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UrduVenting about a source of anger might feel good in the moment, but it’s not effective at reducing the rage, new research suggests.
Tag: Human Behavior
A mental process that leads to putting off an unpleasant task
Putting off a burdensome task may seem like a universal trait, but new research suggests that people whose negative attitudes tend to dictate their behavior in a range of situations are more likely to delay tackling the task at hand.
Why are people climate change deniers?
Do climate change deniers bend the facts to avoid having to modify their environmentally harmful behavior? Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) ran an online experiment involving 4,000 US adults, and found no evidence to support this idea.
People Are Inclined to Hide a Contagious Illness While Around Others, Research Shows
A startling number of people conceal an infectious illness to avoid missing work, travel, or social events, new research at the University of Michigan suggests.
Social media giants send mixed signals on muscle-building supplements content
While social media platforms have strict policies on illegal muscle-building drugs, the policies around legal muscle-building dietary supplements vary
Do people everywhere care less about their cats than their dogs?
Scientists surveyed pet owners in three countries and found that owners were more attached to dogs than cats, but that the difference varied significantly between countries
Preschoolers show cultural differences in generosity, competitiveness
In a set of sharing experiments, Spanish-speaking Latino preschoolers were more likely to choose options that would be more generous to others, even over a more equal sharing choice.
U.S. consumers judge morality of armed self-protection on case-by-case basis
American consumers use their understanding of gun rights when judging the morality of civilians’ use of guns to protect themselves from crime, and that assessment varies depending on specific scenarios, new research from Oregon State University shows.
Silent zoo tours can generate new perspectives on animals, study suggests
Visiting zoos in silence can generate a range of novel experiences, helping people to connect to animals in a more intimate way and giving visits more gravitas, according to new research.
Altruism can make job seekers afraid to negotiate salary
Job seekers looking to land a role with an altruistic organization may feel too guilty to ask for higher pay, according to a new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.
How online art viewing can impact our well-being
240 study participants viewed an interactive Monet Water Lily art exhibition from Google Arts and Culture. By filling out a questionnaire, they provided information about their state of mind, how much pleasure they felt when looking at the pictures, and how meaningful they considered the experience to be. The results showed significant improvements in mood and anxiety after just a few minutes of viewing.
At start of COVID-19 pandemic, masking compliance of shoppers in Chinese store influenced their in-store behaviors
As the coronavirus began to spread globally, face masks were recommended in public settings to protect against transmission, and compliance varied significantly.
Embrace tradition in the face of danger? New international study in which the US takes part
A study conducted in 27 countries, led by the department of Anthropology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in which the University of Seville takes part, suggests that in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditionalism was associated with support for stricter precautionary behaviour against the epidemic.
No magic number for time it takes to form habits
The study is the first to use machine learning tools to study habit formation. The researchers employed machine learning to analyze large data sets of tens of thousands of people who were either swiping their badges to enter their gym or washing their hands during hospital shifts.
Celebrity sightings have a built-in contradiction
Their popularity makes celebrities easy to spot. Strangers, however, can also get mistaken for celebrities, resulting in cases of false “celebrity sightings.” In attempting to explain the contradiction, a University of California, Riverside, study reports that celebrity faces are remembered more precisely but less accurately.
How differences in individual infections affect COVID-19 spread within households
Substantial variation in infectiousness among cases may strongly impact the way SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads in the population, even at the household level, shows a study published today in eLife.
For leaders, playing favorites can be a smart strategy
As anyone who’s worked in an office, a factory, or any other workplace can attest, sometimes bosses play favorites. Whether it’s assigning the most comfortable cubicles or the best parking spots, or deciding whose opinions take precedence during planning sessions, leaders inevitably wind up treating some employees better than others.
Brain ‘zips and unzips’ information to perform skilled tasks
The human brain prepares skilled movements such as playing the piano, competing in athletics, or dancing by ‘zipping and unzipping’ information about the timing and order of movements ahead of the action being performed, a new study reveals.
Commonly used police diversity training unlikely to change officers’ behavior, study finds
New research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that the day-long implicit bias-oriented training programs now common in most U.S. police departments are unlikely to reduce racial inequity in policing.
How better planning, behavior regulation may lead to eating less fat
New research suggests coaching overweight or obese pregnant women to improve their ability to plan and make progress toward goals may be key to helping them lower the amount of fat in their diet.
Growing incomes boost Latino millennials’ purchasing power
Millennial age groups – born mid 1980s to early 2000s – now have more money at hand than they have ever controlled before.
You’re never too busy for self-gifting, study finds
People who are feeling tense due to demands at work or home tend not to reward themselves with gifts, new research finds – even though a new product or visit to the spa might be exactly what they need.
Deprivation in childhood linked to impulsive behaviour in adulthood – research
Children who have experienced deprivation are more likely to make more impulsive choices than those who don’t and can lead to addictions in later life – research has shown.
City-based soda pop taxes don’t effectively reduce sugar consumption
As taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages continue to pop up across the U.S. and abroad, public health experts laud their effect on lowering purchases of the calorie-heavy drinks and encouraging healthier habits. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests many soda taxes might actually not be making much of an impact at all when it comes to improving diets and reducing sugar intake.
Sharing on social media makes us overconfident in our knowledge
Sharing news articles with friends and followers on social media can prompt people to think they know more about the articles’ topics than they actually do, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.
