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Tylenol Fights Headaches…and Existential Angst?
Smithsonian Magazine: Everyone knows you can pop a Tylenol to ease a headache or reduce a fever. But that’s not all. A new study suggests that you can also take Tylenol to ease the psychological angst of watching weird, twisted David Lynch films, or to generally ward off existential dread of death and nothingness. In what is perhaps one of the oddest studies in recent memory, researchers in the psychology department at the University of British Columbia hypothesized that overwhelming feelings of pointlessness and physical pain may be located in the same part of the brain, LiveScience explains.
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Playing for All Kinds of Possibilities
The New York Times: When it comes to play, humans don’t play around. And in doing so, they develop some of humanity’s most consequential faculties. They learn the art, pleasure and power of hypothesis — of imagining new possibilities. And serious students of play believe that this helps make the species great. The idea that play contributes to human success goes back at least a century. But in the last 25 years or so, researchers like Elizabeth S. Spelke, Brian Sutton-Smith, Jaak Panksepp and Alison Gopnik have developed this notion more richly and tied it more closely to both neuroscience and human evolution.
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The best lie detectors in the workplace
The Washington Post: Do you have an employee who doesn’t follow through on her promises? What about a coworker who exaggerates his accomplishments or tinkers with the numbers? Chances are these folks duped someone during the hiring process into overestimating their potential. In organizations, nowhere is judging character more important than in evaluating talent. When screening prospective executives and employees, company leaders constantly make predictions about whether these candidates will act in good faith and measure up to the requirements of their roles, or if they have oversold their talents and will have a negative impact on colleagues and the bottom line.
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You can catch depression – study
The New Zealand Herald: Depression and the emotions associated with it can be contagious, according to a new study. Researchers have found that the gloomy mindset of students vulnerable to depression can be catching, making their friends more likely to suffer the condition six months later. The research follows studies showing that people who respond negatively to stressful life events - interpreting them as the result of factors they can't change and as a reflection of their own shortcomings - are more vulnerable to depression. This "cognitive vulnerability" is such a strong risk factor for depression that it can be used to predict who is likely to experience depression in the future.
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Everyday Sadism: Throwing Light on the Dark Triad
The Dark Triad. It could well be a cast of villains in an epic tale of fantasy. All three of these dark powers are callous and exploitative, but each is also malignant in its own way. One is charming but remorseless. The second is known for its cynicism and deception. The third is grandiose and entitled, the ultimate egotist. You don’t want to cross this evil trio. But you may have no choice, since the Dark Triad is not a literary phantasm at all. This threatening title comes out of formal personality theory, and refers to three traits that, taken together, capture the worst of humanity.
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The Psychology of Small Packages
The Wall Street Journal: Did you really eat that many cookies? Packaged-food makers might know the answer, even if you don't. Aware that people snack a lot throughout the day, they continue to introduce new packaging that encourages consumers to eat their food anytime they have an urge to nibble, what some executives have dubbed "hand-to-mouth" eating. The psychology behind how this affects eating behavior is complicated. Sometimes small amounts of food could drive you to eat more. There are cues savvy snackers can detect. ... An "artificial barrier" helps eaters decide when to stop, says Andrew Geier, lead author of the study published in Health Psychology.
