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The Hidden Risks of Opting for the Familiar
When people are under pressure, they often try to surround themselves with things that are familiar. A study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that this is true even when the familiar choice is the worst choice and amplifies the pressure. The research was inspired by an iPhone app that displays nearby taxis on a map and also lets you rate them. Ab Litt, a graduate student in marketing at Stanford University, wondered if people who saw a cab they'd rated highly before would choose that cab even if another one was closer—and whether that choice would change if they were in a hurry.
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The Allure of a Man’s Uncertainty
The New York Times: FOR those single women suffering angst over “Will he call or won’t he?” it seems counterintuitive to think that such uncertainty could possibly hold any appeal. And to think that not knowing actually makes women like men more: Are we really such masochists? Pretty much, says a new study by Erin R. Whitchurch and Timothy D. Wilson of the University of Virginia and Daniel T. Gilbert of Harvard. According to their paper, published in Psychological Science and based on an experiment conducted with undergraduates, women find men who may like them more appealing than men who definitely do. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Right-Handers Tend Prefer The Right Side
Scientific American: Here's a test. It's an odd question…but do you tend to prefer the right side or the left side of anything? It turns out that right-handed folks prefer the right and lefties prefer the left. The preference informs the choice of one of a pair of products, two job applicants, even a couple of alien creatures. Read the whole story: Scientific American
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Why Argue? Helping Students See the Point
Read the comments on any website and you may despair at Americans’ inability to argue well. Thankfully, educators now name argumentive reasoning as one of the basics students should leave school with. But what are these skills and how do children acquire them? Deanna Kuhn and Amanda Crowell, of Columbia University’s Teachers College, have designed an innovative curriculum to foster their development and measured the results. Among their findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, dialogue is a better path to developing argument skills than writing. “Children engage in conversation from very early on,” explains Kuhn.
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Why Computers Can’t Make It as Stand-Up Comics
LiveScience: Computers may have beaten us in chess and "Jeopardy!" — but can they create and tell a good joke? Fortunately for comedians like Jon Stewart, who verbally sparred with a right-wing doppleganger of "Jeopardy!"-winning computer Watson on his show this week, any computer cracking wise is likely to need human writers for the foreseeable future. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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Staring contests are automatic — especially if you’re bossy
MSNBC: Sometimes you can win a battle without lifting a finger. Just think about the time you got into a staredown over that last open parking space in the Costco lot. Somebody blinked, right? Now, a new study suggests that we may engage in staring contests without even thinking about it, especially if we're people who like to run things. Read the whole story: MSNBC
