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Smile and the world smiles back. Can looking at faces lower aggression?
The Guardian: Before I started my PhD, I worked as a "research assistant". That's a fancy title for an academic dogsbody; well, it can be. I was lucky and had some great bosses in the five years I had that job, but sometimes it can involve menial tasks like data entry, or running experiments you think are a complete waste of time. One such experiment, that I was asked to run by my boss while we waited for ethics approval on another study, was published last week in the journal Psychological Science. Shows what I know!
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science. Common DNA Markers Can Account for More Than Half of the Genetic Influence on Cognitive Abilities Robert Plomin, Claire M. A. Haworth, Emma L. Meaburn, Thomas S. Price, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, and Oliver S. P. Davis Although past research has shown that cognitive ability is heritable, it has proved difficult for genome-wide association studies to identify the genetic variants that account for this heritability.
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Should you ditch online dating?
Prevention: First, the good news: Looking for love (or lust) online has finally shed its negative stigma, becoming the most common strategy for singles looking to meet someone new. Now the bad news: Dating sites’ so-called “matching algorithms” may actually make it harder to find Mr. Right, according to a study published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. But does that mean you should swear off dating sites for good? Read the whole story: Prevention
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Behind A Diagnosis of March Madness
The Wall Street Journal: From the point of view of a non-sports-fan, March Madness looks like the month when many people actually go mad. Fans parade by in crazy hats and face paint. You go to a nice cafe for lunch and some other diner screams "Go Orange!" for Syracuse University—and instead of getting escorted from the premises is joined by a dozen other fans who look up and chant in unison, "Go Orange!" Strangers on the street ask what you think about something called Florida Gulf Coast University.
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Number Of Early Childhood Vaccines Not Linked To Autism
NPR: A large new government study should reassure parents who are afraid that kids are getting autism because they receive too many vaccines too early in life. The study, by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found no connection between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. It also found that even though kids are getting more vaccines these days, those vaccines contain many fewer of the substances that provoke an immune response. ... Autism Speaks, a major advocacy and research group, seems ready to move beyond the vaccine issue.
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Following Your Bliss, Right Off the Cliff
The New York Times: So you want to be a writer. Or an artist. Or to open a cupcake shop. What you’ll hear, often, is that you should pursue your dream. Follow your passion. Quit your job and live the life you want. That advice should come with a bright yellow warning sticker: your dream may end in disaster. ... “There’s a whole host of what my colleague Shelley Taylor” — a psychology professor at U.C.L.A. —“calls positive illusions,” said Professor Fox. “We overestimate our ability to control outcomes that have some element of chance” and we “tend to overestimate the extent to which good things are going to happen, especially to us.” Read the whole story: The New York Times
