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Let Us Eat Cake: The Paradox of Scarcity
Huffington Post: Everyone knows by now that the U.S. is in the midst of an obesity epidemic, but for all the hand wringing, nobody really knows why. Experts have offered many theories about why Americans eat too much, especially too much fattening food, but these remain theories. It's because Americans are ill-informed about diet and nutrition and simply do not understand that double cheeseburgers are loaded with fat and calories. Or it's because we're constantly bombarded with stimulating ads for tempting but unhealthful snacks. Or it's because we simply lack the self-discipline of earlier generations. Or all of the above. Or perhaps something else entirely.
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How Protective Parents Imperil Kids at the Playground
ABC News: For parents who hover, a playground can look like a very dangerous place for their kids. But medical experts warn that parental efforts to keep their young children safe often backfire -- and end up harming them instead. Nora Abularach of New York keeps her impulses in check. On Wednesday she watched as her 2-year-old son, Sam, scurried up the ladder to a big yellow slide at a Central Park playground. Abularach remained a few feet away near the foot of the slide. Sam paused at the top for a moment, looking to his mom for reassurance. A few encouraging words later, Sam was zipping down the slide, all by himself.
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‘Weapons of persuasion’ from Robert Cialdini
Los Angeles Times: Mitt Romney on the stump, singles at the bar, car salesmen on the lot: All sorts of people are practicing the art of persuasion, with varying degrees of success. We like to think that we make our own decisions, that we're in control. But we're all open to persuasion by others, says Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology at Arizona State University and author of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion." Humans have been testing their own trial-and-error persuasion techniques forever, Cialdini says. Now, for better or worse, the professionals are moving in.
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Turned off: Families come together in unplugging technology
Green Bay Press Gazette: Imagine what you could accomplish if you stopped using the Internet, other forms of social media or the television for a short period of time or even a summer. There’d be time to focus on family, get involved in outdoor activities or just maybe write a book. That’s exactly what happened last summer when Kathy and Jason Schipper and their four children decided to unplug for four months. The decision came after a night of social media overload in their Town of Center home. “One night in the family room, Jason and I looked at each other and every single person was in the family room. The TV was on and Jason was watching it,” Kathy Schipper said.
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Study: Moody Toddlers Could End Up as Compulsive Gamblers
Education Week: Is your 3-year-old overly cranky, impulsive and restless? If the answer is yes, you could be raising a future gambler. So says a new study published recently in the journal Psychological Science that found a correlation between so-called "under-controlled" temperament in preschoolers and compulsive gambling later in life. The study's researchers say their results suggest it may be possible to determine as early as age 3 whether a person is at increased risk of becoming a gambler, according to psychologist Wendy S. Slutske of the University of Missouri, Columbia. Slutske conducted the study along with Terrie E.
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B-School Research Briefs
Business Week: Businesspeople have hearts. Really. If you don’t believe it, take a look at some of the research recently coming out of top business schools. It focuses on humanity and the nitty-gritty of everyday life, including energy efficiency to help the environment and the wallets of property owners, the influence of coupons meant to save people money, patient outcomes based on the cost of health care, and the bedside manner of doctors. Scientists realized that commercial building owners were not interested in retrofitting their properties to make them more energy efficient. Why?
