Hacker News
- People behave more sadistically when they’re bored https://digest.bps.org.uk/2022/01/12/people-behave-more-sadistically-when-theyre-bored/ 155 comments
- People who “drink to cope” can make their symptoms worse: study https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/10/20/drinking-to-cope-doesnt-work-even-when-we-believe-that-it-does/ 63 comments
- Scholars who believe nurture trumps nature tend to doubt the scientific method https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/08/01/scholars-who-believe-nurture-trumps-nature-also-tend-to-doubt-the-scientific-method/ 5 comments
- Expressing Outrage At Factory Farming Makes People Feel Less Guilty About Eating Meat https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/11/05/expressing-outrage-at-factory-farming-makes-people-feel-less-guilty-about-eating-meat/ 147 comments science
- People Hold Negative Views About Those Who Believe Life Is Meaningless. Unlike stereotypes about atheists, people don’t seem to have any positive views about nihilists at all. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/04/29/people-hold-negative-views-about-those-who-believe-life-is-meaningless/ 332 comments science
- People think about breaking up more when they look outside their relationship for psychological fulfillment, suggests a new study (n=5,169), which found that the more emotional support people received from outside their romantic relationship, the more negatively they rated their relationship. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/10/18/people-think-about-breaking-up-more-when-they-look-outside-their-relationship-for-psychological-fulfilment/ 397 comments science
- Harsh sound like screams hijack brain areas involved in pain and aversion, making them impossible to ignore, suggests a new study, which found rough sounds with fluctuations in the range of 40-80 Hz particularly awful, frequencies used by alarms and human screams, including those of a baby. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/10/04/harsh-sounds-like-screams-hijack-brain-areas-involved-in-pain-and-aversion-making-them-impossible-to-ignore/ 761 comments science
- Spending more time on your hobbies can boost your confidence at work, if they are sufficiently different from your job, but if your hobby is too similar to your work, then it may actually have a detrimental effect, suggests a new study. “Consider a scientist who is an avid rock climber”. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/10/07/spending-more-time-on-your-hobbies-can-boost-confidence-at-work-if-they-are-sufficiently-different-from-your-job/ 337 comments science
- The way children draw human figures has changed since the 1970s https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/07/16/the-way-children-draw-human-figures-has-changed-since-the-1970s-reflecting-modern-societys-attitudes-to-gender-german-study/ 7 comments science
- Even people without mathematical training experience the “beauty” of maths, according to a new study, which found that people tend to see similarities between mathematical proofs and certain paintings or pieces of music, suggesting we all share an intuition for the aesthetics of mathematics. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/05/23/even-people-without-mathematical-training-experience-the-beauty-of-maths/ 4 comments science
- Sleep may be a key reason why your personality traits play an important part in how long you are likely to live, suggests a new study (n=3,759) which found that certain personality characteristics are more likely to sleep too little, or too much, and these have known links with various health risks. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/05/01/researchers-identity-sleep-as-a-key-reason-why-personality-traits-predict-longevity/ 4 comments science
- In the first study of its kind, researchers asked people to describe living with Avoidant Personality Disorder, defined as “a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation”. They “longed to connect with others yet feared to get close.” https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/03/18/first-study-to-explore-what-its-like-to-live-with-avoidant-personality-disorder-safe-when-alone-yet-lost-in-their-aloneness/ 308 comments science
- Teenagers’ lack of insight into some of their own abilities has implications for career counselling, suggests a new study, which found that young people appear to have surprising ignorance of their own ability (or lack of ability), which may lead to inappropriate career choices. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/01/21/teenagers-lack-of-insight-into-some-of-their-abilities-has-implications-for-career-counselling/ 4 comments science
- New research finds there is no “right thing” to say when you want to be supportive. Trying too hard to say the right thing could actually lead you to make “clumsy statements that do more harm than good”. Your “mere presence and sympathy is likely enough”. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/11/28/new-research-finds-there-is-no-right-thing-to-say-when-you-want-to-be-supportive/ 1478 comments science
