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The Best (and Worst) Holiday Gifts, According to Science
‘Tis the season—of scrambling to finish your holiday shopping before the big day. If you’re still looking for some last-minute holiday gifts, there’s a better way to find inspiration than scouring gift guides and mall displays. Here are four types of gifts that, according to science, you should give this year —and three you shouldn’t. ... Everyday items, like kitchen gadgets or wardrobe staples, may not feel like slam-dunk gifts, but a study published last year in Current Directions in Psychological Sciencefound that people actually prefer presents they can use for months and years to come, rather than something that makes a statement right when it’s unwrapped.
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HOW CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ADVERSELY AFFECTS DECISION-MAKING
Punishment—or the threat of it—is generally considered an effective way to shape human behavior; it is, after all, the foundation of our criminal justice system. But what if there's a subset of the population for whom this paradigm simply doesn't apply? New research suggests that there is such a group: survivors of childhood trauma. University of Wisconsin–Madison psychology professor Seth Pollak worked with over 50 people around the age of 20, and found that those who had experienced extreme stress as kids were hampered in their ability to make good decisions as adults.
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Why asking for a pay rise via email DOESN’T work
It might sound scary, but if you really want to get a pay rise, then meet your boss in person rather than email a request. That's according to scientists in California who claim spoken arguments have a more powerful impact than those that are written. This is because reading a point of view can 'dehumanise' an argument, leading to less empathy, and less chance the reader will come round to thinking in the same way.
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Social Notworking: Is Generation Smartphone Really More Prone to Unhappiness?
Mobile devices have become our alarm clocks and newspapers and, via platforms like Facebook and Instagram, portals to our social lives. With smartphones inhabiting the pockets of roughly three quarters of all Americans and tablets borne by half, a pale blue glow silhouettes modern life. As screens have become ubiquitous, so has the phenomenon of depressed or suicidal teens, notes Jean Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University and the author of iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.
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Women Are Invited to Give Fewer Talks Than Men at Top U.S. Universities
A few years ago, Michelle Hebl attended the latest in a series of talks hosted by her department at Rice Univeristy. The speaker was a man, and Hebl realized that she hadn’t heard any female speakers in that series for a while. “Maybe I’m just not thinking about them,” she thought. “Or maybe it’s something we should look at.”* Colloquium talks, where academics are invited to discuss their research, give speakers a chance to publicize their work, build collaborations with new colleagues, and boost their reputations. The talks can lead to promotions or job offers. They are big opportunities.
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Why We Can’t Stop Texting and Driving
Once smartphones arrived in the hands of the masses, it didn’t take long for drivers to start using them behind the wheel — not only to make calls, but also to send text messages. Even more alarming: studies showed that the presence of passengers, even child passengers, didn’t seem to deter drivers from using their shiny new toys. Distracted driving crashes began to spike, safety campaigns were launched, and now the warnings are everywhere. Signs, billboards, stickers, television and radio ads, even paid search results. The messages use every imaginable hook: statistics, tragic stories, disturbing crash pictures, even analogies between smartphones, booze and guns.
