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Can mass trauma actually promote psychological adjustment?
The Hill: The terror attacks in San Bernardino and Paris have ratcheted upward—once again—our collective anxieties. And for the survivors of these tragedies, they have raised the specter of collateral psychological damage, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Although the risks to survivors are indeed real, the psychological impact of these tragedies is more complicated than we realize. Most survivors of traumatic events will suffer no enduring psychological harm. More startlingly, some may actually experience direct psychological benefits from it. How do we know this?
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Narcissist in Chief? How Trump’s Ego Reflects US Culture
Live Science: With less than a month to go before Iowa's Republican primary caucus, Donald Trump remains atop the presidential candidate polls. His popularity appears unblemished despite brash statements, personal insults thrown at his opponents and rampant speculation over his perceived narcissistic tendencies. Trump surely displays enormous self-regard; in June, for example, he boasted that he'd be "the greatest jobs president that God has ever created." In September, he promised, "We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning." Egoism is a trait Trump seems proud of, in fact.
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People take more risks when wearing helmets, potentially negating safety benefits
Science: Helmets can reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by almost 20%. But what if we take so many risks when wearing them that we lose the protective edge they provide? This could be the case, according to a study published this week. Researchers observed 80 cyclists under the guise of an “eye-tracking experiment,” pretending to track their eye-motion via a head-mounted camera as the participants inflated a virtual balloon. For some of the participants, the “eye-tracking devices” were mounted on helmets, while others just wore baseball caps, as can be seen in the picture of the equipment above.
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The Joy of Psyching Myself Out
The New York Times: IS it possible to think scientifically and creatively at once? Can you be both a psychologist and a writer? When you look at the world as a psychologist, you see it as a set of phenomena that can be subjected to scientific inquiry: identified, tested and either verified or discarded. When you look at the world as a writer, you see it as a set of phenomena to be captured, contemplated, transformed and set down for others to recognize and absorb. Although it’s often presented as a dichotomy (the apparent subjectivity of the writer versus the seeming objectivity of the psychologist), it need not be.
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What your new gym doesn’t want you to know
The Washington Post: If you’re thinking more these days about your fitness regimen – or lack thereof – then you’re not alone. It’s the time of year when many Americans realize they are a little pudgier than they ought to be and resolve to slim down. In other words, it's a money-making time for the gym industry. Every year, Google searches for gyms spike in January, and membership purchases and foot traffic soar. According to Gold’s Gym, its traffic jumps 40 percent between December and January. But just wait a few weeks – it won’t be long before all those good intentions die. ... Why are people so susceptible to this arrangement, year after year after year?
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Employees Changed Their Drinking Habits After the Recession
If research on drinking in the wake of the Great Recession is any indication, financial insecurity has a strong influence on drinking habits.