- Shame may feel awful but new cross-cultural evidence shows it is fundamental to our survival. The essential job of shame, it seems, is to stop us from being too selfish for our own good. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/10/10/similarity-in-shame-and-its-repercussions-across-15-world-cultures-points-to-the-emotions-survival-function/ 5 comments science
- A 15 minute jog is better for the mind than 15 minutes of calm relaxation, as a brief jog sharpens the mind, boosting attentional control and perceptual speed, in part through a subjective sense of having more energy (in contrast to the relaxation group who felt less energetic), suggests new study. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/10/04/a-brief-jog-sharpens-the-mind-boosting-attentional-control-and-perceptual-speed-now-researchers-are-figuring-out-why/ 1594 comments science
- Introverts don't enjoy being alone more than others, according to new research https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/09/17/who-likes-to-be-alone-not-introverts-according-to-a-new-paper-on-personality-and-the-experience-of-solitude/ 58 comments science
- People who are more well-off were made happier buying experiences over material things (the “experiential advantage”) but this is not universal - the less well-off get equal or more happiness from buying material things, suggests a new study. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/09/04/the-experiential-advantage-is-not-universal-the-less-well-off-get-equal-or-more-happiness-from-buying-things/ 966 comments science
- Higher IQ in adolescence is related to a younger subjective age in later life, finds a new study (N = 4,494). https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/08/09/do-people-with-a-high-iq-age-more-slowly/ 24 comments science
- Political and business leaders who change their moral stance are perceived not as brave, but hypocritical and ineffective, finds new research (total N=5,552). The results suggest that abandoning a moral position will almost certainly cost you. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/07/31/political-and-business-leaders-who-change-their-moral-stance-are-perceived-not-as-brave-but-hypocritical-and-ineffective/ 41 comments science
- The first study of what encourages and deters people from bullshitting suggests people bullshitted more when they felt more obliged to give an opinion, and when their audience was not knowledgeable. Social obligation is more potent, causing people to bullshit even when they know audience knew more. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/05/22/the-results-are-in-from-the-first-study-of-what-encourages-and-deters-people-from-bullshitting/ 19 comments science
- Working class folk may be more empathic, selfless, vigilant and fatalistic, finds new research published in the British Journal of Social Psychology. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/05/15/class-is-still-written-into-our-psychology-working-class-folk-are-more-empathic-selfless-vigilant-and-fatalistic/ 1260 comments science
- Around 20 to 30 per cent of us hear something when viewing silent videos https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/04/12/around-20-to-30-per-cent-of-us-hear-something-when-viewing-silent-videos-do-you/ 6 comments science
- New analysis suggests most Milgram participants realised the “obedience experiments” were not really dangerous https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/12/12/interviews-with-milgram-participants-provide-little-support-for-the-contemporary-theory-of-engaged-followership/ 8 comments science
- Accessible science reporting can foster overconfidence in readers https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/11/27/accessible-science-reporting-can-foster-overconfidence-in-readers/#more-32793 8 comments science
- No “far transfer” effect found: chess, memory training and music just make you better at chess, memory training and music https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/11/24/no-far-transfer-chess-memory-training-and-music-just-make-you-better-at-chess-memory-training-and-music/#more-32784 17 comments chess
- Watching box sets with your partner can benefit your relationship, claim researchers https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/09/04/watching-box-sets-with-your-partner-can-benefit-your-relationship-claim-researchers/ 8 comments science
- Very intelligent people make less effective leaders, according to their peers and subordinates. This is one of several recent psychological studies investigating how there can be “too much of a good thing”. For leaders, this can apply to political skills and charisma. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/11/13/very-intelligent-people-make-less-effective-leaders-according-to-their-peers-and-subordinates/ 408 comments science
- Believers in conspiracy theories and the paranormal are more likely to see “illusory patterns”. Irrational beliefs – unfounded, unscientific and illogical assumptions about the world – are widespread among “the population of normal, mentally sane adults” https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/10/17/believers-in-conspiracy-theories-and-the-paranormal-are-more-likely-to-see-illusory-patterns/ 18 comments science
