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New Research From Psychological Science
A sample of research exploring neural processes underlying attention, collective emotions and resilience, and group-based deprivation and extremist beliefs.
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How DNA and Testosterone May Affect Men’s Driving
New findings raise the possibility that men with a specific mix of biology and personality traits may be prone to aggressive driving as well as other fiery behavior.
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Lonely young adults ‘in every kind of neighbourhood’
Academics from King's College London found loneliness was an issue in urban as well as rural areas and in wealthy areas as well as deprived ones. They say loneliness is a particular problem among young adults - regardless of gender or socio-economic background. The study says these adults are more likely to have a negative view of where they live, compounding their isolation. The King's College research says: "The findings of this study reveal that among young adults, loneliness occurs equally within many different types of neighbourhoods, irrespective of urbanicity, population density, deprivation, or crime.
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Is the Immediate Playback of Events Changing Children’s Memories?
The night of the elementary school talent show, we came home to celebrate with ice cream when my mother took out her iPhone to show a video she’d taken of my 10-year-old daughter’s performance. My daughter had played Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” on the piano by ear and sang along. Despite her nerves, she got out there in the middle of the stage in a new dress with scattered sequins and sang her best, bowing to an audience of clapping parents before she walked off stage — an expression of relief and pride on her face.
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Ageism: A ‘Prevalent and Insidious’ Health Threat
It happened about a year ago. I stepped off the subway and spotted an ad on the station wall for a food delivery service. It read: “When you want a whole cake to yourself because you’re turning 30, which is basically 50, which is basically dead.” After a bunch of us squawked about the ad on social media, the company apologized for what it called attempted humor and what I’d call ageism. Maybe you recall another media campaign last fall intended to encourage young people’s participation in the midterm elections. In pursuit of this laudable goal, marketers invoked every negative stereotype of old people — selfish, addled, unconcerned about the future — to scare their juniors into voting.
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How to Deal With a Jerk Without Being a Jerk
A couple of years ago I was discussing a study of the habits of great musical composers when an audience member interrupted. “That’s not true!” he shouted. “You’re totally ignorant — you don’t know what you’re talking about!” Early in my career, I had let nasty people walk all over me. When a client berated me for my predecessor’s error on an ad, I gave in and offered him a full refund. When a boss threatened to fire me for defending a colleague who was treated poorly, I said nothing. But this time, I was prepared: I had trained as a conflict mediator, worked as a negotiator and become an organizational psychologist.
