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Under Pressure, Soccer Goalies Tend To Dive Right
NPR: The Japanese women's soccer team stunned the United States a few weeks ago. After a tense match in which Team America seemed to have the upper hand throughout, Japan leveled the game with a late equalizer and then went on to win a penalty shootout. New psychological research suggests that soccer goalkeepers and teams aren't only affected by the high-stakes pressure of a penalty shootout. Without their awareness, goalkeepers also appear to be biased to dive to the right in some situations. The consequences of this bias could potentially affect games ranging from casual pickup matches to world championships.
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Why mirroring an interviewer’s body language and mannerisms can make you seem incompetent
Daily Mail: It might be considered the sincerest form of flattery, but if you take imitation too far in a job interview you could be giving the wrong impression to a potential employer. While subtle forms of mimicking mannerisms and body language can be useful in social situations, it might not have any benefit in the boardroom, research has shown. Scientists have discovered excessive copycatting in a job interview situation leaves an employer thinking you are incompetent, untrustworthy and not very likeable. Read more: Daily Mail
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What Makes You Happy? It May Depend on Your Age
LiveScience: People's happiness levels change with age, an idea reflected in personal experiences and public opinion polls, but a new study shows that much of that change may boil down to how people define happiness itself. Whereas happiness in younger people is often related to excitement, for older people, contentment was associated with a happy existence, the researchers found. The study indicates there are at least two different kinds of happiness, "one associated with peacefulness and one associated with being excited," study researcher Cassie Mogilner, a professor of marketing at Wharton, told LiveScience. Read more: LiveScience
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Oxytocin: Not Such a Cuddly Hormone After All
You Beauty: Feeling all warm and fuzzy? Chalk it up to oxytocin, the touchy-feely hormone that enables mothers to bond with their babies (thus the nickname the “cuddle chemical”). Oxytocin fluctuates throughout our lives—during and after childbirth, as well as when you’re sexually aroused or reach the big O. But this feel-good chemical may have a surprising dark side, according to research published in the August issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. Rather than oxytocin making them feel like they were in the “trust tree” singing “Kumbaya,” study subjects given the chemical before playing a game of chance exhibited more gloating and envy of their opponents.
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Study Sheds Light on Auditory Role in Dyslexia
The New York Times: Many people consider dyslexia simply a reading problem in which children mix up letters and misconstrue written words. But increasingly scientists have come to believe that the reading difficulties of dyslexia are part of a larger puzzle: a problem with how the brain processes speech and puts together words from smaller units of sound. Now, a study published last week in the journal Science suggests that how dyslexics hear language may be more important than previously realized. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that people with dyslexia have more trouble recognizing voices than those without dyslexia.
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Judgment, Justice and Evil in Norway
Brown University psychological scientist Fiery Cushman is a pioneer in the study of moral psychology—how humans think and feel and form judgments about issues of right and wrong, including justice and punishment. In the wake of Norway’s tragedy last month, I asked Cushman to reflect not only on Anders Brievik’s actions but also on society’s reaction—in particular Norwegian society’s reaction--to such murderous acts. Here are the open-ended questions that I asked Cushman: What does your work on morality, justice and punishment have to say about the recent massacre in Norway? How can Norwegian society mete out justice that will be morally satisfying to citizens there?
