A common complaint in America today is that politics and even society as a whole are broken. Critics point out endless lists of what should be fixed: the complexity of the tax code, or immigration reform, or the inefficiency of government. But each dilemma usually comes down to polarized deadlock between two competing visions and...
Gone are the days of dictatorial leaders in sport, screaming from the side-lines and insulting their players, and instead we are seeing an era of emotionally intelligent leaders who demonstrate an understanding of other people while getting effective results. The question is, how do you become an empathic leader in elite sports and will it...
Understanding how beliefs are formed and why they can be resistant to counter evidence is important in today’s polarized world, as views sharply diverge on issues ranging from vaccines to climate change. To debunk a false belief, it may be better to target a person’s system of beliefs rather than trying to change the false...
A new review of previously published studies on methods for reducing conspiracy beliefs has shown that most of these methods are ineffective, but that those focused on fostering critical thinking or an analytical mindset show some promise. Cian O’Mahony of University College Cork, Ireland, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April...
Figuring out a lie has never been easier: forget body language or how convincing the message is, just listen to how detailed and rich the story is. This is the core of a new approach to lie detection, say researchers from the University of Amsterdam’s Leugenlab (LieLab) in collaboration with researchers from Maastricht University and...
New research from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience sheds light on how the brain juggles morally conflicting outcomes during learning. ‘People choosing their own gain at the expense of others were able to understand and empathize with the potential negative impacts, but still ultimately choose to pursue their own benefit.’ We sometimes have to learn...
Smartphones are a ubiquitous part of daily life, always close by for a quick update or scroll. But there are some spaces where smartphone use may be uncertain or even unwelcome – church services, for instance. Noted Baylor University smartphone researchers Meredith E. David, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, and James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H....
Odds are, you know someone who has been ghosted. And according to a new study from the University of Georgia, it can be a haunting experience. A recent study conducted by researcher and corresponding author Christina Leckfor and University of Mississippi researcher Natasha Wood found nearly two-thirds of participants have ghosted—ended a relationship by ignoring the other...
The idea that spur-of-the-moment sex is the most passionate and satisfying is a deeply ingrained one in popular Western imagination, but new research from York University calls this into question. In their latest study, psychology researchers from the Faculty of Health found that planning ahead can be just as sexy as sex that ‘just happens.’ “There can...
An article published today in the journal Science indicates that a substantial proportion of Americans are willing to use an essentially unregulated reproductive genetic technology to increase the chances of having a baby who is someday admitted to a top-100 ranked college. Survey respondents with college degrees, as well as those under 35 years of age —...
