a partner, more than the 70 percent who wanted someone with similar ideas about raising children or the 38 percent who cared about sharing moral or religious views. Yet if they're thinking about their own careers, women — and men — might want to focus more on something else.
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Cycles of Fear and Bias in the Criminal Justice System
Pacific Standard: Discussions about how to reform the criminal justice system—whether through sentence-reduction proposals for low-level crimes, or limiting the use of data analysis in making sentencing decisions, or fightingvoter disenfranchisement—all have one talking point in common. When an overzealous criminal justice system causes harm, it disproportionately harms minorities, because minorities are disproportionately represented at every stage of the system. These are oft-cited statistics, and for good reason: Although black and Hispanic Americans make up only 30 percent of the general population, together they make up 58 percent of the prison population.
