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Why great ideas come when you aren’t trying
Nature: History is rich with 'eureka' moments: scientists from Archimedes to Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are said to have had flashes of inspiration while thinking about other things. But the mechanisms behind this psychological phenomenon have remained unclear. A study now suggests that simply taking a break does not bring on inspiration — rather, creativity is fostered by tasks that allow the mind to wander. The discovery was made by a team led by Benjamin Baird and Jonathan Schooler, psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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The Power of Suggestion: What We Expect Influences Our Behavior, for Better or Worse
A lucky rabbit foot. A glass of wine. A pill. What do these things all have in common? Their effects – whether we do well on a test, whether we mingle at the cocktail party, whether we feel better – all depend on the power of suggestion. In a new article, psychological scientists Maryanne Garry and Robert Michael of Victoria University of Wellington, along with Irving Kirsch of Harvard Medical School and Plymouth University, delve into the phenomenon of suggestion, exploring the intriguing relationship between suggestion, cognition, and behavior. The article is published in the June issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Macho Guys Can Be Surprisingly Cooperative, Study Finds
LiveScience: Movie star Chris Hemsworth plays a macho guy as both the huntsman in "Snow White and the Huntsman" and Thor in "The Avengers." But new research suggests that men with Hemsworth's broad-faced, square-jawed look aren't all aggression and brawn... In fact, men with wider faces are more likely to sacrifice for their team, according to the study, published online May 23 in the journal Psychological Science. The findings suggest that people's first impressions of macho men — that they're uncooperative, cold and even dishonest — aren't so accurate. Read the whole story: LiveScience
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Why Daydreaming Isn’t a Waste of Time
KQED Public Radio: Parents and teachers expend a lot of energy getting kids to pay attention, concentrate, and focus on the task in front of them. What adults don’t do, according to University of Southern California education professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, is teach children the value of the more diffuse mental activity that characterizes our inner lives: daydreaming, remembering, reflecting. Yet this kind of introspection is crucial to our mental health, to our relationships, and to our emotional and moral development. And it promotes the skill parents and teachers care so much about: the capacity to focus on the world outside our heads. Read the whole story: KQED Public Radio
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Different Sports Require Different Motivation
Scientific American: The link between thought and performance on a test, stage or in sports has been shown in many studies. Think positively and repeat phrases like “I can do it”, and you’re likely to do better. But a new study breaks down various types of motivational thinking, referred to as self-talk, for various types of sports. And it finds that different kinds of motivation have different effects. Researchers analyzed the use of self-talk in 32 sports-related psychology studies. And they found that, for fine motor skills like improving your swimming stroke, instructional self-talk works best, as in repeating specific phrases like “elbow-up” in our head.
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Bruisers make the best friends: Study finds tough guys are really softies at heart
The Daily Mail: Tough guys are really softies at heart, a study suggests. Psychologists found that men with a more aggressive appearance – typically those with wider faces – were more likely to sacrifice themselves to help friends or colleagues. The researchers, at the University of St Andrews, gave students money to play a game in which they could either enrich themselves or risk their cash to assist their group. Read the whole story: The Daily Mail
