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Can Teenage Defiance Be Manipulated for Good?
The New York Times: Since there have been teenagers, there have been adults trying to control them. The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed the Stubborn Child Law in 1646, allowing parents to have their defiant teenage sons put to death. The Bible suggests stoning them to death. But what if adolescent defiance is not a demon to be exorcised, but a power to be harnessed? The brains of adolescents are notoriously more receptive to short-term rewards and peer approval, which can lead to risky behavior. But researchers and educators are noticing that young people are also more sensitive to notions of social justice and autonomy.
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The Right Music Can Bring Teams Together
A team researchers finds evidence that what we’re listening to at work might influence how willing we are to cooperate with coworkers.
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Your voice may be your biggest asset at your next job interview
Business Insider: The latest research has found your voice could be your biggest asset when you go for a job interview. ... "In addition to communicating the contents of one's mind, like specific thoughts and beliefs, a person's speech conveys their fundamental capacity to think — the capacity for reasoning, thoughtfulness and intellect," says Professor Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The study, "The Sound of Intellect: Speech Reveals a Thoughtful Mind, Increasing a Job Candidate's Appeal," is published in The Journal of Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Business Insider
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Why some people are more altruistic than others
TED: Why do some people do selfless things, helping other people even at risk to their own well-being? Psychology researcher Abigail Marsh studies the motivations of people who do extremely altruistic acts, like donating a kidney to a complete stranger. Are their brains just different? Read the whole story: TED
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Scientists have identified why binge-watching “Game of Thrones” together brings couples closer
Quartz: You should be talking more. You should be cooking dinner together and eating it by candlelight and then having sex. You should have signed up for that tango class so that you’d be out there on the dance floor, arms around your partner, becoming closer. But you didn’t. You’re both on the sofa watching Game of Thrones. It’s so pleasurable, but the pleasure is tainted by guilt because instead of having experiences together, you’re wasting precious time on something mindless you could easily do alone. We’ve got good news for you. Read the whole story: Quartz
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The science of why drivers slow down for Pittsburgh tunnels
The Incline: I brake before tunnels. This is an admission that, as a person new to Pittsburgh, I did not think would cause a scandal. But in a “city of tunnels,” confessing that you are guilty of this particular vehicular sin elicits sighs, groans and exclamations of outrage from people who just moments before were kindly offering you recommendations for good pierogies. That’s not to say that braking for tunnels isn’t a weird point of civic hate-pride: There are Reddit threads. There’s a T-shirt. There’s a song. ... In an effort to defend myself, I contacted Roberta Klatzky.
