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Scientists Hint at Why Laughter Feels So Good
The New York Times: Laughter is regularly promoted as a source of health and well being, but it has been hard to pin down exactly why laughing until it hurts feels so good. The answer, reports Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford, is not the intellectual pleasure of cerebral humor, but the physical act of laughing. The simple muscular exertions involved in producing the familiar ha, ha, ha, he said, trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect. His results build on a long history of scientific attempts to understand a deceptively simple and universal behavior. “Laughter is very weird stuff, actually,” Dr. Dunbar said.
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Memories you cannot swear by
The Sydney Morning Herald: As the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York passed last weekend, many people paused to remember where they were at the moment of the attacks. Most people have a story; watching late-night television news, holidaying overseas and wondering where the next attack might be, rushing to tell friends of the disaster. These types of "flashbulb" memories are the most vivid in our minds. But what if something we feel as such a vivid memory could be a fiction? Research is starting to show that false memories are more common than most people think.
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Für Deutsche gleichen typische Europäer eher Deutschen
Telepolis: Menschen gehen nach einer Studie davon aus, dass das typische Mitglied einer Gruppe so wie sie selbst aussieht Die europäische Einheit steht derzeit wegen der Schuldenkrise unter Stress. In der Eurozone wird damit gerungen, ob der Währungseinheit auch eine größere politische Einheit, zumindest eine gemeinsame Finanzpolitik folgen müsste. Dem Anschein nach gibt es allerdings nicht nur sehr viele EU-kritische Europäer, sondern auch nur eine relative schwache europäische Identität, was sich beispielsweise daran zeigt, wie sich die ein wenig stabileren nordeuropäischen EU-Länder von denen des Südens abgrenzen und das teils mit nicht vereinbaren Kulturen begründen.
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Don’t remember? Or don’t think you remember?
Times of India: One day you notice a group of boys passing by in a park. The next day you learn police are looking for someone to identify him as a suspect in a mugging case. Even if you think you can't make a positive identification, a new study suggests that the mind is likely to remember. According to the study, such information will make its way into your memory any way, whether we are able to recall it or not, the journal Psychological Science reports. � In this case, the failure to make a positive identification could be owing to the fact that memory is not strong enough to support a yes response, says Anat Maril of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Searching for Happiness – A New Movement in America
The Sacramento Bee: What makes us happy? Is there a specific formula for happiness? Do kids, marriage and money equate to a greater level of contentment? Are there scientifically proven principles regarding happiness that we can study, learn and practice? Do we live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution? These are some of the questions researchers are studying in a relatively new field called Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is the study of human thriving, an examination of how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled.
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Taxer les riches rendrait les nations heureuses
Slate France: Aux Etats-Unis, en France et en Allemagne, des riches se sont déclarés prêts à plus payer d'impôts pour résorber la dette publique. «La plupart des riches américains ne seraient pas incommodés si on leur demandait de payer plus d’impôts, particulièrement quand beaucoup de nos concitoyens souffrent», avait ainsi déclaré le milliardaire américain Warren Buffett dans une tribune du New York Times. Et il semblerait que leur initiative pourrait avoir un impact sur le bonheur des nations. Plus un système fiscal est progressif, plus les habitants sont heureux: une conclusion à laquelle est parvenu un psychologue de l’université de Virginie, nous indique Good.
