“Momentary touches, [researchers] say … can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.” Evidence suggests that those touches “can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave.”
Category: ideas
Can’t Hear Your Date At That Noisy Bar? Sing Or Play Some Music First
“Do you have trouble hearing people talk at cocktail parties? Try practicing the piano before you leave the house. Musicians – from karaoke singers to professional cello players – are better able to hear targeted sounds in a noisy environment, according to new research that adds to evidence that music makes the brain work better.”
Napping Makes You Smarter
“A nap during the day doesn’t just beat tiredness, but actually improves the brain’s ability to absorb new information, claim US scientists.”
Why You’re Better Off Winning A Bronze Medal Than A Silver
“The phenomenon is a case of counterfactual thinking – thoughts about ‘what might have been’ … Third-place winners have upward thoughts (‘at least I won’) that increase satisfaction, researchers have found, whereas those who come in second tend to have downward ‘if only’ thoughts that decrease happiness.”
Insomnia May Shrink The Brain
“For the first time, brain imaging has linked chronic insomnia to lower gray matter density in areas that regulate the brain’s ability to make decisions and to rest.”
Erotic Reverie Increases Brain Power, Creativity
“Fantasizing about sex gets more than just your juices flowing – it also boosts your analytical thinking skills. Daydreaming about love, on the other hand, makes you more creative, according to a study published in the November 2009 Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.“
Empathy Fuels Creativity In The Workplace (Tell Your Boss)
According to a study in the Academy of Management Journal, “at least in the business world, … taking others’ needs into account, and seeing things from their point of view, seems to be a catalyst to creativity.”
Canine Ethics (It’s Not A Dog-Eat-Dog World)
“Morality, as we define it …, is a suite of interrelated other-regarding behaviors that cultivate and regulate social interactions. These behaviors, including altruism, tolerance, forgiveness, reciprocity and fairness, are readily evident in the egalitarian way [canids such as] wolves and coyotes play with one another.”
Peer Recommendations Take A Credibility Dive
According to the 2010 Trust Barometer Survey, “since 2008 the number of people who view their friends and peers as credible sources of consumer and business information dropped by almost half, from 45% to 25%. … Even more strikingly, however, after a precipitous decline earlier in the decade, informed consumers have regained trust in traditional authorities and experts.”
Social Scientists Study Getting Laid At Mardi Gras
“In this edition of ‘Wonks Gone Wild,’ researchers find that men overrated, and women underrated, the likelihood that they would participate in sexual activities with a new partner at [New Orleans] Mardi Gras.”