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Who’s (Socially) Smarter: The Dog or the Wolf?
Science: Since they split from wolves, domestic dogs have changed in many ways. Unlike their wild ancestors, they're comfortable around humans, pay close attention to us, and follow orders—at least sometimes. That social intelligence is critical to making a dog man's best friend. But research presented here last week at the annual meetingof the Association for Psychological Science shows that dogs may have also lost some of their social smarts in the process. One of the classic experiments that shows the cognitive difference between wolves and dogs is the pointing task: Whereas a dog—even a 3-month-old puppy—will readily follow the direction a person points in, wolves just don't get it.
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Resiliency May Come at a Physical Cost for Some Kids
Children who overcome overcome adversity are seen as resilient, but this resiliency may have health costs that last well into adulthood.
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Does McDonald’s have too many items on the menu?
Marketplace: McDonald’s is reportedly paring down its menu. That’s according to a recent Bloomberg story that cites email from McDonald’s to some franchisees. McDonald’s menu now has 145 items, according to Bloomberg, citing menu researcher DataSsential in Los Angeles. That’s up from about 85 items in 2007. Offering more choices -- especially more healthy and premium choices -- attracts more customers, so the thinking in the fast-food industry goes, and McDonald’s competitors have been doing the same. Read the whole story: Marketplace
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Why Older Adults Are Happier
LiveScience: People tend to get happier as they age, and a new study could explain why: Older adults may be better able to deal with negative emotions like anger and anxiety. In the study, older adults were less likely than younger adults to feel angry and anxious in their everyday lives, as well as when they were asked to perform a stressful task. In addition, older adults scored higher on a test designed to measure how well participants accept their negative emotions. The researchers call this trait "acceptance," or a tendency to be in touch with rather than avoid negative emotions. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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What Your Favorite Movie Treat Says About You
Parade: Joanne Chen is the author of The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair With Our Favorite Treats. Her Sweet Sleuth blog appears on Parade every Wednesday. Summer is almost here! And with it comes a tasty array of warm-weather sweets, from luscious plums to Popsicle sticks. But few things remind me more of sweltering Junes than a big pouch of Peanut M&M’s, enthusiastically consumed in the air-conditioned comfort of a movie theater. In anticipation of some serious summer-blockbuster viewing this holiday weekend, we dug into the annals of food research to reveal insights into what your favorite Cineplex snack might say about you. Read the whole story: Parade
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Wrinkles make faces appear sadder and madder
NBC News: Creases and furrows on someone's face may put a wrinkle in our ability to properly judge his or her emotions, a new study suggests. In the study, participants viewed photographs of 64 faces, and were asked to rate the faces based on the level of emotion they showed. People in the study rated the faces of older adults as much more sad and angry than faces of younger adults, despite the fact that all the faces had neutral expressions, according to the researchers.
