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Thinking of Requesting a Specific Teacher for Your Child? Think Twice
The New York Times: There are really two questions here, so I will address them in order. First question: How hard should you push to ensure your daughter is assigned to the teacher you feel is best for her? School administrators had much to say on this topic. Most responded that “it never hurts to ask,” and encouraged parents with a preference to let administrators know about their preferences early in the process.
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People in Rich Countries Are More Stressed Out
LiveScience: Although people who live in wealthy countries, including the United States, are generally more satisfied with their lives than people who live in poorer countries, they may experience more worry and anger than residents of poorer countries, according to a new study. The higher stress level that typically comes with living in an affluent country might explain why these negative emotions seem to be more common in people living in richer nations. "Life [in an affluent country] is more fast-paced, and there are just so many things that you have to do," said study author Louis Tay, an assistant professor of psychology at Purdue University. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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Stay Connected at the 26th APS Annual Convention
The 26th APS Annual Convention is fast approaching! Download the mobile app, and stay connected with up-to-date convention information at your fingertips. The app is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android. Once downloaded, the app requires no Internet connection, though updates do require Internet connectivity, which is provided free by APS at the Convention. *Note: Click the login button at the bottom of your screen to sync your schedule, notes and favorites across multiple devices. To download: You can search for "2014 APS Convention" in your phone’s App Store. Don’t have a smart phone or tablet? No problem! Use the web version of the App.
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Making Tasks More Difficult May Help Overrule Office Distractions
Maybe there’s a guy who likes to yak about last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, or a woman who likes to take phone calls on speaker. Whether you’re in an 80s era “cube farm” or a modern open office, working in the midst of a sea of noisy distractions can prove particularly challenging. So how can you better focus on the task at hand? You might want to make the task a little bit more difficult, according to a new study from Swedish researcher Niklas Halin and colleagues. Previous research has highlighted two distinct factors that influence distractibility: task difficulty and working memory capacity.
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Most Fitness Apps Don’t Use Proven Motivational Techniques
NPR: If you downloaded a fitness app and didn't become a workout ninja, it may be that the app lacked the scientifically tested motivational techniques that would help get you off the couch. Instead, most popular fitness apps focus more on teaching you how to do the exercise, according to researchers at Penn State University who analyzed the 200 top apps. "You need motivational support to turn that knowledge into action," says David Conroy, a kinesiology professor at Penn State who led the study, which was published Tuesday in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine. And that's where most of the 200 apps examined fell flat.
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Innovation on Display at Inaugural SAS Conference
“Ideas worth spreading” were on display in Bethesda, Maryland, April 24–26. It wasn’t a TED Conference; it was the Inaugural Conference of the Society for Affective Science, a new nonprofit dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of emotions. Leaders in the study of affect delivered eight 15-minute “TED-Inspired” talks on the following topics: Beyond Stereotype Threat: Reframing the Game to Quiet the Mind Toni Schmader, University of British Columbia (Friday, 1:56) Emotional Impact APS William James Fellow Jerry Clore, University of Virginia (Friday, 27:58) Social Regulation of Human Gene Expression Steve Cole, University of California, Los Angeles (Friday, 48:56) Not Happy?
