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5 Science-Approved Ways to Break a Bad Habit
Having habits can often be a good thing. When you drive to work for example, you don’t need to wonder whether you should turn left or right; the route becomes habit. “We want the brain to learn how to do those things without energy and effort,” says Russell Poldrack, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. “Habits are an adaptive feature of how the brain works.” But sometimes, habits can lead us astray—whether it’s turning to comfort food when we’re sad, or taking a cigarette break when stressed.
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Having a Growth Mindset Makes It Easier to Develop New Interests
“[T]echnology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.” — Steve Jobs Steve Jobs’s vision for Apple was rooted in the belief that the arts and sciences do not live in isolation. They complement and enhance each other. John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar, echoed this sentiment stating, “Technology inspires art, and art challenges the technology.” But even though integrating these areas can be necessary for innovation, too many people confine themselves to only one. We wanted to understand why some people are more likely to reach across disciplines than others.
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When Your Phone Sucks You Into the Void, This App Notices
Every night, an hour before bed, I stash my phone inside a drawer in my living room. Most days I retrieve it the following morning, when I'm heading out the door. It's a simple habit, but one that has helped me reclaim some focus from my smartphone—my personal fix for a growing problem that user experience researchers at Google recently called an "attention crisis." Outside the house, though, it's a different story: My phone rarely leaves my side. I reach for it to record an interview, field a slack from my editor, or make plans with family—but succumbing to an Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook binge often leaves me feeling distracted and frazzled.
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10% of US children diagnosed with ADHD, study finds
The number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has reached more than 10 percent, a significant increase during the past 20 years, according to a study released Friday. The rise was most pronounced in minority groups, suggesting that better access to health insurance and mental health treatment through the Affordable Care Act might have played some role in the increase. The rate of diagnosis during that time period doubled in girls, although it was still much lower than in boys. But the researchers say they found no evidence confirming frequent complaints that the condition is overdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The U.S.
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In Psychology And Other Social Sciences, Many Studies Fail The Reproducibility Test
The world of social science got a rude awakening a few years ago, when researchers concluded that many studies in this area appeared to be deeply flawed. Two-thirds could not be replicated in other labs. Some of those same researchers now report those problems still frequently crop up, even in the most prestigious scientific journals. But their study, published Monday in Nature Human Behaviour, also finds that social scientists can actually sniff out the dubious results with remarkable skill. First, the findings.
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Illusion of control: Why the world is full of buttons that don’t work
Have you ever pressed the pedestrian button at a crosswalk and wondered if it really worked? Or bashed the "close door" button in an elevator, while suspecting that it may, in fact, have no effect whatsoever? You're not alone, and you may be right. The world is full of buttons that don't actually do anything. They're sometimes called "placebo buttons" -- buttons that are mechanically sound and can be pushed, but provide no functionality. Like placebo pills, however, these buttons may still serve a purpose, according to Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who pioneered a concept known as the "illusion of control." "They do have a psychological effect," she said in a phone interview.
