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Should bullies be labeled early?
The Globe and Mail: If you could spot a bully at 10 paces, would you? Parents of children who have been victimized would adamantly say yes. They eagerly jump on new research that suggests the kids most likely to offend could be identified. On the flip side, experts warn that such tools could lead to profiling kids who are already troubled and lead to inflaming the problem. A new study has highlighted the debate. Led by Douglas Gentile, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University, the study has raised the tantalizing possibility of prevention. Read the whole story: The Globe and Mail
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Why do we pay more than we should at auctions?
BBC: The allure and tension of an auction are familiar to most of us – let’s face it, we all like the idea of picking up a bargain. And on-line auction sites like eBay cater for this, allowing us to share in the over-excitement of auction bidding in the privacy of our homes. Yet somehow, despite our better judgement, we end up paying more than we know we should have done on that piece of furniture, equipment or clothing. What's going on? One estimate states that about half of eBay auctions result in higher sale prices than the "buy it now" price. This is a paradox.
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Extremist politics: Debating the nuts & bolts
Starting next week and through October, President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney will face off in a series of four televised debates, designed to clarify the candidates’ positions on the most pressing public policy issues confronting the nation today. In place of the ideals and elegant rhetoric of the campaign trail, the leaders of the two major parties will have an opportunity to describe the nitty-gritty of governing—how they will deal with complex matters like affordable health care, foreign policy in the Middle East, job creation, equitable taxation, and more. But the unfortunate reality is that Americans won’t get much in the way of detail and explanation.
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Suspect Line Up
ABC Catalyst: There are two major problems. One is when the witness to the crime is asked to come in and look at a line up they come with quite strong expectations that the bad guy is going to be in the line up and it’s their job to find them. But the second one is the witness almost certainly is going to have a less than perfect memory. They’ve seen an event that they probably didn’t know was going to happen. They’ve seen it under not so great conditions. Then they’re asked to make a decision, a yes/no decision that says, yep that person was the bad guy or that person is not. A decision which has enormous consequences. Read the whole story: ABC Catalyst
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The blessings of routine
Chicago Tribune: It's easy to dismiss routines and habits as "boring." But give some of them credit for keeping you on track amid the uncertainties of daily life, as well as freeing up brain space to dream, to create fresh ideas, to solve problems. "Habits help us get through the day with minimal stress and deliberation," says social psychologist Wendy Wood, provost professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California whose research focuses on the effect of habits on behavior. Read the whole story: Chicago Tribune
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Spending Your Money to Make Someone Else Happy
The New York Times: In the early 1990s, I went to Philadelphia on a Mormon mission and lived in a tough section of the city. One day I received a letter from a friend. In it was $100 and instructions to spend it doing something nice for someone else. No spending the money on myself. It was the holiday season, and I figured it would be fun to provide a great dinner for a family we had recently met who was clearly going to go without. We bought a turkey, stuffing, all the fixings, a pie and small gifts. I still remember leaving the box of food on the doorstep, knocking a few times and running.
