-
The Saddest Movie in the World
Smithsonian.com: In 1979, director Franco Zeffirelli remade a 1931 Oscar-winning film called The Champ, about a washed-up boxer trying to mount a comeback in the ring. Zeffirelli’s version got tepid reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes website gives it only a 38 percent approval rating. But The Champ did succeed in launching the acting career of 9-year-old Ricky Schroder, who was cast as the son of the boxer. At the movie’s climax, the boxer, played by Jon Voight, dies in front of his young son. “Champ, wake up!” sobs an inconsolable T.J., played by Schroder. The performance would win him a Golden Globe Award. Read more: Smithsonian.com
-
Rose-colored glasses may help love last
Los Angeles Times: If Cupid wanted to improve his game with science, he'd shoot first, then hand out rose-colored glasses with instructions attached: To be worn when viewing your relationship and your partner's personality or body. For best results, keep using well after "I do." Remove carefully at your own risk. Psychologists have long known that new love can be blind and new lovers delusional. Research has shown that newlyweds exaggerate their partner's good qualities, forget the bad ones, rate their own relationship with annoying superiority and so on. But newer research tantalizingly suggests that this myopia is good for more than driving your single friends crazy.
-
Heat Wave Psychology
Much of the eastern U.S. is gripped in a heat wave right now, with some predictable effects on mood and behavior—or at least our perceptions of others’ moods and behavior. Normally congenial folks seem to be simmering, while others are on a slow burn. Hotter heads are steaming, and a few have even been pushed to the boiling point. What is it with all these heat metaphors? The fact is our metaphorical thermometer is as much a gauge of our social interactions as an actual thermometer is of degrees Fahrenheit. At least that’s an emerging theory, which psychologists have been exploring in various ways in the laboratory. Here’s an example, from Hans IJzerman and Gun Semin of Utrecht University.
-
Does the guy with the Porsche really get the most dates?
Orlando Sentinel: Everyone assumes the racier the car, the racier the hormones. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have brought scientific precision to that age-old observation. To wit: Sexual signaling really works -- but not necessarily the way a young man intends when he buys the biggest TV or the flashiest car. "Men and women both know that that's the guy who wants casual sex," said Vladas Griskevicius, assistant marketing professor at the university. "But he isn't more desirable as a marriage partner. That's not the guy you want to marry." Read more: Orlando Sentinel
-
Baby eyes take longer to process movement
Deccan Herald: Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that while infants can perceive flicker or movement, they may not be able to identify the individual elements within a moving or changing scene as well as an adult. “Their visual experience of changes around them is definitely different from that of an adult,” study researcher Faraz Farzin was quoted as saying by Live Science. They found that the speed limit at which babies can recognise individual moment-to-moment changes is about half a second — about 10 times slower than adults, who can recognise rapid, individual changes that occur 50 to 70 milliseconds or slower. Read more: Deccan Herald
-
You can prevent burnout on the job
USA Weekend: Difficult economic times means companies are downsizing, which leaves employees with an increased workload and a higher risk of job burnout — which is defined as the gradual erosion of energy and spirit because of chronic job stress. Here’s how to prevent it: Heed the signals: “Be aware of how stress manifests in your body,” says Ruth Luban, a counselor who specializes in occupational and behavioral health in Santa Monica, Calif. Some experience gastrointestinal distress, while others have insomnia. Treat — don’t rationalize — symptoms. Read more: USA Weekend
