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Overeating Due to Stress?
Scientific American: Stress can make some people (me included) lose our appetite. Other folks find comfort in food. But such behaviors may actually even out in the long term. Because researchers find that people who change eating patterns when stressed out may actually make up for those not-so-healthy impulses during easier times. So finds a study in the journal Psychological Science. Volunteers for the study self-identified as either “munchers” or “skippers”. Each person had to interact with another person via video chat, with the intention of meeting them later.
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The Surprising Science Of Workplace Training
The Brilliant Blog: The problem with workplace training is that it seems so simple: Show employees what to do, have them practice it a few times, and you’re done. But “training is not as intuitive as it may seem,” notes Eduardo Salas, a professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida. “There is a science of training that shows that there is a right way and a wrong way to design, deliver, and implement a training program.” Salas is the lead author of “The Science of Training and Development in Organizations: What Matters in Practice,” a report published recently in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
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Actually, Do Let Them See You Sweat: The Science Behind Why Sweating Before Negotiating Is Good
Fast Company: “If you're sweating and your heart rate is up, it's seen as a sign something is going wrong, that you're too nervous, off balance, flustered,” M.I.T. associate professor Jared Curhan tells the New York Times. “Whereas we're showing that something could be very right.” The "very right" is this: As published in the journal Psychological Science, Curhan and his co-authors found that physical activity can make you better in negotiations, but only if you feel confident beforehand. If you're anxious, the activity will only make matters worse--which reveals something interesting about the way we relate to our phsyical and emotional states. Read the whole story: Fast Company
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In the wake of a natural disaster, donation decisions aren’t clear-cut
Ars Technica: On November 8, Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines, leaving a trail of disaster in its wake. Since then, private donors, nonprofits, and governments from around the world have pledged tens of millions of dollars to assist survivors and help rebuild the storm-stricken nation. But understanding which disasters get relief is a tricky business, and donation-related decisions aren't well understood. A new study in the journal Psychological Science suggests that donors may be focusing on misleading measures when they decide how much to give—or whether to give at all.
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Holiday Travelers Take Note: Scientists Explore Roadway Aggression
It’s that time of year again – the time to gather with family and friends, to celebrate the passing of another year…to spend hours in a car dealing with pent-up roadway aggression? According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, long-distance trips increase by 54% in the 6-day period surrounding Thanksgiving and by 23% in the weeks around Christmas and New Year’s. Most of those trips take place in personal automobiles. Being stuck in traffic on a regular day is frustrating enough, but racing to be home for the holidays could make driving at this time of year a particularly fraught endeavor.
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Experiencing Awe Increases Belief in the Supernatural
Awe-inspiring moments -- like the sight of the Grand Canyon or the Aurora Borealis -- might increase our tendency to believe in God and the supernatural, according to new research. The new findings -- published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science -- suggest that awe-inspiring sights increase our motivation to make sense of the world around us, and may underlie a trigger of belief in the supernatural.
