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WHAT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL UPBEAT AT WORK
The New Yorker: Creating a positive work environment sounds like a noble aspiration for both businesses and the people who work for them. No one ever says that they want to work in a negative environment, after all, or even in a blasé one. And yet, in late April, the National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling against T-Mobile for that very aspiration: the telecommunications company had run afoul of the law by including a provision in its employee handbook requiring workers “to maintain a positive work environment in a manner that is conducive to effective working relationships.” ... “It sounds really nice.
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Paying With Cash Hurts. That’s Also Why It Feels So Good.
The New York Times: Paying with cash is painful — and that’s a good thing, according to new research. When people pay for items using cold, hard cash rather than by card or online, they feel more of a sting and therefore assign more value to the purchase, according to Avni M. Shah, an assistant marketing professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Her findings were born of personal experience: One day she forgot her debit card, so she paid for a latte with physical dollars — and felt her drink tasted better that day. Could her method of payment have been the reason? ...
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Some Surprising Authors of Psychology Papers
Discover: In a fascinating new paper, Scott O. Lilienfeld and Steven Jay Lynn discuss 78 Surprising Authors of Psychological Publications. The paper is a list of celebrities and other notable figures who, at one time or another, have published an academic paper in psychology. ... Other surprising psychologists include Marie Bonaparte, the great grand-niece of Napoleon; Neil Clark Warren, the founder of eHarmony.com; and conservative radio host Michael Savage. Read the whole story: Discover
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Violent video games and real violence: there’s a link but it’s not so simple
The Conversation: Public debate on the effects of violent video games can become especially contentious in the wake of a rampage shooting, such as the recent killing of nine people in Munich. If it is later discovered the perpetrator was a fan of violent video games, as was the Munich killer, it is tempting to think that perhaps violent games “caused” the rampage shooting. But rampage shootings are rare and complex events caused by multiple factors acting together. One can’t accurately predict a rampage shooting based on exposure to violent video games or any other single factor. But this doesn’t mean there isn’t a link between violent video games and aggression.
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Not enjoying your job? Let the spark of passion come first
Wired: The other day, a friend said that the US is the grittiest country in the world. Is it? Is there a surplus in the US of passion and perseverance for long-term goals? Should we be exporting our culture of grit to other countries? "Americans work long hours and take little time off for vacation," she said. "So, we must be the grittiest." ... Thirty years ago, psychologist Benjamin Bloom interviewed 120 world-class performers in maths, neuroscience, swimming, tennis, piano and sculpture. Most said their expertise was from years of skill-building practice. But before practice came play.
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How Noise Pollution Impairs Learning
The Atlantic: One July afternoon in 1972, a team of psychologists took sound meters into the Bridge Apartments, a cluster of four high-rise buildings straddling Interstate 95 in Manhattan. Because of the towers’ proximity to the highway, the hum of traffic filled the buildings’ halls. Even on the eighth floor, the decibel level was 66, just slightly quieter than a running vacuum cleaner. The noise died down as the researchers climbed the stairs, though. On the 32nd floor, the reading was 55 decibels, or about the level of a conversation in a restaurant.
