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How Do Romney’s and Gingrich’s Looks Affect Their Chances?
Forbes: How do Mitt Romney’s and Newt Gingrich’s looks affect their chances of being elected president? How do all politicians’ looks affect their careers? Researchers have been doing some illuminating work on that question. A good article at at Slate.com sums up some of the best of the research. In 2005 a Princeton psychologist named Alexander Todorov found that, contrary to earlier assumptions, "beauty didn’t tell the whole story. Rather, voters appeared primarily drawn to faces that suggested competence—so much so that the effect could actually be seen in election results. In the lab, subjects glanced for a single second at the faces of congressional candidates. . . .
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Power makes people feel taller
The Telegraph: The US investigation into whether a physical experience accompanies being powerful was sparked after BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg outraged the victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by referring to them as the "small people." Professor Jack Goncalo, of Cornell University, New York, and Dr Michelle Duguid, of Washington University, St. Louis, decided to find out and published their findings in Psychological Science. Prof Goncalo said: "Plenty of research has shown taller people are more likely to acquire power, make more money on average and are more likely to be promoted. Read the whole story: The Telegraph
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Family Ties a Plus for Mannings
The New York Times: So you haven’t heard enough about Peyton and Eli Manning — their quarterbacking careers, their Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards and their skills as Madison Avenue pitchmen? Let’s analyze the effects of their birth order. No statistics, just a bit of scholarly speculation as Eli prepares to lead the Giants into Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 against the New England Patriots. Peyton will turn 36 in March, and Eli just turned 31. Then there is their big brother, Cooper, 37, whose career as a wide receiver at the University of Mississippi ended before it began because of spinal stenosis. A student of birth order like Frank J.
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Rob Brezsny’s Free Will Astrology
LA Weekly: LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to research published in the journal Psychological Science, many people are virtually allergic to creative ideas. When asked to consider a novel proposal, they're quite likely to reject it in favor of an approach that's well-known to them. (More info here: tinyurl.com/3oor4nq.) This could be a problem for you in the coming weeks, Libra, since one of your strengths will be your ability to come up with innovations. So it won't be enough for you to offer your brilliant notions and original departures from the way things have always been done; you will also have to be persuasive and diplomatic. Think you can handle that dual assignment?
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Why Religion Makes Only Some of Us Happy
LiveScience: Religious people tend to feel better about themselves and their lives, but a new study finds that this benefit may only hold in places where everyone else is religious, too. According to the new study of almost 200,000 people in 11 European countries, people who are religious have higher self-esteem and better psychological adjustment than the non-religious only in countries where belief in religion is common. In more secular societies, the religious and the non-religious are equally well-off.
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The Write Diet: Lose Weight With Just 15 Minutes and a Journal
The Atlantic: Can losing weight really be as simple as a 15-minute writing session? It worked for a group of women who recently took part in a psychological study. But it depends on what you write about. Women who wrote about their most important values for 15 minutes lost an average of 3.4 pounds over the next few months. Women who wrote about something less important gained an average of 2.8 pounds. The researchers think the weight loss was due to increased self-affirmation or self-esteem. Writing about their values made the women see themselves as better people and feel better about themselves. It may also serve to strengthen resolve.
