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Residential Mobility Changes the Way You Make Friends
The Atlantic: Americans move a lot. That's been the case historically, going back to the early expansion westward, and it remains the case in modern times. Fifty years ago the one-year mobility rate for Americans was more than 20 percent — twice that of the British, and nearly three times that of the Japanese. The trend may be declining, but recent census figures still suggest that at least two in five Americans move within a five-year period. What effect this movement has on social behavior is an ongoing question for University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro Oishi.
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New Love: A Short Shelf Life
The New York Times: In fairy tales, marriages last happily ever after. Science, however, tells us that wedded bliss has but a limited shelf life. American and European researchers tracked 1,761 people who got married and stayed married over the course of 15 years. The findings were clear: newlyweds enjoy a big happiness boost that lasts, on average, for just two years. Then the special joy wears off and they are back where they started, at least in terms of happiness. The findings, from a 2003 study, have been confirmed by several recent studies.
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Beware of ‘Neuromyths’
The Wall Street Journal: No, you do not, in fact, use just 10% of your brain, and "learning styles" make no difference in the classroom. Psychology professor Christopher Chabris discusses these and other "neuromyths" Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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Is a Wandering Mind a Sign of Aging?
AARP: There’s a new study that suggests that if your mind frequently wanders or gets distracted — hey, are you paying attention? — it means your cells are aging too quickly. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, wanted to test whether being able to focus on the here and now predicts better health and longevity. To measure longevity, they looked at telomeres, the little caps at the ends of a cell’s chromosomes that are considered a biomarker for how fast our bodies are aging. Telomeres shorten with age and also in response to stress and depression.
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Research Explores How Children Reason, Think About Others
Two new studies published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, explore the development of reasoning and perspective-taking in children. How to Pass the False-Belief Task Before Your Fourth Birthday As social creatures, humans must constantly monitor each other's intentions, beliefs, desires, and other mental states.
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Think yourself well
The Economist: The link between mind and body is terrain into which many medical researchers, fearing ridicule, dare not tread. But perhaps more should do so. For centuries, doctors have recognized the placebo effect, in which the illusion of treatment, such as pills without an active ingredient, produces real medical benefits. More recently, respectable research has demonstrated that those who frequently experience positive emotions live longer and healthier lives. They have fewer heart attacks, for example, and fewer colds too. Why this happens, though, is only slowly becoming understood.
