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How Do We Grow To Like The Foods We Once Hated?
NPR: Why do some of us like to slather hot sauce or sprinkle chili powder onto our food, while others can't stand burning sensations in our mouth? It probably has to do with how much we've been socially pressured or taught to eat chili, according to Paul Rozin, a cultural psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied attitudes toward food for decades. We first read about Rozin's research on spicy food in Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat. It's a new book by John McQuaid that's been excerpted in the Wall Street Journal and was featured Sunday on Weekend Edition. We asked Rozin to tell us more about his work on spice tolerance.
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Should Schools Teach Personality?
The New York Times: Self-control, curiosity, “grit” — these qualities may seem more personal than academic, but at some schools, they’re now part of the regular curriculum. Some researchers say personality could be even more important than intelligence when it comes to students’ success in school. But critics worry that the increasing focus on qualities like grit will distract policy makers from problems with schools. In a 2014 paper, the Australian psychology professor Arthur E.
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Women Face Backlash for Speaking Up at Work
From the floor of the US Senate to auditions for orchestras, researchers have found that men are often seen as more competent and powerful for talking, while women are more harshly criticized, more frequently interrupted, and judged as less competent for the same behavior. “Either she’s barely heard or she’s judged as too aggressive. When a man says virtually the same thing, heads nod in appreciation for his fine idea,” write psychological scientist Adam Grant and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg in a recent New York Times op-ed.
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This Box is Heavier; I Can Just Hear it! Illusions of Sight and Sound in the Blind and Deaf
Scientific American: The last time someone told you to look at an optical illusion, they probably described it as playing a cool trick on your eyes. But these quirks of perception – as well as most other illusions – have more to do with tricking your brain than anything else. Rather than thinking about illusions as being something you fall for, scientists have realized that these mis-perceptions are actually powerful glimpses into the work that the brain typically seems to do so easily. In fact, some well-known illusions linked to sights and sounds have such a strong foundation in our brains that they can still affect people who have been blind or deaf since birth.
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Why Companies Want Staffers With Happy Spouses
The Wall Street Journal: Happy wife, happy life – even at the office? Todd Pedersen, chief executive of home-automation company Vivint Inc., says there’s a connection between the state of his employees’ relationships and their productivity levels. “When my wife’s sad, I am not coming to work with a bounce in my step,” he says. Vivint and a handful of other companies have been launching special clubs and planning events — part professional development, part party –to acquaint employees’ husbands and wives with the work that consumes their partners’ days.
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Two Strikes and You’re Out (But Only If You’re Black)
The Huffington Post: I came of age in a Jersey Shore community with high racial tension. A major road divided the town, and separated black homes from white homes. But we all met in the integrated schools, and that's where I witnessed racial discrimination firsthand. I vividly remember this one incident from eighth grade. Word spread one morning through the corridors that there would be a fight in the boys' lavatory in the afternoon, between a black boy and a white boy. This was not uncommon, and we all crowded around to witness the event, but in the end hardly a punch got thrown. Our eighth grade English teacher had gotten wind of the coming fight, and immediately broke it up.
