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Why we like to narrate stories to others
The Times of India: People often share stories, news, and information with the people around them. Now, a new study has found that why is certain content shared more than others and what drives people to share. According to Jonah Berger, the sharing of stories or information may be driven in part by arousal. When people are physiologically aroused, whether due to emotional stimuli or otherwise, the autonomic nervous is activated, which then boosts social transmission. Simply put, evoking certain emotions can help increase the chance a message is shared. Read more: The Times of India
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‘Evil Scientist’ Wants To Teach People To Do Good
NPR: In 1971, at Stanford University, a young psychology professor created a simulated prison. Some of the young men playing the guards became sadistic, even violent, and the experiment had to be stopped. The results of the Stanford Prison Experiment showed that people tend to conform — even when that means otherwise good people doing terrible things. Since then, the experiment has been used to help explain everything from Nazi Germany to Abu Ghraib. Now, in a new project, Philip Zimbardo, the psychologist who created the prison experiment, is trying to show that people can learn to bring out the best in themselves rather than the worst. Read more: NPR
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The Psychology of Beach Reading
Selecting a book to read by the water is no trivial matter for me. I want something that’s accessible because—well, because it’s vacation, and I don’t want anything that resembles work. On the other hand, my past experience with picking pop fiction—thrillers and such—has often as not been disappointing. I think I want a “page turner,” but I quickly get bored by formulaic plots and pat characters. They’re simply not interesting. But what is interesting? What do I mean by that vague, cranky statement? Is interest a universal emotion like fear or pride or bemusement?
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New Research From Psychological Science
Magnocellular and Parvocellular Contributions to Conscious and Nonconscious Vision Evelina Tapia and Bruno G. Breitmeyer When it comes to consciousness and vision, the magnocellular (M) channel in the dorsal cortical pathway has been associated with nonconscious visual processing, and the parvocellular (P) channel in the ventral cortical pathway has been connected to conscious visual processing. In this study, researchers used contrast-dependent primes to determine whether the priming effects were characteristic of M- or P-channel responses. They found that M channels have a significant role in conscious vision and propose a new mechanism for how the channels function.
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Want to Get Rich? Be (Moderately) Happy
Yahoo Finance: Some people believe that earning the most money will make them incredibly happy. What they probably don't know is that being incredibly happy may not earn them the most money. A new study finds that when it comes to financial success, you're better off being a moderately happy person rather than someone who's chronically ecstatic. Read more: Yahoo Finance
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Beauty and the Beasts: The Sight of a Pretty Woman Can Make Men Crave War
Scientific American: Show a man a picture of an attractive woman, and he might play riskier blackjack. With a real-life pretty woman watching, he might cross traffic against a red light. Such exhibitions of agility and bravado are the behavioral equivalent in humans of physical attributes such as antlers and horns in animals. “Mate with me,” they signal to women. “I can brave danger to defend you and the children.” Read more: Scientific American
