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New Research From Psychological Science
A sample of research exploring the suspicious-coincidence effect in word learning and factors that influence how we judge whether sentences are grammatically correct.
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A leading genetic expert tackles the nature vs. nurture debate
Robert Plomin is no stranger to controversy. It comes with the territory, he tells me, for someone who has spent over four decades studying the role genetics play in making us who we are. That question is at the heart of a field of science known as behavioral genetics, or the study of the interplay of genetic and environmental influences on human behaviors. The question of how much of a role genetics play in making us who we are is controversial, not just because no one seems to be able to agree on an answer, but also because figuring out how we become who we are is filled with social, historical, and political minefields.
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The problem with ‘Type A’ personalities
You likely know someone with a “Type A” personality – an ambitious, competitive person striving for success. Perhaps it’s how you would describe yourself. It’s a label that has been applied to powerful, dominant people for decades. But new research suggests the Type A personality might be something of a misnomer. Researchers from the University of Toronto in Scarborough, Canada say the term can be unhelpful and erroneous, and the way it’s usually applied represents an outdated way of thinking about personality. Here’s why you should think twice about casting yourself as Type A at your next job interview.
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Spanking Is Still Really Common and Still Really Bad for Kids
The good news about spanking is that parents today are less likely to do it to their children than parents in the past. The bad news is that parents today still spank their kids—a lot. “Some estimates are that by the time a child reaches the fifth grade [in the United States], 80 percent of children have been spanked,” says George Holden, a professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University who studies parenting and corporal punishment. Spanking is also widespread worldwide. Perhaps parents are quick to spank their children because it can bring about immediate acquiescence, but the benefits, a consensus of scholars and doctors agree, end there.
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Older Adults’ Abstract Reasoning Ability Predicts Depressive Symptoms Over Time
Data from a longitudinal study show that age-related declines in abstract reasoning ability predict increasing depressive symptoms in subsequent years.
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The Problem With Being Perfect
When the psychologist Jessica Pryor lived near an internationally renowned university, she once saw a student walking into a library holding a sleeping bag and a coffee maker. She’s heard of grad students spending 12 to 18 hours at a time in the lab. Their schedules are meant to be literally punishing: If they’re scientists-in-training, they won’t allow themselves to watch Netflix until their experiments start generating results. “Relationships become estranged—people stop inviting them to things, which leads them to spend even more time in the lab,” Pryor told me.
