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Could Video Chats Be Good For Your Infant?
NPR: Since 2011, the American Pediatric Association has advised parents of children under age 2 to avoid screen time for their infants, noting the accumulating evidence of potential risks and the lack of evidence for educational or developmental benefits. Yet screens are an integral part of many young children's lives. For some families, tablets, computers and smartphones aren't just a source of passive entertainment; video chat platforms such as FaceTime and Skype provide a way to connect with distant family and friends. Read the whole story: NPR
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Use Mirroring to Connect With Others
The Wall Street Journal: It is a common experience: You’re deep in conversation with someone and suddenly realize you’re both holding the same pose, leaning forward and propping an elbow on the table. Or you notice you’re suddenly starting to pick up the other person’s Southern accent or fast, loud speech. Mirroring a conversation partner’s gestures, expressions, posture, vocal pitch or tone can reflect rapport or a desire to please, research shows. It is seen most often between romantic partners, but it happens at work, too, in networking sessions, meetings and conversations with colleagues. ...
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Kids Are Tiny, Judgmental Snobs When It Comes to Morality
New York Magazine: There’s a line in one of the Harry Potter books where Dumbledore, the wise old headmaster of Hogwarts, reassures Harry that despite some Voldemort-ish tendencies, there’s one very important thing that sets him apart from the Dark Lord: “It is our choices, Harry, that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.” It’s a great line, and it works: Harry feels better about himself, and the wizarding world goes on turning. A younger wizard, though, would not be so easily placated.
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Other People Are Less Attention-Grabbing to the Wealthy
The degree to which other people divert your attention may depend on your social class, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research shows that people
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‘Brain-training’ games train you in only one thing: Playing brain-training games
The Washington Post: Spend enough time playing "brain-training" games, and you'll get pretty good at games. But you won't necessarily get better at anything else. That's the conclusion of an extensive review published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest this week. A team of psychologists scoured the scientific literature for studies held up by brain-training proponents as evidence that the technique works — and found the research wanting.
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How the Stress of Racism Affects Learning
The Atlantic: A recent study from Northwestern University corroborates Agostini’s experience, suggesting that the stress of racial discrimination may partly explain the persistent gaps in academic performance between some nonwhite students, mainly black and Latino youth, and their white counterparts. The team of researchers found that the physiological response to race-based stressors—be it perceived racial prejudice, or the drive to outperform negative stereotypes—leads the body to pump out more stress hormones in adolescents from traditionally marginalized groups.
