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The kickback society
The Boston Globe: Greasing the wheels of commerce is a lot easier if everyone’s on board. At least that’s the conclusion of a new study on bribery. Analyzing data for different countries, the authors found that a more collectivist culture was strongly associated with the tendency of that country’s companies to offer bribes abroad. Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
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Court rulings depend partly on when the judge last had a snack
The Economist: AROUND the world, courthouses are adorned with a statue of a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales and a sword: Justice personified. Her sword stands for the power of the court, her scales for the competing claims of the petitioners. The blindfold (a 15th-century innovation) represents the principle that justice should be blind. The law should be applied without fear or favour, with only cold reason and the facts of the case determining what happens to the accused. Lawyers, though, have long suspected that such lofty ideals are not always achieved in practice, even in well run judicial systems free from political meddling.
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Say a little prayer to control anger
MSNBC: Furious about an unkind comment? Angry about a social snub? Say a prayer, even if you're not religious. New research from American and Dutch scientists shows praying can help ease anger, lower aggression and lessen the impact of provocation. "People often turn to prayer when they're feeling negative emotions, including anger," said Brad Bushman, a professor of communications and psychology at Ohio State University and a co-author of the study. Read the whole story: MSNBC
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How Beliefs Shape Effort and Learning
If it was easy to learn, it will be easy to remember. Psychological scientists have maintained that nearly everyone uses this simple rule to assess their own learning. Now a study published in an upcoming issue Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests otherwise: “Individuals with different theories about the nature of intelligence tend to evaluate their learning in different ways,” says David B. Miele of Columbia University, who conducted the study with Bridgid Finn of Washington University in St. Louis and Daniel C. Molden of Northwestern University.
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Quicksilver message: How to send a public health warning
When I was a smoker, I paid no attention to the constant health warnings about tobacco. It’s not that I was unaware that cigarettes posed serious risks. They were spelled out in black-and-white, right there on my pack of Camels. I just put them out of my mind—for future consideration. I quit smoking long ago. The years have made me more averse to health risks in general, and I take precautions when I can. For example, I’ve seriously cut back on canned tuna in my diet, based on what I’ve read about mercury risks. The idea of quicksilver in my tuna fish sandwich makes me uneasy. Mine are the kinds of decisions that drive public health officials crazy.
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Psychologists link spatial perception to claustrophobic fear
Daily News & Analysis: People who project their personal space too far beyond their bodies, or the norm of arm's reach, are more likely to experience claustrophobic fear, according to psychologists. "We've found that people who are higher in claustrophobic fear have an exaggerated sense of the near space surrounding them," said Emory psychologist Stella Lourenco, who led the research. "At this point, we don't know whether it's the distortion in spatial perception that leads to the fear, or vice versa. Both possibilities are likely," she said. Read the whole story: Daily News & Analysis
