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In Life and Business, Learning to Be Ethical
The New York Times: LOTS of New Year’s resolutions are being made — and no doubt ignored — at this time of year. But there’s one that’s probably not even on many lists and should be: Act more ethically. Most people, if pressed, would acknowledge that they could use an ethical tuneup. Maybe last year they fudged some numbers at work. Dented a car and failed to leave a note. Remained silent when a friend made a racist joke. The problem, research shows, is that how we think we’re going to act when faced with a moral decision and how we really do act are often vastly different.
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Effective Mentoring Stems From Workplace Climate
Mentoring a less experienced colleague -- and doing it effectively -- can be a demanding task, especially when deadlines are looming. The relationship is a delicate one, and trying to foster a working dynamic that is productive but also engaging is a skill that requires practice. New findings suggest that how your company operates as a whole can have significant bearing on whether the mentor/protégé bond flourishes or flounders. That is, the overall tenor of the workplace environment influences the give and take of the relationship.
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Extraordinary Altruism: Who Gives A Kidney To A Stranger?
I have a colleague who would not be alive today if it were not for a complete stranger, who volunteered to give her a kidney. Her kidneys were failing, and she would not have survived for long. Now she is healthy, and has been for some years. So I understand in a personal way that living kidney donation is an extraordinary gift, a far-too-rare act of pure altruism. Yet I have not offered to make the same gift of my kidney. I have a friend who did, who donated one of her kidneys to a stranger, just out of the goodness of her heart. I admired her, but it made me nervous when she did it, for the same reason that it makes me nervous now. What if something goes wrong?
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research from Psychological Science: Task Relevance Induces Momentary Changes in the Functional Visual Field During Reading Johanna K. Kaakinen and Jukka Hyönä Research has shown that people zoom in on task-relevant information in text. The authors examined whether a person's functional visual field changes as a function of task relevance by tracking participants' eye movements as they read a large piece of text about different countries. Before reading, participants were instructed to imagine they were going to move to one of the countries described in the text.
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Brain training can help older adults stay sharp for years
NBC: A brief course of brain exercises helped older adults hold on to improvements in reasoning skills and processing speed for 10 years after the course ended, according to results from the largest study ever done on cognitive training. Older adults who underwent a brief course of brain exercises saw improvements in reasoning skills and processing speed that could be detected as long as 10 years after the course ended, according to results from the largest study ever on cognitive training.
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Is Sugar Addiction Why So Many January Diets Fail?
NPR: We've survived the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, when rich, sweet treats come at us non-stop. Now is the season of reform, when gym memberships, cleanse books, and weight-loss plans sell like gangbusters. The cycle has become so predictable, and disheartening, as our collective motivation to change our ways dissolves by February like a sugar cube in a glass of champagne. I've certainly done my fair share of January food-restriction experiments that fizzled at the first sign of a Valentine's Day candy heart. For me, it's refined sugar, pure and simple, that, over time, I've identified as the food I would most love to be able to resist.
