-
Happiness Associated With Longer Life
Science: Happy people don't just enjoy life; they're likely to live longer, too. A new study has found that those in better moods were 35% less likely to die in the next 5 years when taking their life situations into account. The traditional way to measure a person's happiness is to ask them about it. But over the past few decades, psychologist and epidemiologist Andrew Steptoe of University College London (UCL) says, scientists have realized that those measures aren't reliable. It's not clear whether they "assess how they're actually feeling or how they remember feeling," he says.
-
Training the Emotional Brain (APSSC Award Winner)
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC.
-
Arabs Are Blamed for Car Accidents More Than Caucasians (APSSC Award Winner)
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Allison Skinner from the University of Southern Indiana present her research on "Anti-Arab Prejudice Extends Beyond Terrorist Stereotypes: Arabs Are Blamed for Car Accidents More Than Caucasians." Allison L. Skinner University of Southern Indiana Margaret C. Stevenson University of Evansville Michele Breault Truman State University We investigated the influence of drivers' race (Arab versus Caucasian) on the evaluation of blame in an automobile accident. Participants blamed the Arab driver more than the Caucasian driver, yet participant gender moderated the effect of race.
-
The New Science Behind Your Spending Addiction
Newsweek: Like many colleges, Washington University in St. Louis offers children of its faculty free tuition. So Leonard Green, a professor of psychology there, did all he could to persuade his daughter to choose the school. He extolled its academic offerings, praised its social atmosphere, talked up its extracurricular activities—and promised that if Hannah chose Washington he would give her $20,000 each undergraduate year, plus $20,000 at graduation, for a nest egg totaling $100,000. She went to New York University. Read the full story: Newsweek
-
Analyzing Data
In scientific experiments as in architecture, it’s all about design. Patrick Onghena studies methodology and statistics in order to help other investigators properly set up their studies and analyze their results. He is especially interested in optimizing single-case experimental design so that researchers can glean as much reliable information as possible from small data sets. His recommendations have influenced the field of methodology and have been used in several studies on pain, depression, chronic fatigue, language pathology, learning disorders, relational aggression, and education.
-
Keep smiling… the world is doing fine, say American authors
The Guardian: A rash of optimistic books is being published in the US, as authors do their best to lift the gloom created by a news agenda dominated by world recession, wars, floods and famine. The latest to appear is The Secret Peace by Jesse Richards, with its controversial theory on the modern human condition: the world is a nice place and getting better. When the Observer met Richards last week, he remained steadfast in his lonely insistence on a state of optimism when it comes to the human race's progress. "It is easy to relate to a short-term disaster. It is harder to understand larger, long-term statistics.
