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New Research in Psychological Science
A sample of research on hallucinatory experiences, personality and memory in older adults, belief updates across the political spectrum, culture and gender inequality and well-being, pain and pleasure, neural responses to partner’s evaluations, bedtime music, and interventions to improve their choices about sharing fake news.
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To Spark Curiosity, Don’t Tell Preschoolers Too Much Or Too Little
Preschool children are sensitive to the gap between how much they know and how much there is to learn, the finding indicates. Researchers say this “optimal” amount of existing knowledge creates the perfect mix of uncertainty and curiosity in children and motivates them to learn more. “There is an infinite amount of information in the real world,” says lead author Jenny Wang, an assistant professor of cognitive psychology at Rutgers University. “Yet despite having to learn so much in such a short amount of time, young children seem to learn happily and effectively.
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Awe Appears To Be Awfully Beneficial
20 years ago, scientists began to study a mysterious emotion known as awe. Now they believe awe offers a range of benefits when practiced regularly, calming our nervous systems and relieving stress. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Towns and states are reopening. Families and friends are gathering again, but many Americans still feel down, anxious or sad. To help people find more joy in their lives, NPR is launching an app called the Joy Generator. You can find it at npr.org/joy. There's one emotion in particular the app helps evoke that could be especially useful for shaking off the pandemic blues. NPR's Michaeleen Doucleff reports.
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New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sample of research on food-related behavior, worry and rumination, combat situations and antisocial predisposition, nonsuicidal self-injury, nonverbal synchrony and psychotherapy alliance, choice strategies and anxiety, doubt and obsessive compulsive symptoms, and emotional experiences in major depressive disorder.
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5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp As You Age
Important parts of the brain tend to atrophy as we get older—yet brain scans of some 70-year-olds resemble those of 20 to 30-year-olds. Emerging research points to habits that may keep the mind sharp during the aging process. “Despite the stereotypes, cognitive decline is not inevitable as you age, and adopting healthy lifestyle habits can significantly reduce your risks for dementia later on in life,” says Sarah Lenz Lock, AARP’s senior vice president and executive director of the Global Council on Brain Health. Start socializing “Social isolation increases dementia risk by 50%” in older adults, says Lock.
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The Psychological Benefits of Commuting to Work
Back when commuting was a requirement for going to work, I once passed through a subway tunnel so filthy and crowded that the poem inscribed on its ceiling seemed like a cruel joke. “overslept, / so tired. / if late, / get fired. / why bother? / why the pain? / just go home / do it again.” “The Commuter’s Lament,” which adorns a subterranean passage in New York City’s 42nd Street station, made the already grim ritual of getting to and from work positively Dante-esque. But no one questioned the gist of it. The commute, according to the Nobel Prize–winning economist Daniel Kahneman’s research, ranked as the single most miserable part of our day.