- Autistic boys and girls found to have “hypermasculinised” faces – supporting the Extreme Male Brain theory https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/09/14/autistic-boys-and-girls-found-to-have-hypermasculinised-faces-supporting-the-extreme-male-brain-theory/ 1198 comments science
- Martial arts reduce child and teen aggression. Research has demonstrated that participating in martial arts helps improve concentration and self-awareness, self-esteem, emotional stability and self-regulation https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/08/07/the-art-of-not-fighting-martial-arts-reduce-child-and-teen-aggression/ 10 comments science
- Feeling authentic in a relationship comes from being able to be your best self, not your actual self https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/03/08/feeling-authentic-in-a-relationship-comes-from-being-able-to-be-your-best-self-not-your-actual-self/ 90 comments science
- American women seem to be becoming less stereotypically feminine and more dominant https://digest.bps.org.uk/2017/02/17/american-women-seem-to-be-becoming-less-stereotypically-feminine-and-more-dominant/ 170 comments science
- Many of the same genes that influence our personality also affect our mental health https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/12/07/many-of-the-same-genes-that-influence-our-personality-also-affect-our-mental-health/ 4 comments science
- Luxury store shoppers less likely to offer help compared to random passersby https://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/04/22/were-less-likely-to-help-each-other-out-when-near-a-luxury-store/ 11 comments science
- Facial expressions of intense joy and pain are indistinguishable http://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/07/facial-expressions-of-intense-joy-and.html 13 comments science
- The psychology of who we find creepy and why. http://digest.bps.org.uk/2016/04/the-psychology-of-creepy-people.html#.vwbpjpfsgl8.reddit 6 comments science
- Researchers have conducted a carefully controlled comparison of men's and women's ability to assemble flat-pack furniture as quickly as possible to determine who would complete the task faster and more accurate http://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/12/are-women-really-better-than-men-at.html 107 comments science
- New research challenges the idea that willpower is a "limited resource" http://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/06/new-research-challenges-idea-that.html 35 comments science
- Activists have an image problem, say social psychologists: "[T]he very individuals who are most actively engaged in promoting social change may inadvertently alienate members of the public and reduce pro-change motivation." http://digest.bps.org.uk/2014/01/activists-have-image-problem-say-social.html 46 comments science
Linking pages
- What’s Happening in Your Brain When You Can’t Stay Awake http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/06/what-brain-does-cant-stay-awake.html?mid=twitter_nymag 89 comments
- Men’s and Women’s Brains Appear to Age Differently http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/11/there-are-gender-differences-in-how-brains-age.html 58 comments
- Neuroscience and Free Will Are Rethinking Their Divorce http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/02/a-neuroscience-finding-on-free-will.html 19 comments
- People Are More Willing to Dismiss Evidence From Psychology Than Brain Science | WIRED http://www.wired.com/2015/02/people-willing-dismiss-evidence-psychology-brain-science/ 16 comments
- Does Reading Literature Really Beef Up Your Brain? http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/09/does-literature-really-beef-up-your-brain.html 15 comments
- At a Neurological Level, Narcissists Are Needy http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/07/a-neurological-level-narcissists-are-needy.html 7 comments
- The Neuroscience of Being a Selfish Jerk http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/08/neuroscience-of-being-a-selfish-jerk.html 6 comments
- How the Brains of ‘Super-Multitaskers’ Are Different https://www.thecut.com/2015/05/brains-of-super-multitaskers-are-different.html 0 comments
- Investigating the âSTEM gender-equality paradoxâ â in fairer societies, fewer women enter science https://main-researchdigest-bps.content.pugpig.com/2018/03/14/investigating-the-stem-gender-equality-paradox-in-fairer-societies-fewer-women-enter-science/pugpig_index.html 0 comments
- Why Your Brain Actually Works Better in Winter http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/02/debunking-the-myth-of-the-winter-blues.html 0 comments
- How Popular People’s Brains Are Different http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/12/how-popular-peoples-brains-are-different.html 0 comments
- Worrying About Stuff Is a Sign of Intelligence http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/12/worrying-about-stuff-is-a-sign-of-intelligence.html 0 comments