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Why the Drive Home Really Does Feel Shorter
An unexpectedly long drive in one direction can create an illusion that the drive home is shorter, even when the time spent travelling is exactly the same.
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Even Women Think Men Are More Creative
Harvard Business Review: The Research: Devon Proudfoot, a PhD candidate at Duke, and her colleagues Aaron Kay and Christy Koval performed several studies of gender bias and creativity. In one, subjects rated how central certain personality characteristics were to creativity. The results showed that both men and women associated creativity with stereotypically “masculine” traits—independence, daring—more than with “feminine” traits, such as cooperativeness and sensitivity. In another study the researchers asked subjects to evaluate a house design but varied the gender of the architect. Both men and women rated creativity higher when told that the architect was a man.
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The Unexpected Charm of Facebook Memories
New York Magazine: Recently, Facebook resurfaced an old photo of mine, taken in 2009. Really, it is an unremarkable photo, just me and three friends sitting around playing video games. And yet I couldn’t stop looking at it: my friend’s old apartment, another friend’s old haircut, the Asics in which I ran my first half-marathon. Every boring detail in this ostensibly boring photo was captivating. ...
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The Best Day to Start a Goal
The Huffington Post: Setting goals is important. And starting them is a pretty big deal. Why? It marks the beginning of change. When you take action for what you want personally or professionally. We all know how tough it can be to follow through on your goals. So knowing how to effectively start pursuing them can help, right? New research published in the journal Psychological Science has found a piece of advice for those wanting to start a new goal off right. These researchers found that when you start can give you more motivation to start your goals. Read the whole story: The Huffington Post
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The science behind why people fear refugees
Vox: Fear in the wake of a terrorist attack is normal. It’s natural and human. But it can also be counterproductive — and even cruel. After the attacks in Paris last week, the gut reaction of many politicians around the world was to shut the door to Syrian refugees for fear that terrorists may be lurking among them. For those like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or House Speaker Paul Ryan, the "better safe than sorry" approach is winning out. Christie insisted he wouldn't want even a 5-year-old orphan refugee to enter his state. ... The reaction over refugees looks more comprehensible in the context of years of psychological work on conflict and emotion.
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How to Be a Better Decision Maker
Real Simple: Why is decision-making so agonizing? There’s an explosion of options in all areas of modern life—careers, wireless plans, shampoo. So we’re overwhelmed by choice? Definitely. Also, people don’t really know what they want. How can we narrow things down? By focusing on only the factors that are most important to us. You talk about two types of decision-makers: “maximizers” and “satisficers.” Yes. A maximizer looks at every possible choice to determine the strongest contender. A satisficer goes with “good enough.” We found that satisficers are happier with their choices. They also have more free time, since they’re not laboring over the alternatives.
