-
Children exposed to sex scenes in movies ‘will be more promiscuous and have more sexual partners’
Daily Mail: Watching sex scenes in movies can make children more sexually active from a younger age, research suggests. Whether it’s Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet making love on the Titanic or Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart cuddling in bed on their vampire honeymoon in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, teenagers watching sex scenes have an increased curiosity for sex. Watching sex on screen could lead to teenagers having more sex with more partners and without using condoms, researcher Ross O’Hara from the University of Missouri said. The scenes can 'fundamentally influence a teenager's personality’ and make them more prone to take risks he said.
-
Give up your time to have more time
The Telegraph: They argue that giving time to others rather than relaxing may make us feel that we have more time for ourselves. A study found that our sense of having time - 'time affluence' - can be increased by spending time on others. This means that we may feel as if we have more time on our hands despite the fact we are 'giving' some of it away, reports journal Psychological Science. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania compared the effects of 'wasting' time and giving time - for example, writing a letter to a sick child. They found that those who did the latter actually felt they had more time on their hands.
-
Awesome Experiences Make Us Nicer
Discovery News: Awesome Experiences Make Us Nicer: Ever feel changed after watching an amazing sunset, or reaching the summit of a mountain or seeing the Northern Lights? There's a reason for that, say psychologists. New research published in the journal Psychological Science shows that awe-inspiring moments can literally make time seem to stand still, or at least slow down. That feeling improves our mental health since many people often feel time-deprived in this modernized world. Read the whole story: Discovery News
-
Pressed for Time? Take a Minute to Feel Awe
LiveScience: If you're feeling pressed for time, try hiking to a mountain vista or listening to a masterful symphony. New research suggests that the resulting awe may leave you feeling less rushed. Experiencing awe makes people feel as if time is plentiful, according to a new study to be published in the journal Psychological Science. Not many emotions make people feel that way, study researcher Melanie Rudd, a graduate student in business at Stanford University, told LiveScience. "We kind of run around with these very hectic day-to-day lives," Rudd said.
-
‘Wakeful Resting’ More Effective Than Crosswords To Fight Memory Loss
The Huffington Post: While recent reports have suggested taking naps during the day could be a sign of impending dementia, mental refreshment does remain vital for cognitive health, report psychologists. In an article to be published in the journal Psychological Science, psychological scientist Michaela Dewar and her colleagues show that memory can be boosted by taking a brief 'wakeful rest' after learning something verbally new and that memory lasts not just immediately but over a longer term. "Our findings support the view that the formation of new memories is not completed within seconds," says Dewar, in a statement.
-
Solving for X, among the neurons
I have a fence that needs scraping and painting, and I’m pretty sure I can do the whole job in six hours. My friend Jack, who is an experienced painter, wants me to hire him. He promises he can have a new coat of paint on the fence in four hours. I’m tempted, but I’m wondering, what if Jack and I work together? If he does the trim and other detail work, and I do the easy brushing, we should be able to wrap this job up by lunchtime, easy. But how long will it take, exactly? This is what, in algebra, we call a “word problem.” I always loved word problems when I was in school, because unlike a lot of math, they seemed connected to natural situations that actually occur in real life.