-
Too Big or Just Right? Optimal Circle of Friends Depends on Socioeconomic Conditions
Some people like to have a few close friends, while others prefer a wider social circle that is perhaps less deep. Research suggests that the optimal approach may depend on socioeconomic conditions.
-
My, What Big Teeth You Have! Threatening Objects Appear Closer
When we're faced with things that seem threatening, whether it’s a hairy spider or an angry mob, our goal is usually to get as far away as we can. Now, new research suggests that our visual perception may actually be biased in ways that help motivate us to get out of harm’s way. Our bodies help us respond to threats by engaging our fight-or-flight response and enabling us to act quickly: Our heart rate and blood pressure ramp up, and we produce more of the stress hormone cortisol. But research suggests that the body may also demonstrate its preparedness through certain perceptual biases.
-
Could boredom be curable?
The Boston Globe: You're driving to work one morning when you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam. You’re sitting in math class, listening to your teacher explain the afternoon’s lesson. You’re labeling envelopes to send out party invitations, letter after letter after letter. What do these seemingly unrelated experiences share? They have the potential to be unbelievably boring. Boredom is more than just one of life’s minor irritations. It has been implicated in drug use and alcoholism, problematic gambling and compulsive behavior—and has even been tied to potentially lethal errors in job execution.
-
Rethinking the Classic ‘Obedience’ Studies
Pacific Standard: They are among the most famous of all psychological studies, and together they paint a dark portrait of human nature. Widely disseminated in the media, they spread the belief that people are prone to blindly follow authority figures—and will quickly become cruel and abusive when placed in positions of power. It’s hard to overstate the impact of Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments of 1961, or the Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971. Yet in recent years, the conclusions derived from those studies have been, if not debunked, radically reinterpreted.
-
Negative Thoughts? Toss ’em
Discovery News: If you've ever been told to imagine releasing negative thoughts, only to find the same thoughts popping into your head minutes later, quit imagining and start physically throwing those thoughts away, researchers recommend following a new study published in Psychological Science. "At some level, it can sound silly," study co-author Richard Petty of Ohio State University said in a press release. "But we found that it really works -- by physically throwing away or protecting your thoughts, you influence how you end up using those thoughts.
-
What Makes Dickens a Lousy Running Buddy?
The Wall Street Journal: While it's true that a Stephen King book can make hearts race, churning through "The Shining" generally doesn't qualify as a cardiovascular workout. Not in print, anyway. So what about listening to an audiobook version of the horror classic during a run? Joe Flood, for one, says the spoken word imbues him with an inexplicable desire to keep going. ... Some scientists are leaning into the idea that running and reading don't necessarily mix well. "When you do two things at once there is always a cost," says Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia who researches the impact of multi-taking on the brain.
