Psychology news

• Would you choose a definite £500 or a possible million quid?

  29-11-2015 10:00
  
  Take this simple Observer quiz to find out whether you like to take risks or prefer to err on the side of cautionAre you a risk seeker? Do you know when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em and when to walk away? What would you choose if offered £500 for sure or a gamble with a 15% chance of winning £1,000,000?Although ostensibly about risk seeking, this test is actually a test of your reasoning ability and, more generally, your intelligence. Now we can make an exception if you
  
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• When a country is not official, just a state of mind

  29-11-2015 10:00
  
  Imagine living somewhere that no one else recognised. Nick Middleton reveals why some nations don’t exist
  The head of the local flower growers’ co-operative, Giorgio Carbone, was a placid figure with a big black beard. He grew mimosa flowers and lived in a small hilltop town in northwestern Italy, an ancient jumble of narrow cobbled streets, wooden shutters and wrought-iron balconies.Carbone was very keen on local history. He spent many hours in state and church archives painstakingl
  
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• Children with Pets May Experience Less Stress

  29-11-2015 09:44 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Medical News TodayChildren who have a dog at home are less likely to have mental or emotional problems and anxiety. Owning pets could be a strategy to ward off mental health issues later in life.
  
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• Campaigns Begin for First Saudi Female Electoral Candidates

  29-11-2015 09:44 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianGender equality in the kingdom takes a slow step forward as women prepare to stand and vote in municipal elections Saudi women began their first ever campaigns for public office on Sunday, in a step forward for women’s rights in the conservative kingdom’s slow reform process. More than 900 women are standing in the 12 December municipal elections, which will also mark the first time women are allowed to vote in Saudi Arabia.
  
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• Smoking Strong Cannabis Linked to Brain Damage

  29-11-2015 09:42 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: Google News - HealthSmoking extremely strong cannabis can lead to “significant” brain damage, a King’s College London study suggests. The study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, found that “skunk” cannabis damages the corpus callosum, a bundle of neural fibers that allows communication between the brain’s left and right hemispheres.
  
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• UK "Failing to Protect Women Against Violent Men," Report Concludes

  29-11-2015 09:41 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianWomen and girls are still not being protected from violent men because of “critical frontline failings”, according to an evaluation of the past 10 years of government action on the issue. A coalition of campaigning groups claims that, despite a focus on reducing domestic violence and increased awareness of child sexual abuse, male violence “still goes unchecked”.
  
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• Employers Use Video Games As Recruitment Tool

  29-11-2015 09:41 via feeds.socialpsychology.org
  
  Source: The GuardianFirms such as Deloitte hope to hire people using smartphone apps – but can they produce accurate results? Job interviews have traditionally been painful affairs, with applicants sitting, sweaty-palmed, in some anteroom wondering whether or not to accept a biscuit. But today’s job applicants may well find themselves facing not an intimidating interview panel but a computer-based “psychometric” test. And anyone after a job with accountant...
  
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• Children with pets have less stress

  29-11-2015 09:00
  
  Children who have a dog at home are less likely to have mental or emotional problems and anxiety. Owning pets could be a strategy to ward off mental health issues later in life.
  
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• It’s all a lot of flingam: why nonsense words make us laugh

  29-11-2015 01:05
  
  Blackadder jokes prove that Arthur Schopenhauer’s 200-year-old theory of humour still holds true todayAny aspiring comic wanting to make it big should seek inspiration not so much from the likes of Michael McIntyre but that arch proponent of philosophical pessimism, Arthur Schopenhauer.For it seems that the German thinker, not easily confused with a ray of sunshine, may have been on to something when he came up with his now 200-year-old theory of humour. Continue reading...
  
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