-
The ultimate brain-boosting evening
Men's Health UK: The area of your brain responsible for memory formation is the hippocampus – and the bigger yours the better. Researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh recently discovered a strong correlation between physical fitness and hippocampus size. "If you want to keep your memory and the rest of your mental skills in shape, you need to feed your brain through regular exercise," says Tony Buzan, inventor of Mind Mapping and author of over 100 books on the brain. Read more: Men's Health UK
-
Economic Prosperities Influence Intimate Relationships: Study
French Tribune: According to a report of USA Today, a study reveals that an equal financial status leads to a healthy and happy sex life. Roy Baumeister, a Psychologist at Florida State University in Tallahassee the author of the study reveals that his writing is based on the findings of "sexual economics". The study published in the journal of Social Psychology, has observed data of 37 countries, which also comprised of the international survey on 3170 people. The results of the study revealed that the gender equality was at the highest position, followed by casual sex, more sex partner's per capita, younger ages for first sexual experience and greater tolerance of premarital sex.
-
Trying Out New Identities Key to Video Games’ Appeal: Study
U.S. News & World Report: One reason why people worldwide spend 3 billion hours per week playing video games may be because the games allow them to "try on" characteristics they might like to have, a new study suggests. The research included hundreds of casual game players and nearly a thousand dedicated players who were asked about their motivation for playing, as well as their post-game emotions. The British researchers found that players' enjoyment seemed to be greater when there was an overlap between their actual self and their "ideal" self. That meant that being able to adopt a new identity during a game made players feel better about themselves and less negative. Read more: U.S.
-
Why Scientists and Journalists Don’t Always Play Well Together
Forbes: A few months ago I came across a blog post written by a well-credentialed scientist, the gist of which was that he’d recently given his last interview to a journalist. So horribly were his words misrepresented in the subsequent article that he finally had to draw the line—he’d not contribute to public science schlock ever again. He was infuriated, and with good reason; not only did the article reflect poorly on him, but the focus of the research he discussed was lost in the resulting muck.
-
Social Class as Culture
Social class is more than just how much money you have. It’s also the clothes you wear, the music you like, the school you go to—and has a strong influence on how you interact with others, according to the authors of a new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. People from lower classes have fundamentally different ways of thinking about the world than people in upper classes—a fact that should figure into debates on public policy, according to the authors.
-
Oxytocin: Not Just the “Cuddle Chemical”
SELF Magazine: Feeling all warm and fuzzy? Chalk it up to oxytocin, the touchy-feely hormone that enables mothers to bond with their babies (thus the nickname the "cuddle chemical"). Oxytocin fluctuates throughout our lives--during and after childbirth, as well as when you're sexually aroused or reach the big O. But this feel-good chemical may have a surprising dark side, according to research published in the August issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. Rather than oxytocin making them feel like they were in the "trust tree" singing "Kumbaya," study subjects given the chemical before playing a game of chance exhibited more gloating and envy of their opponents.
