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Are There Hidden Messages in Pronouns?
Slate: Some 110 years after the publication of the Psychopathology of Everyday Life, in which Sigmund Freud analyzed seemingly trivial slips of the tongue, it's become common knowledge that we disclose more about ourselves in conversation—about our true feelings, or our unconscious feelings—than we strictly intend. Freud focused on errors, but correct sentences can betray us, too. We all have our signature tics. We may describe boring people as "nice" or those we dislike as "weird." We may use archaisms if we're trying to seem smart, or slang if we'd prefer to seem cool. Every time we open our mouths we send out coded, supplementary messages about our frame of mind.
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What Determines A Company’s Performance? The Shape Of The CEO’s Face!
Believe it or not, one thing that predicts how well a CEO’s company performs is - the width of his face! CEOs with wider faces, like Herb Kelleher, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines, have better-performing companies than CEOs like Dick Fuld, the long-faced final CEO of Lehman Brothers. That’s the conclusion of a new study which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Elaine M. Wong at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her colleagues study how top management teams work. But they have to do it in indirect ways.
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From Lab to Court: Memory and the Law
The New Jersey Supreme Court this week released radical new rules on the use and misuse of eyewitness testimony. The ruling has profound legal implications, essentially challenging the 34-year-old U.S. Supreme Court standard for the reliability of eyewitness memories of crimes, making it much easier for defendants to dispute eyewitness evidence in court. The New Jersey Court is considered a trailblazer in criminal law, and the ruling could well end up re-shaping the law of the land. The ruling also reflects decades of scientific research on human memory, and its failings.
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Could a sandwich stay fresh for years?
The Globe and Mail: “Not sure if you can face eating that train sandwich?” asks The Sunday Times of London. “Soon you might be able to drop it in your briefcase and keep it for a year or two. Scientists have discovered a naturally occurring agent capable of destroying the bacteria that cause meat, fish, eggs and dairy produce to rot. They believe it could extend the life of perishables such as milk, sandwiches and sausages. Opened wine, ready meals and products such as fresh salad dressing could also last much longer at home, in some cases for years. And they might not even need refrigeration.
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Why that book changed your life
National Post: The claim that a book can change someone’s life is one that’s made over and over again. Usually, we brush it aside as a cliché, but what if it was actually possible? The question of the psychology of fiction is one that Keith Oatley, professor emeritus in the department of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, has been working on for 20 years. He and some colleagues started the website On Fiction in 2008 to track work related to the psychology of fiction. “The idea was to say, ‘OK, now what really are the psychological effects of reading?’ ” Oatley says.
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Jean therapy
The Jordan Times: The happiness index of nations acts as a barometer of how successful they are. What makes people happy and keeps them in a cheerful state is not necessarily wealth. Close family ties, warmth of friendships, an invigorating job, a successful marriage and good health are some of the things on the list to achieve that potent bliss. What is little known is that retail therapy is another way of overcoming unhappiness. Most people addicted to shopping, especially the fairer sex, will swear by the therapeutic powers of buying.