Sound of music: Ultrasound exposure improves depressive behavior in rodents
The effect of ultrasound waves on the function of the human brain has been the key focus of recent research, which has indicated its potential as an effective, non-invasive approach for the modulation of brain activity.
Even in the Operating Room, Team Chemistry Matters, Study Finds
From flying a plane to swinging on a trapeze, there are plenty of high performance jobs where people must work closely together without making mistakes.
If you stand like Superman or Wonder Woman, would you feel stronger?
Dominant or upright postures can help people feel – and maybe even behave – more confidently.
How we perceive crowds
When designing public spaces or other places where foot traffic is considered, planners and architects need to know how people perceive the spaces in question.
This kind of flirting works best
Some people are experts at flirting. Others of us never flirt or fail spectacularly. But what kind of flirting works best?
Study links urbanization to poor ecological knowledge, less environmental action
A new study by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and collaborators highlights a sharp contrast between urban and suburban ways of thinking about coastal ecosystems.
Story tips: Fueling up on savings, COVID’s behavior effect, cosmic collisions, seismic and sound, and space-to-ground comms
ORNL story tips: Fueling up on savings, COVID’s behavior effect, cosmic collisions, seismic and sound, and space-to-ground comms
It’s true: Be nice and others are more likely to be nice to you
When two people meet for the first time, they tend to see the other person as having a similar personality to their own. A friendly and sociable person will tend to see others as friendly and sociable. Someone who is shy and reserved will see those characteristics in others. In the world of psychology, this is known as the “assumed similarity effect.” Psychologists have theorized people use their own personalities to fill in the blanks with someone they don’t know well. Now University of Oregon psychologists have proposed, tested and found support for another contributing factor: people tend to reciprocate each other’s behavior. A person who acts friendly and sociable is more likely get the same in return.
Involuntary job loss affects male BMI and health behaviors
A new study led by the University of Kent has found that involuntary job loss affects the Body Mass Index (BMI) of men and behaviours differentially across the life cycle.
Rates of infectious disease linked to authoritarian attitudes and governance – study
According to psychologists, in addition to our physiological immune system we also have a behavioural one: an unconscious code of conduct that helps us stay disease-free, including a fear and avoidance of unfamiliar – and so possibly infected – people.
Study: Crowds can wise up to fake news
In the face of grave concerns about misinformation, social media networks and news organizations often employ fact-checkers to sort the real from the false. But fact-checkers can only assess a small portion of the stories floating around online.
Connecting to Place, People, and Past: How Products Make Us Feel Grounded
Researchers from Vienna University of Economics and Business and Cornell University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how marketers can cater to consumers’ need to feel grounded by offering products that connect to place, people, and past.
How Social Norms Influence Consumer Behavior
Researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, HEC Montréal, and University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that performs a meta-analysis of extant research on social norms to establish several new empirical generalizations.
Why Uncertainty Makes Us Change Our Behaviour – Even When We Shouldn’t
People around the world dramatically changed their shopping behaviours at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How do people solve global problems?
What do the 3,000-year-old actions of an Egyptian pharaoh say about how we should tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century?
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Communicating About COVID-19 Vaccine
New Brunswick, N.J. (Sept. 17, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor William Hallman is available for interviews on how to communicate with the public about a potential COVID-19 vaccine. “For a COVID-19 vaccine to be embraced by the public, officials can’t…
Picture this: Employee fraud decreases when they see family photos
Displaying family photos in the workplace cuts down on employee fraud and other unethical behavior, new Washington University in St. Louis research finds. For instance, in one study the researchers conducted, participants who looked at pictures of family or friends filed expense reports claiming about $8 less on average than workers without pictures. While $8 may not seem like much, it can add up quickly.
Uganda’s Ik are not Unbelievably Selfish and Mean
The Ik, a small ethnic group in Uganda, are not incredibly selfish and mean as portrayed in a 1972 book by a prominent anthropologist, according to a Rutgers-led study. Instead, the Ik are quite cooperative and generous with one another, and their culture features many traits that encourage generosity.
APS Backgrounder Series: Psychology and COVID-19
Through an ongoing series of backgrounders, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) is exploring many of the psychological factors that can help the public understand and collectively combat the spread of COVID-19. Each backgrounder features the assessments, research, and recommendations of a renowned subject expert in the field of psychological science.
Study shows how diligent we have to be to keep surfaces germ-free
A recent study suggests that even organized efforts to clean surfaces can fall short, a reminder for us all that keeping our surroundings clean may require some additional work.
AI to help monitor behaviour
Algorithms based on artificial intelligence do better at supporting educational and clinical decision-making, according to a new study.
Increasing opportunities for sustainable behavior
A new study shows how even minor changes to available infrastructure can trigger tipping points in the collective adoption of sustainable behaviors.
Calculated Surprise Leads to Groundbreaking Discovery in Cognitive Control Research
To better understand how motivational control processes help maximize performance when faced with task challenges, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and provide fascinating insights into the role of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as a component network of brain regions that support motivated behavior. They have unified conflicting findings by discovering that the single mechanism of surprise best accounts for activity in dACC during a task requiring motivated control.
In Some Children with Autism, “Social” and “Visual” Neural Circuits Don’t Quite Connect
Researchers combined eye gaze research with brain scans to discover that in a common subtype of autism, in which ASD toddlers prefer images of geometric shapes over those of children playing, brain areas responsible for vision and attention are not controlled by social brain networks, and so social stimuli are ignored.