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Little Children and Already Acting Mean
The Wall Street Journal: Children still in kindergarten or even younger form cliques and intentionally exclude others, say psychologists and educators who are increasingly noticing the behavior and taking steps to curb it. Special programs are popping up in elementary schools to teach empathy as a means of stemming relational aggression, a psychological term to describe using the threat of removing friendship as a tactical weapon. Children also are being guided in ways to stand up for themselves, and to help others, in instances of social exclusion.
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Comfort Food Myth: Ice Cream May Not Boost Your Mood
LiveScience: The idea that eating certain foods make us feel better when we're down may be a myth, psychologists say. In fact, we may simply feel better after some time has passed, regardless of what food we eat, a new study says. In the study, people were asked to pick foods that they thought would make them feel better if they were in a bad mood, such as chocolate, cookies or ice cream. They were also asked to pick foods that they liked, but that they didn't think would boost their mood. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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The Anatomy of Everyday Hatred
The Huffington Post: It's hard to outdo Medea for raw hatred. Thrown over by her husband Jason for another woman, the mythic sorceress takes revenge by poisoning her rival and, just for good measure, her rival's father. Then, just to make sure that Jason comprehends the enormity of her wrath, she murders their two sons in cold blood. Now that's hate -- and probably a lot of other emotions as well, including jealousy and humiliation and anger and disgust. Scientists and poets have long been fascinated by intense, negative emotions such as Medea's, but surprisingly there is no overarching theory of hatred. Who hates whom, and why? What do we mean when we say, I hate?
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When To Say Yes To The Messy Desk
Forbes: Albert Einstein famously quipped, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” While the Nobel laureate was obviously advocating for the benefits of cluttered desks, he likely had no idea that his question would inspire researchers decades later…and that those researchers would eventually give him an answer. In a recently study published in Psychological Science, a team of researchers headed by Kathleen Vohs found that working at a tidy (Einstein would say empty) desk influences people to be more conventional, more generous and to make healthier choices.
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A Sense Of Purpose May Help You Stave Off Death
Fast Company's Co. Design: Having a sense of purpose isn't just good for business. It's good for your health, too. According to a new study in Psychological Science, a greater sense of purpose is associated with longer life spans. Researchers from Carleton University in Canada and the University of Rochester examined data from Midlife in the United States, a national longitudinal study funded by the National Institute on Aging. As part of the study, 6,000 participants between the ages of 20 and 75 self-reported information about their purpose in life. During the 14-year follow-up period to the study, 569 of the participants died. Read the whole story: Fast Company's Co. Design
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Dads Who Share the Load Bolster Daughters’ Aspirations
Fathers who help with household chores are more likely to raise daughters who aspire to less traditional, and potentially higher paying, careers, according to research forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study findings indicate that how parents share dishes, laundry and other domestic duties plays a key role in shaping the gender attitudes and aspirations of their children, especially daughters. While mothers’ gender and work equality beliefs were key factors in predicting kids’ attitudes toward gender, the strongest predictor of daughters’ own professional ambitions was their fathers’ approach to household chores.
