How to easily increase your persistence in just one second:
oss your arms: Two experiments investigated the hypothesis that arm crossing serves as a proprioceptive cue for perseverance within achievement settings. Experiment 1 found that inducing participants to cross their arms led to greater persistence on an unsolvable anagram. Experiment 2 revealed that arm crossing led to better performance on solvable anagrams, and that this effect was mediated by greater persistence. No differences in comfort, instruction adherence, or mood were observed between the arms crossed and control conditions, and participants…
1 min read
What can you accurately tell about a person just by looking at their face?
lot, actually: Several studies have demonstrated some accuracy in personality attribution using only visual appearance. Using composite images of those scoring high and low on a particular trait, the current study shows that judges perform better than chance in guessing others' personality, particularly for the traits conscientiousness and extraversion. This study also shows that attractiveness, masculinity and age may all provide cues to assess personality accurately and that accuracy is affected by the sex of both of those judging…
1 min read
Will you be able to cope when tragedy strikes?
, I'm not selling insurance. You may wonder about your ability to deal with extreme adversity -- or even extremely positive events. Turns out we can usually anticipate major events and quickly adapt. Chances are, you'll be fine: This paper addresses the question of when and to what extent individuals are affected by major positive and negative life events, including changes in financial situation, marital status, death of child or spouse and being a victim of crime. The key advantage…
1 min read
How to best use caffeine — from a neuroscientist:
a Caffeine: A User's Guide to Getting Optimally Wired by Chris Chatham. 1) Consume in small, frequent amounts. Between 20-200mg per hour may be an optimal dose for cognitive function. 2) Play to your cognitive strengths while wired. Caffeine may increase the speed with which you work, may decrease attentional lapses, and may even benefit recall - but is less likely to benefit more complex cognitive functions, and may even hurt others. Plan accordingly (and preferably prior to consuming caffeine!)…
1 min read
When it comes to politics, this is how shallow you are
like to blame politicians but the truth is, the way we go about picking our leaders is just as screwed up and disappointing. We all know "appearances matter" but oh-do-they-ever: We showed 10-second silent video clips of unfamiliar gubernatorial debates to a group of experimental participants and asked them to predict the election outcomes. The participants' predictions explain more than 20% of the variation in the actual two-party vote share across the 58 elections in our study, and their…
4 minutes
What would men do if they didn’t have to impress women?
at if a guy's job had no effect on his value in the marriage market? How would that affect a young man's career choices? He'd be a heck of a lot less ambitious: This paper examines the extent to which human capital and career decisions are affected by their potential returns in the marriage market. Although schooling and career decisions often are made before getting married, these decisions are likely to affect the future chances of receiving a marriage offer,…
1 min read
Can living like you’re young prevent aging?
some point we all wish we could turn back the clock. But is it as easy as merely acting as if you were still younger? To a good degree, the answer may be yes. Via BBC: Prof Langer recruited a group of elderly men all in their late 70s or 80s for what she described as a "week of reminiscence". They were not told they were taking part in a study into ageing, an experiment that would transport them…
3 minutes
Does darkness increase dishonesty?:
s, it does: via boston.com In several experiments, researchers found that light levels influence selfish behavior. People who were placed in a dimly lit room were significantly more likely to cheat than people placed in a well-lit room. Likewise, people who were asked to wear sunglasses were less generous in a sharing game than people who were asked to wear clear glasses. This pattern appears to be the result of an increased sense of anonymity in lower light levels, even…
1 min read
