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Over the Side With Old Scientific Tenets
The New York Times: Here are some concepts you might consider tossing out with the Christmas wrappings as you get started on the new year: human nature, cause and effect, the theory of everything, free will and evidence-based medicine. Those are only a few of the shibboleths, pillars of modern thought or delusions — take your choice — that appear in a new compendium of essays by 166 (and counting) deep thinkers, scientists, writers, blowhards (again, take your choice) as answers to the question: What scientific idea is ready for retirement? The discussion is posted at edge.org. Take a look. No matter who you are, you are bound to find something that will drive you crazy. ...
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Loss Attention in a Dual-Task Setting Eldad Yechiam and Guy Hochman Can losses actually make you perform better? The authors tested the hypothesis known as the loss-attention model, in which losses draw attention to the current task and, as a result, increase sensitivity to the task's incentive structure. Participants performed a decision-making task involving gains or losses. The task was performed alone (single-task condition) or with a secondary task (dual-task condition).
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To Stop Procrastinating, Look to Science of Mood Repair
The Wall Street Journal: Procrastinators, take note: If you've tried building self-discipline and you're still putting things off, maybe you need to try something different. One new approach: Check your mood. Often, procrastinators attempt to avoid the anxiety or worry aroused by a tough task with activities aimed at repairing their mood, such as checking Facebook or taking a nap.
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Can Upward Mobility Cost You Your Health?
The New York Times: Americans love a good rags-to-riches story. Even in an age of soaring inequality, we like to think that people can still make it big here if they work hard and stay out of trouble. The socioeconomic reality of most of the last four decades — stagnant wages, soaring income and wealth inequality, and reduced equality of opportunity — have dented, but not destroyed, the appeal of the American dream. Those who do climb the ladder, against the odds, often pay a little-known price: Success at school and in the workplace can exact a toll on the body that may have long-term repercussions for health.
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The Relationship Between Anxiety and Performance
Harvard Business Review: I choked. It was just a middle-school tennis match against a manifestly worse player, but I became overwhelmed with anxiety. Before we’d started, the most important thing was to win. But during the match, I just wanted to get off the court fast. Burping uncontrollably, afraid of throwing up, I hit balls out. I hit them into the net. I double-faulted. And I lost 6-1, 6-0. After shaking hands and running off the court, I felt immediate relief. My distended stomach settled. My anxiety relented. And then self-loathing took over. This was a challenge match for a lower-ladder JV position. The stakes were low, but to me they felt existentially high.
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New Year’s Resolutions and the Fear of Losing Money
The New Yorker: To commit to a New Year’s resolution is to gamble. Gym memberships and weight-loss programs are expensive, but they’re good investments if they bring health and happiness. Unfortunately, as I learned eight years ago, people don’t take the prospect of losing money lightly. In the summer of 2005, I interviewed dozens of habitual gamblers in Atlantic City. I waited as they stumbled from the casino onto the boardwalk, squinting into the sunshine, and asked each one a string of questions about their gambling beliefs. Many believed that a roulette wheel could become “stuck” on red or black (known as the hot-hand fallacy).
