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How ‘Daycare’ Became ‘School’
The Atlantic: Chelsea Clinton made headlines recently as she campaigned for her mother—not for the policy proposals she defended, but for the fact that she did not accompany her not-quite-2-year-old daughter Charlotte to the first day of her Manhattan "school." While detractors were quick to berate her for missing this defining event in her child's life, supporters rushed to her defense by noting that the child’s father, who took Charlotte to school together with the family nanny, is perfectly capable of taking the lead. But what's missing from the discussion is an objection to the controversy’s premise—since when has "school" started at age 2? ...
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Using the Wisdom of Crowds to Improve Hiring
The British statistician Francis Galton applied statistical methods to many different subjects during the 1800s, including the use of fingerprinting for identification, correlational calculus, twins, blood transfusions, criminality, meteorology and, perhaps most famously, human intelligence. Galton, who was an ardent eugenicist, believed that intelligence was a trait that only a minority of elite individuals possessed. The majority of common people, he believed, were not very competent decision-makers. To put his theories to the test, Galton ran a famous experiment designed to analyze whether groups of common people were capable of making accurate choices.
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Police Lineups: The Science of Getting It Right
Discover: One night in 1984, a man broke into Jennifer Thompson’s apartment and raped her at knifepoint. Throughout the attack, the college student memorized every detail of her rapist’s face, promising herself that when she took the witness stand against him, “he was going to rot” in prison. Thompson hurried to police the morning after the attack, giving them a detailed description of her rapist, filling in all the characteristics she’d memorized so carefully. The police put together a photographic lineup – the standard lineup technique in the modern U.S. – and Thompson selected a man named Ronald Junior Cotton. “I had picked the right guy,” she said. “I was sure. I knew it.” ...
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A Happy Spouse May Be Good for Your Health
The New York Times: A happy spouse may be good for your health. Previous studies have found that mental well-being — feeling happy and satisfied — is closely linked to good physical health. But a new study, published in Health Psychology, suggests that physical health may also be linked to the happiness of one’s husband or wife. ... The lead author, William J. Chopik, an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University, said that a happy spouse provided social support and encouraged you to eat a healthful diet and to get exercise, all of which can contribute to good health. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Childhood Family Environment Linked With Relationship Quality 60 Years Later
Longitudinal data suggest growing up in a warm family environment in childhood is associated with feeling more secure in romantic relationships in one’s 80s.
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Abandon Parenting, and Just Be a Parent
The Atlantic: Could a 4-year-old possess better instincts for scientific discovery than a college student? In one experiment, researchers showed preschoolers and undergraduates a variety of blocks, some of which made a machine light up and play music. The children turned out to be more open to the notion that unusual combinations of blocks could turn the machine on, whereas the college students got hung up on the most obvious solution—that the shape of individual blocks affected the machine—ignoring evidence that it was wrong.
