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The Funny Business of Laughter
Focus: Chortling, sniggering, guffawing, tittering – it has so many names and yet it is one of the most mysterious aspects of human behaviour. Emma Bayley investigates a very peculiar habit. If an alien were to land on our planet and take a stroll among a crowd of earthlings, it would notice that the low hum of speech was regularly interjected by much louder exhalations and that these outbreaths were chopped into ‘ha-ha’ fragments. It might wonder what purpose this strange habit served. If we ask ourselves what triggers a good chortle, the obvious answer is that it is a response to something we find funny.
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Is “If-Then” Insight the Key to Lasting Friendship?
I think of myself as a fairly easy-going guy—tolerant, not easily riled up. That is, unless a rude driver cuts me off in traffic. Rudeness triggers the worst in me, and I doubt anyone would describe me as congenial under those circumstances. I can also get moody when I’m tired, and I’m much more affable once I’ve had my morning coffee. I’m probably more cheerful on Sundays than on Tuesdays. Still, on balance I think most my friends would describe me as easy-going. What I’m describing here—this seeming contradiction—is the difference between my global personality and my more nuanced, situational “if-then” profile.
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Are Parental Decisions Driven by Reason or Emotions
Huffington Post: Many young couples face some version of this dilemma today: They've decided they want to have children in the near future -- they're not on the fence about that -- but the financial reality is that they both have to work. They need both their earnings, not for a fancy lifestyle but just to pay the bills and save a bit. So when the day comes that they do become parents, they will almost certainly have to send their young child to some kind of day care, so that they both can continue to work. That's their world. But in their hearts they believe that children are better off raised at home, by a stay-at-home parent.
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Happiness, Comparatively Speaking: How We Think About Life’s Rewards
You win some, you lose some. You get the perfect job—the one your heart is set on. Or you get snubbed. You win the girl (or guy) of your dreams—or you strike out. Such are life’s ups and downs. But what if you win and lose at the same time? You land a good job—but not a great one. Or you do get a plum offer—but not the one you wanted? A study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, says you’ll find a way to be happy anyway. “Good outcomes have relative value and absolute value, and that affects our happiness,” explains Carnegie Mellon assistant professor Karim S.
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Food May Be Addicting for Some
The Wall Street Journal: A new study suggests that people who struggle to say no to chocolate, french fries or other junk food suffer from something more insidious than lack of willpower: They may actually have an addiction. Using a high-tech scan to observe the brains of pathological eaters versus normal eaters, the study found that showing a milkshake to the abnormal group was akin to dangling a cold beer in front of an alcoholic. Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
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In pain? Try meditation
CNN: You don't have to be a Buddhist monk to experience the health benefits of meditation. According to a new study, even a brief crash course in meditative techniques can sharply reduce a person's sensitivity to pain. In the study, researchers mildly burned 15 men and women in a lab on two separate occasions, before and after the volunteers attended four 20-minute meditation training sessions over the course of four days. During the second go-round, when the participants were instructed to meditate, they rated the exact same pain stimulus -- a 120-degree heat on their calves -- as being 57 percent less unpleasant and 40 percent less intense, on average. Read the whole story: CNN
