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Is the Music of the ’60s Really the Best Ever?
I had the good fortune to come of age during the richest musical epoch—well, ever. The Grateful Dead, the Beatles, Dylan, Janis Joplin, Zappa. I could go on and on. The ‘60s witnessed an unparalleled burst of musical creativity, ranging from the Cream to CCR to Hendrix and to Neil Young and Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. There is simply no match—not before nor since—for this outpouring of enduring song. And what’s more, nobody really disputes this. Okay, okay. I wrote all those superlatives in part to provoke a reaction. There are people who dispute this claim, and indeed some are among my own friends and family.
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Sounds of Arguing Affect Sleeping Babies’ Brains
LiveScience: Hearing the sounds of arguments affects how a baby's brain processes emotional tones of a voice, a new study finds. The little ones' brains lit up in response to angry tones, even while they were asleep. Babies' minds are extremely malleable. The environments and events they experience shape their brains for good or for ill. Stress due to maltreatment or being raised in an institution can take a toll on a baby's development. But this study, to be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, shows that even moderate stresses can affect brain function.
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You Can Smell Other People’s Emotions, and They’re Contagious
Forbes: Emotions are the primary driver of our behavior. Everything we experience in the world around us—no matter how small—generates an emotional response that motivates action. Sometimes emotions move us to act before we even have a chance to think rationally about them. Emotions are also contagious. The brain has a host of complex methods for detecting emotions in other people, and it uses this information to mirror their emotional state. Some of these social survival mechanisms operate beneath our conscious awareness. A new study published in the journal Psychological Science provides fascinating insight into one such mechanism. Read the whole story: Forbes
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Positive Emotions, Good Health Have Strong Link In Developing Countries, Study Finds
The Huffington Post: Is the concept of emotions having an effect on health a "First World" problem? According to a new study, no, it is not -- and in fact, the association may be even stronger in developing nations. A new study from the University of California, Irvine, published in the journal Psychological Science, shows that positive emotions affect the health of people around the world, and most significantly in countries with lower income.
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Mieux vaut avoir le même statut marital que son patron (Better to have the same marital status as your boss)
Le Monde: Supposons que vous cherchiez un emploi, et que vous ayez à choisir entre deux entretiens avec un employeur potentiel. Car, pas de chance, ces rendez-vous sont fixés le même jour, à la même heure, sans modification possible. Les emplois proposés vous plaisent autant l'un que l'autre. Il faut donc choisir la rencontre qui a le plus de chance d'être fructueuse. ... Trois chercheurs en psychologie, Kristin Laurin, de l'université Stanford (Etats-Unis), David Kille et Richard Eibach, de l'université de Waterloo (Canada) en apportent la preuve dans un article à paraître dans la revue spécialisée Psychological Science, intitulé "Vous devriez être ce que je suis".
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La tristezza ci “costa” davvero: si è meno prudenti economicamente (Financial costs of sadness)
la Repubblica: "SADDER but wiser" ("Più triste ma più prudente") diceva due secoli fa il filosofo inglese Samuel T. Coleridge, sostenendo l'idea che la tristezza proteggesse l'uomo dalle scelte sconvenienti. Il detto viene oggi smentito, almeno in ambito finanziario, da uno studio scientifico condotto dalla Harvard e dalla Columbia University negli Stati Uniti, che dimostra come questa emozione negativa sia in grado di condizionare il nostro comportamento in situazioni di scelta economica.
