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Story ‘Spoilers’ May Boost Enjoyment
U.S. News & World Report: Although many people think that flipping to the back of the book or knowing a story's ending before it even starts will "spoil" it, a new study revealed knowing what happens in the end may actually help people enjoy a story even more. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego added that this holds true for tales with ironic-twists, mysteries and suspenseful thrillers. The investigators conducted three experiments involving 12 short stories written by various authors, including John Updike, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie and Raymond Carver. The stories fell into three categories: ironic-twist, mystery and literary.
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Hey, You! Mean People Earn More, Study Finds
The Wall Street Journal: It may not pay to be nice in the workplace. A new study finds that agreeable workers earn significantly lower incomes than less agreeable ones. The gap is especially wide for men. The researchers examined "agreeableness" using self-reported survey data and found that men who measured below average on agreeableness earned about 18% more—or $9,772 more annually in their sample—than nicer guys. Ruder women, meanwhile, earned about 5% or $1,828 more than their agreeable counterparts. "Nice guys are getting the shaft," says study co-author Beth A.
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Lessons From Cloud Nine
The Wall Street Journal: In recent years, economists and psychologists have joined forces to unravel the secrets of human happiness. "The Happiness Equation" is one researcher's attempt to share his field's discoveries with a broad audience. Nick Powdthavee, an economist at the University of York, deftly explains the main determinants of happiness: the small effect of money, the great effect of marriage and friends, the massive effect of personality. Even extremely good news (such as winning the lottery) and extremely bad news (such as losing a spouse) rarely changes an individual's happiness for more than a couple of years. Mr.
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Spoiler Alert: Knowing the ending enhances the story
CTV News: Reading the final chapter of a book first or researching plot-spoiling movie reviews online before going to the cinema could actually enhance your entertainment experience, rather than lessen it, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego found that, quite simply, stories are not spoiled by spoilers. Just the opposite is true, in fact. When subjects in a study conducted by the university's psychology department were asked to rate their enjoyment of various stories, they almost always picked the ones where they knew the outcome ahead of time.
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For Men, ‘Culture of Honor’ Can Be Deadly
U.S. News & World Report: Psychologists call it the "culture of honor," a mostly male mindset that places a high value on defending one's reputation at any cost. But new research confirms that it's linked with high rates of accidental deaths. "People who embrace these values also report more risk-taking," explained study author Dr. Ryan Brown, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. This dangerous male mindset is also more prevalent among those living in the South and West, in such states as South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming, he added. Read the whole story: U.S. News & World Report
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The Myth of Joyful Parenthood
Scientific American: Sure, the soccer uniforms, piano lessons and college tuition add up—but there is nothing like being a parent. Or so we tell ourselves, according to a study in the February issue of Psychological Science. When parents are faced with the financial costs of a child, they justify their investment by playing up parenthood’s emotional payoffs. Psychologists at the University of Waterloo in Ontario gave parents in the study a government report estimating that bringing up a child to age 18 costs more than $190,000. Then half the parents read an additional report about the financial help grown children pro-vide their parents.
