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Beautiful people ‘likely to earn more money’
The West Australian: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is only skin deep. The list of adages goes on and on, but a new book written by an economics professor at the University of Texas-Austin says beauty brings many real benefits. Daniel S. Hamermesh has studied the economics of beauty for about 20 years. In Beauty Pays he writes that attractive people enjoy many advantages while those who are less attractive often face discrimination. Using his research and worldwide studies he's collected, Hamermesh notes that beautiful people are likely to be happier, earn more money, get a bank loan with a lower interest rate and marry a good-looking and highly educated spouse.
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How We Know You (Might Be) Lying
Forbes: Few topics in psychology get as much attention as the telltale signs of deception. The emphasis on this topic has intensified tenfold over the last decade in response to terrorism, and a great deal of research has been initiated by Homeland Security, police departments and other security agencies as a means to inform and train their personnel. One of the leading researchers in this field is UCLA professor of psychology R. Edward Geiselman. His studies have served as the basis for training thousands of detectives, intelligence officers, police officers, and military personnel. Read the full story: Forbes
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Basic Human Nature: Can It Be Changed?
The Wall Street Journal: "You can't change human nature." The old cliché draws support from the persistence of human behavior in new circumstances. Shakespeare's plays reveal that no matter how much language, technology and mores have changed in the past 400 years, human nature is largely undisturbed. Macbeth's ambition, Hamlet's indecision, Iago's jealousy, Kate's feistiness and Juliet's love are all instantly understandable. Recently, however, geneticists have surprised themselves by finding evidence of recent and rapid changes in human genomes in response to the pressures of civilization.
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Mentoring Works Best When Adults, Kids Share Common Interests
MSN Health & Fitness: Although mentoring programs intended to help children socially, emotionally or academically do offer a number of benefits, these advantages are generally limited and may not be enough for kids facing serious problems, a new report says. The authors of the report, published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest reviewed more than 70 existing evaluations of mentoring programs.
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On the brink of a mental health revolution
BBC: One in four of us will suffer some form of mental illness during our lifetimes.Historically, many of these conditions have been beyond our understanding, but now scientists believe we are on the verge of a revolution in how mental health problems are approached. Professor Tom Insel, director of the $1.5bn National Institute of Mental Health in the United States, told Newsnight there is a profound change taking place, and science and technology is key to that change: "We are really facing a tipping point here with research in mental illness. We have gone through a revolution in how we can look at the brain.
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Smile like your happiness depends on it
The Boston Globe: Smile, you’re on Candid Camera! That seems to be the lesson of a new study by psychologists at the University of Virginia. They found that both male and female freshmen who smiled more intensely in their Facebook profile photos were not only more satisfied with their lives as freshmen, but also more satisfied with their lives several years later as seniors, even controlling for freshman-year life satisfaction and extroversion. The connection between smiling and subsequent life satisfaction appeared to be at least partly explained by the quality of one’s social relationships. Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
