Search (2503)
Can you pay people to develop good habits?
oks like the answer might be yes: Can incentives be effective when trying to encourage the development of good habits? We investigate the effect of paying people a non-trivial amount of money to attend an exercise facility a number of times during a one-month period. In two separate studies, we find that doing so leads to a large and significant increase in the average post-intervention attendance level relative to the control group. This result is entirely driven by the impact…
1 min read
How being selfless can be the best way to be selfish:
tle of the study says it all: "Providing Social Support May Be More Beneficial Than Receiving It": This study examines the relative contributions of giving versus receiving support to longevity in a sample of older married adults. Baseline indicators of giving and receiving support were used to predict mortality status over a 5-year period in the Changing Lives of Older Couples sample. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that mortality was significantly reduced for individuals who reported providing instrumental support…
1 min read
An easy way to lower your cholesterol that’s a lot of fun:
ss more: Affection exchange theory and previous research suggest that affectionate behavior has stress-ameliorating effects. On this basis, we hypothesized that increasing affectionate behavior would effect improvements in physical and psychological conditions known to be exacerbated by stress. This study tested this proposition by examining the effects of increased romantic kissing on blood lipids, perceived stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Fifty-two healthy adults who were in marital or cohabiting romantic relationships provided self-report data for psychological outcomes and blood samples…
1 min read
Does the NFL Combine Actually Predict Performance in the National Football League?
pe. Only exception is running backs: The authors investigate the correlation between National Football League (NFL) combine test results and NFL success for players drafted at three different offensive positions (quarterback, running back, and wide receiver) during a recent 6-year period, 1999-2004. The combine consists of series of drills, exercises, interviews, aptitude tests, and physical exams designed to assess the skills of promising college football players and to predict their performance in the NFL. Combine measures examined in this study…
2 minutes
Why you might want to ignore everything I post on this blog:
re's some published research that says most published research is false: There is increasing concern that most current published research findings are false. The probability that a research claim is true may depend on study power and bias, the number of other studies on the same question, and, importantly, the ratio of true to no relationships among the relationships probed in each scientific field. In this framework, a research finding is less likely to be true when the studies conducted…
1 min read
Can mobile phones stop smoking?
developing nations, yes: Tobacco use, which is rising quickly in developing countries, kills 5.4 million people a year worldwide. This paper explores the impacts of mobile phone ownership on tobacco consumption. Indeed, mobile phone ownership could affect tobacco consumption because individuals might pay for their communication with money they would have spent on tobacco. Using panel data from 2,100 households in 135 communities of the Philippines collected in 2003 and 2006, the analysis finds that mobile phone ownership leads…
1 min read
What’s an easy way to reduce insecurity about your relationship?
ve more sex: Contextual models of relationships and recent theories of attachment system activation suggest that experiences that promote intimacy, such as sexual intercourse, may moderate the negative implications of attachment insecurity. In two independent studies, 207 couples reported their attachment insecurity, the frequency of their sexual intercourse over the past 30 days, their expectancies for their partner’s availability, and their marital satisfaction, and in a 7-day diary they reported their daily sexual and relationship satisfaction and their expectancies for…
1 min read
Which are more stable: long distance or local relationships?
ng distance. Turns out the lack of face to face contact increases idealization. And once they get close? They were more likely to end the relationship: Two studies explore the seeming paradox reported in prior researchon long-distance dating relationships (LDDRs):Despite limited interaction, LDDR partners evidence greater relational stability than partners in geographicallyclose dating relationships (GCDRs). We investigatespeculations that romantic idealization may be a key component in LDDR stability. Idealization (i.e., idealisticdistortion, romantic love, relational reminiscence,perceived agreement) and satisfaction with communicationwas…
1 min read
