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Kreislauf der Geschenke
Süddeutsche.de: Warum es in Ordnung ist, Präsente weiterzugeben Geburtstag, Hochzeit, Kommunion, Konfirmation, Einschulung und bald wieder Muttertag: Ständig soll irgendjemand beschenkt werden. Das stresst, und am Ende wird wieder etwas wenig Kreatives in Geschenkpapier versteckt. Emotionale Entlastung lässt sich nun aus einer Studie ziehen, die im Fachblatt Psychological Science (online) erscheint. Gabrielle Adams von der London Business School belegt darin wieder einmal, wie sehr die Vorstellungen von Schenkenden und Beschenkten auseinanderklaffen.
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‘Myopic Misery’: The Financial Cost of Sadness
Nobody likes to feel bad. Sadness saps our energy and motivation. Melancholy wrecks our health and invites disease. Misery leaves us—well, miserable. Yet many experts believe that these negative emotions have an upside, that they clarify our thinking and foster more deliberate and careful decision making. Some even say that sadness is a reality check on unwarranted optimism and self-regard. That’s the so-called “sadder but wiser” theory. But is it true? Isn’t it equally as plausible that sadness and melancholy sabotage some kinds of thinking, and lead to questionable choices and judgments?
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Why the Powerful Lie, Cheat and Steal
Discovery News: The trial of former Sen. John Edwards, who is currently facing charges of allegedly diverting funds from his failed 2008 presidential campaign to his former mistress, Rielle Hunter, raises a question that comes up whenever any famous name pops up in the presses with news of underhanded conduct or outright malfeasance: Why are powerful people seemingly so powerless to prevent their own transgressions? A study published in the journal Psychological Science in 2010 offers some explanation. Read the whole story: Discovery News
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The Scientific Flaws of Online Dating Sites
Scientific American: Every day, millions of single adults, worldwide, visit an online dating site. Many are lucky, finding life-long love or at least some exciting escapades. Others are not so lucky. The industry—eHarmony, Match, OkCupid, and a thousand other online dating sites—wants singles and the general public to believe that seeking a partner through their site is not just an alternative way to traditional venues for finding a partner, but a superior way. Is it?
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Oprima dos for better cognition
The Economist: MANY people report feeling like different people when they speak a foreign language. I've been sceptical of these claims, since many of them seem to line up too neatly with national stereotypes: "I feel warmer and more relaxed in Spanish," "German makes me reason more carefully" and the like. But a new study seems to show that people really do think differently in a foreign language—any foreign language. Namely, people are less likely to fall into common cognitive traps when tested in a language other than their mother tongue. The study is “The Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases” by Boaz Keysar, Sayuri L.
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Is regifting really that bad?
Business Insider: The people who originally gave the gift are not nearly as offended as regifters think they'll be. Five studies investigate whether the practice of "regifting"-a social taboo-is as offensive to givers as regifters assume. Participants who imagined regifting thought that the original givers would be more offended than givers reported feeling, to such an extent that receivers viewed regifting as similar in offensiveness to throwing gifts away (whereas givers clearly preferred the former). This asymmetry in emotional reactions to regifting was driven by an asymmetry in beliefs about entitlement.
