-
It’s all about how we perceive threat
Times of India: The way a threat is construed determines the effectiveness of the types of strategies that one embarks upon to resolve it, according to a new study. According to author Alexa Tullett, upon noticing that your house has been burgled "there's more than one way to interpret this event. You could see it as an indication that there's a bad apple in your neighbourhood, and in this case you would only feel comforted if that person was arrested.
-
SpongeBob SquarePants zaps kids’ attention span? What study says
CBS News: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea - and is potentially ruining your kid's attention span? A new study says watching Nickelodeon's popular cartoon, "SpongeBob SquarePants", can negatively affect a 4-year-old's focus and memory - and it only takes less than 10 minutes of tube time.
-
Scientists explain why the office party so often ends in embarrassment
The Telegraph: It is an annual event that usually leads to red faces the morning after. Now scientists have come up with an explanation for why the office party is so often the cause of embarrassing and inappropriate behaviour. Researchers have found that drinking in environments not normally associated with alcohol consumption can leave drinkers less able to control their behaviour. The brain learns to compensate for the inhibition lowering effects of alcohol when in a familiar setting, such as a pub or at home with friends, they discovered.
-
Do Video Games Make You Smarter? Maybe Not.
Forbes: Video game players like to think that their hobby has benefits beyond entertainment –that even though they appear to be sitting and staring at a screen, they’re actually fine tuning reflexes, developing problem-solving abilities, and improving visual acuity. It’s a compelling idea, and it has some science behind it. Over the past ten years, a number of studies have shown that video game players often outperform non-gamers on measures of perception and cognition, and that video game practice can enhance those abilities. But a new study suggests the jury is still out on video games. In a paper recently published as Do Action Video Games Improve Perception and Cognition?
-
Finding happiness in being unhappy
Deccan Herald: Recent research suggests that happiness may not be bliss; people who strive for happiness may end up being worse off. Says June Gruber of Yale University, who published the research findings on Perspectives on Psychological Science: “Doing things with the expectation that these ought to make you happy can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness.” Conversely, being unhappy shouldn’t be thought of as a universally bad thing.Should such research gain wide credence, happiness therapists and reams of literature on ‘being happy’ would become redundant.
-
Confronting Meaninglessness
You’ve just finished an amazing dinner at your favorite restaurant and you are ready to put on your comfy pajamas and slip into sweet slumber. You arrive at your doorstep and find the front door ajar. Your heart beats wildly in your chest and you peer in, only to discover that your house has been ransacked. According to author Alexa Tullett, “There's more than one way to interpret this event. You could see it as an indication that there's a bad apple in your neighborhood, and in this case you would only feel comforted if that person was arrested.
