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Daydreaming: The Other Kind of Distracted Driving
For many, the term “distracted driving” conjures up a familiar image: a motorist talking or texting on a cell phone instead of paying attention to the surrounding traffic and road conditions. The dangers of phoning or texting while driving are so evident that 13 American states have passed laws banning use of handheld devices while driving. But can distracted driving also be caused by internal factors? Psychological scientists Matthew R. Yanko and Thomas M. Spalek of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia wanted to gauge whether simple “mind-wandering,” thinking about anything but the task at hand, would distract drivers the same way portable gadgets do.
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Why Free Play Is the Best Summer School
The Atlantic: Most schools across the nation have marked the end of another academic year, and it’s time for summer. Time for kids to bolt for the schoolhouse doors for two long months of play, to explore their neighborhoods and discover the mysteries, treasures, and dramas they have to offer. This childhood idyll will hold true for some children, but for many kids, the coming of summer signals little more than a seasonal shift from one set of scheduled, adult-supervised lessons and activities to another. Unscheduled, unsupervised, playtime is one of the most valuable educational opportunities we give our children.
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Classroom Decorations Can Distract Young Students
Scientific American: Remember your kindergarten classroom? The maps on the wall, the charts of the seasons on bulletin boards, the alphabet over the blackboard? I know I spent hours staring at the brightly colored decorations—and not listening to what my teacher was saying. Maybe you did, too. And it looks like we’re not alone. The more decorations in a classroom, the more distracted students may be. So finds a study in the journal Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Scientific American
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Football Teams with Too Much Talent May Lose Out
Business Standard: Are you betting for the team with maximum top-notch stars this FIFA World Cup in Brazil? Read on. Contrary to popular belief, researchers have found that after a certain point, the addition of more superstar talent to a team can actually be detrimental, resulting in poorer team performance. The presence of too many individuals with top talent can undermine players' willingness to coordinate, which can compromise effective teamwork and overall team performance, the findings showed. Read the whole story: Business Standard
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Lean Out: The Dangers For Women Who Negotiate
The New Yorker: This spring, an aspiring professor—W, as she’s chosen to call herself in a blog post about the experience—attempted to negotiate her tenure-track job offer with the Nazareth College philosophy department. She wanted a slightly higher salary than the starting offer, paid maternity leave for one semester, a pre-tenure sabbatical, a cap on the number of new classes that she would teach each semester, and a deferred starting date. “I know that some of these might be easier to grant than others,” she acknowledged in her e-mail. “Let me know what you think.” Nazareth didn’t hesitate to do just that: W wrote that the college promptly let her know that she was no longer welcome.
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Why You Should Freak Out More, Not Less, Over Your Profile Photos
New York Magazine: We've all spent too much time obsessing over our profile pictures on Facebook, dating websites, and everywhere else. It would be nice to think we're being neurotic, that it doesn't actually matter whether you use that photo where you look coy-happy or the one where you're a bit more mischievous-happy. But a new study in Psychological Science suggests otherwise: Even subtle differences between photos of the same person can greatly alter others' first impressions of them. Look at the images above.
