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Goooal! New Study Shows Goalie May Influence Direction of Penalty Kick in Soccer.
A penalty kick places a goalkeeper at such a disadvantage that only approximately 18% of penalty kicks are saved. However, some soccer fans think goalkeepers might save penalty kicks more easily by standing marginally to
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How do I Love Me? New Study Presents a Twist on the Conventional Narcissist.
A brush with a narcissist’s inflated ego often leaves one reeling with resentment. Whether it is their constant need for attention or their unfounded sense of entitlement, we are often quick to attribute their shallow behavior to an unconscious self-loathing. However, new research from Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, Jennifer Bosson at the University of South Florida and colleagues suggests that narcissists actually view themselves the same on the outside as on the inside. Previous studies have shown that narcissists’ conscious self-views are not uniformly positive.
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When God Sanctions Killing, the People Listen
New research published in the March issue of Psychological Science may help elucidate the relationship between religious indoctrination and violence, a topic that has gained renewed notoriety in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. In the article, University of Michigan psychologist Brad Bushman and his colleagues suggest that scriptural violence sanctioned by God can increase aggression, especially in believers.
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NYU Study Shows Diminished Sense of Moral Outrage Key to Maintaining View that World is Fair and Just
People who see the world as essentially fair can just maintain this perception through a diminished sense of moral outrage, according to a study by researchers in New York University’s Department of Psychology. The findings appear in the March issue of the journal Psychological Science, which is published by the Association for Psychological Science. Psychologists have long studied system-justification theory, which posits that people adopt belief systems that justify existing political, economic, and social situations or inequities in order to make themselves feel better about the status quo.
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Get your facts straight: Statistical Reform in Psychology
New research published in the March issue of Psychological Science suggests that efforts to advocate improved statistical practices in psychological research may be paying off. Geoff Cumming, Fiona Fidler and colleagues at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia sought to examine whether guidelines set forth in 1999 by the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Statistical Inference (TSFI) had been implemented in psychological research.
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Romance, Schmomance: Natural Selection Continues Even After Sex
Some breaking news, just in time for Valentine’s Day: Researchers have identified something called “sperm competition” that they think has evolved to ensure a genetic future. In sexual reproduction, natural selection is generally thought of as something that happens prior to – and in fact leads to -- the Big Event. This thinking holds, for example, that we are drawn to physical features that tell us our partner is healthy and will give us a fighting chance to carry on our genetic lineage.