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You’re Just Like Me!
The Atlantic: Sometimes opposing adages fight to a draw: “Better safe than sorry” versus “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” But when it comes to “Opposites attract” versus “Birds of a feather flock together,” the data are in: we end up with partners like ourselves. A study of 291 newlywed couples found spouses to be closer in values, religiosity, and political attitudes than would be predicted by chance [1]. Scientists have a term for this: positive assortative mating. (It’snegative assortative mating when opposites attract.) The human species isn’t the only one that flocks together.
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The Psychology of the Shortlist
Imagine this scenario: A plum job has opened up, one that you really want and feel well qualified to hold. So you go through the rigorous process of applying. You line up references, write essays, and finally get an interview. The interview goes well and you’re feeling confident, and indeed you get a call saying you’ve been shortlisted for the job. Out of a pool of a hundred applicants, you are among just three who are highly and equally qualified. Would you come back in for another round of interviews? You can almost taste victory now. So you do the interviews, and again all seems to go very well. Then the job goes to someone else. How do you feel?
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Focusing on Lasting Legacy Prompts Environmental Action
Prompting people to think about the legacy they want to leave for future generations can boost their desire and intention to take action on climate change.
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Preventing Road Accidents Before They Can Happen
Perceptual errors, when a driver looks but fails to register pedestrians or other vehicles, are one of the leading causes of car accidents. Sometimes called “looked-but-failed-to-see” accidents, because a driver fails to notice another vehicle even though they looked in the right direction. These errors are particularly common and dangerous in accidents involving bicycles and motorcycles. On the road, drivers face many simultaneous demands on their attention: pedestrians, traffic light changes, other cars, and following GPS directions. It’s impossible for a driver to focus their full attention on all of these events at once.
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‘Literally,’ Emojis, and Other Trends That Aren’t Destroying English
The Atlantic: As an experimental psychologist, Steven Pinker thinks about writing. As a linguist, he thinks about writing. In The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, the author and Harvard professor mines both the science of cognitive psychology—how the brain processes language, how we associate words with meanings, etc.—and the art of language to re-engineer the writing guide.
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Opting Out of Adulthood Is Becoming More Common
The New York Times: Marriage, children, a paying job and a home are the traditional markers of adulthood. Take an economic collapse that has targeted young people, combine it with a growing culture of individualism and narcissism, and the result is that these markers are fading away. And this, to me, brings up the big question: Is adulthood being delayed or ignored? Certainly, many young people are working hard getting advanced degrees, or living with their parents to save money so they can successfully launch into adulthood. This is a rational response to the challenging economic climate. And it isn’t a radical new development.
