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World Cup Shootout Goalkeepers Favor Right If Team Is Behind, Study Finds
Bloomberg: Goalkeepers tend to dive right when their soccer team is trailing in a World Cup penalty shootout, according to a study to be published in the Psychological Science journal. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam examined every penalty shootout at the four-yearly championship from 1982 to 2010 and found that most of the time, goalkeepers are equally likely to dive right and left. When the goalie’s team was behind, he was more likely to go right, the study showed. “Even in this really important situation, people are still influenced by biological factors,” Marieke Roskes, who co-wrote the study, said in an e-mailed statement. Read the whole story: Bloomberg
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The rise of equal rights organisations that have ‘led to bigotry’
Daily Mail: Equal rights organisations can actually encourage bigotry, a study claims. Groups which campaign on issues such as gender equality and gay rights have been found to worsen prejudice if they try to tell people how to think. Presenting a more subtle argument was revealed as a more potent way of combating prejudice. Read more: Daily Mail
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With temperature go tempers
Chilliwack Times: For a while it seemed as though 2011 was going to skip summer altogether. But now that it's here it's worth reminding oneself that the likelihood of your being criminally victimized has just gone up. Sadly, summer almost always sees a spike in criminal activity in these parts. The very fact that schools are closed for a couple months is only part of the explanation for a bump in summertime crime. People socialize outdoors more. They drink more and stay out later as the days are longer and the nights are warmer. You're likely to come into contact with more strangers in social settings during the summer than the rest of the year combined. Read more: Chilliwack Times
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Seeing an American flag can shift voters towards Republicanism
Discover Magazine: As a visitor to the USA, one sometimes gets the feeling that it’s hard to move or look around without seeing a flag. They are seemingly everywhere, an omnipresent reminder of national identity. But the star-spangled banner is more than a symbol; it can also influence minds in unexpected ways. Travis Carter from the University of Chicago has found that when people think about voting decisions, the mere sight of the American flag can subtly shift their political views… towards Republicanism. It’s an effect that holds in both Democrats and Republicans, it affects actual votes, and it lasts for at least 8 months.
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Anti-Prejudice Campaigns Can Increase Bias
LiveScience: Campaigns to reduce prejudice may backfire if they take the bossy approach and tell people what to do, new research indicates. In experiments, researchers looked at two different approaches to persuading people to reduce prejudice. One type, the controlling approach, tells people what they should do, while the second explains the advantages of being non-prejudiced. They found that participants responded much better to the second approach; meanwhile, the controlling approach actually increased prejudice. Read more: LiveScience
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Goalies Tend to Dive Right in World Cup Penalty Shoot-Outs When Their Team is Behind…Why?
In World Cup penalty shoot-outs, goalies tend to dive right when their team is behind and they have a chance to save the game for their country, according to a study.
