-
Why People Care More About Pets Than Other Humans
Wired: WE LOVE OUR pets. Two thirds of Americans live with an animal, and according to a 2011 Harris poll, 90 percent of pet owners think of their dogs and cats as members of the family. These relationships have benefits. For example, in a survey by the American Animal Hospital Association, 40 percent of married female dog owners reported they received more emotional support from their pet than from their husband or their kids. The pet products industry calls this “the humanization of pets.” One of my colleagues recently spent $12,000 on cancer treatments for her best friend Asha, a Labrador retriever.
-
Women best men in STEM faculty hiring study
Science: A woman applying for a tenure-track faculty position in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at a U.S. university is twice as likely to be hired as an equally qualified man, if both candidates are highly qualified, according to a new study. The results run counter to widely held perceptions and suggest that this is a good time for women to be pursuing academic careers. Some observers, however, say that the study—which involved actual faculty members rating hypothetical candidates—may not be relevant to real-world hiring. And they worry the results may leave the incorrect impression that universities have achieved gender parity in STEM fields.
-
This CEO raised all his employees’ salaries to at least $70,000 by cutting his own
The Washington Post: Dan Price, like a growing number of CEOs in recent months, is raising the minimum wage for his employees. But while the chief executives of companies ranging from Aetna to Gap, Inc. to Wal-Mart are upping their wage floors by a few dollars an hour to help them compete for better talent, this CEO — who founded credit-card processing firm Gravity Payments — has another goal. On Monday, the New York Times reported that to protect employees' emotional well-being, Price is cutting his own salary and raising his employees' wages to at least $70,000 a year. ...
-
The ‘Rocky’ in Relationships
In 2008, a massive earthquake shook the Chinese province of Sichuan. Measuring 8.0, the quake killed more than 69,000, injured countless more, and left 4.8 million homeless. The Chinese government has spent billions on the region’s recovery, which even now is incomplete. The immediate devastation in Sichuan was also followed by a dramatic spike in the divorce rate, a phenomenon that captured international attention—and sparked widespread speculation—at the time. Did the deadly earthquake actually cause the jump in marital breakups? The spike might have been a coincidence, though that’s unlikely.
-
Painkillers Might Also Dull Your Emotions
Smithsonian Magazine: Headaches, cramps and other painful twinges in your body can be relieved by popping an over-the-counter painkiller, but the aches of the soul are harder to treat. Yet studies show that the acetaminophen (sold as Tylenol) can actually dull emotional pain. However, don’t reach for the glass of water and the pills when you feel down—the painkiller can also dampen your feelings of happiness, reports Isha Aran for Fusion. A study just published in Psychological Science had 82 people look at pictures meant to elicit an emotional response. Half took acetaminophen, and half took a placebo pill.
-
New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Bilingualism Modulates Infants' Selective Attention to the Mouth of a Talking Face Ferran Pons, Laura Bosch, and David J. Lewkowicz Children who grow up in a bilingual environment have the task of learning two languages rather than just one. What processes might help children during the dual-language acquisition process? Four-, 8-, and 12-month-old infants, either Spanish monolingual or Catalan monolingual (Experiment 1) or Spanish-Catalan bilingual (Experiment 2) watched a video of a woman speaking in their dominant native language or in a non-native language.
