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Going the Distance: Stereotypes and Hard Work
The Huffington Post: I plead guilty to trading in stereotypes once in a while. For example, I've somehow gotten the idea that East Africans are especially good distance runners, and I think I've even said as much on a few occasions. But I don't know this to be true. I've never done the work to verify that East Africans are statistically superior at distance running. It just seems that every time I flip on ESPN and happen on a long-distance event, an East African is winning. This kind of stereotyping seems harmless enough, but is it? I intend it with admiration rather than disrespect, but new research suggests that whether stereotypes are positive or negative may be irrelevant.
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¿La gente odiosa nace así?
CNN Español: Vamos a decirlo de frente: todo el mundo no es agradable. De hecho, ser bueno es más difícil para algunas personas que otras. Pero ¿es posible que "la amabilidad" esté predeterminada por los genes? Un nuevo estudio publicado en la revista Psychological Science sugiere lo siguiente: Si usted piensa que el mundo está lleno de personas peligrosas, no se sentirá obligado a ser generoso, haciendo cosas como el voluntariado y la donación a entidades caritativas. Pero si usted tiene una variante genética particular, es más probable que sea una persona agradable, de todos modos.
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Why Clingy People Feel Colder
TIME: An icy stare may do more than just chill your heart metaphorically — it can literally change the way you perceive ambient temperature, making a room feel several degrees colder. This cooling effect is most pronounced in people who tend to be anxious in their relationships, new research finds. For the study published in Psychological Science, psychologist Matthew Vess of Ohio University recruited 56 adults online. Participants took a test that examined their so-called attachment style, basically whether they felt comfortable in their relationships with others or whether they were more anxious and avoidant.
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Can You Make Yourself Smarter?
The New York Times: Early on a drab afternoon in January, a dozen third graders from the working-class suburb of Chicago Heights, Ill., burst into the Mac Lab on the ground floor of Washington-McKinley School in a blur of blue pants, blue vests and white shirts. Minutes later, they were hunkered down in front of the Apple computers lining the room’s perimeter, hoping to do what was, until recently, considered impossible: increase their intelligence through training.
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Reminders of Secular Authority Reduce Believers’ Distrust of Atheists
What’s the group that least agrees with Americans’ vision of their country? It’s not Muslims, gays, feminists, or recent immigrants. It’s atheists, according to many sociological surveys. In one survey conducted in 2006 by sociologist Penny Edgell and her colleagues, nearly half of respondents said they would disapprove if their child wanted to marry an atheist, and a majority would not vote for an atheist president of their preferred political party, the lowest social acceptance rates of any group that Americans are asked about.
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Being nice may be in your genes, according to study
CBS News: Being a nice person isn't just because of how your mother raised you: It might be coded into your genes. A new study, out in the April issue of Psychological Science, shows that people who have certain types of oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes were more likely to be generous when coupled with that person's outlook on the world. Past research has shown that oxytocin and vasopressin promote more charitable behavior. Oxytocin has even been called the "love drug" or the "cuddle chemical" and has been known to create mothering behavior, according to Dr. Michel Poulin, professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo, who led the study.
