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FEELING ANGRY? SAY A PRAYER AND THE WRATH FADES AWAY

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2011Culture, Healthbrad_bushman, divine intervention, dutch university, fatigue, feeling anger, fuming, maureen, negative emotions, ohio_state_university, vigor

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Saying a prayer may help many people feel less angry and behave less aggressively after someone has left them fuming, new research suggests.

A series of studies showed that people who were provoked by insulting comments from a stranger showed less anger and aggression soon afterwards if they prayed for another person in the meantime.

The benefits of prayer identified in this study don’t rely on divine intervention: they probably occur because the act of praying changed the way people think about a negative situation, said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University. (more…)

Yahoo! Shine Reveals Findings of “Alcohol and America” Survey in Time for St. Patrick’s Day

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, Technologyalcohol and america, alcoholic beverages, americans, christmas, digital media company, drinking habits, most popular drink, new year eve, spectrum, st patricks day, tequila, thanksgiving, women lifestyle websites, Yahoo, yahoo shine

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Yahoo! Shine (https://shine.yahoo.com), one of the world’s leading women’s lifestyle websites, has released the results of its “Alcohol and America” survey. The survey asked 2,000 Americans in-depth questions about drinking habits, favorite kinds of drinks/alcohol, and overall views of drinking, as well as differences between men and women’s drinking habits. The results found that on average adults consume seven alcoholic beverages per week, and while most adults are responsible about their drinking, one in three has experienced negative effects of drinking. (more…)

Reframing Climate Change: It’s as Much Cultural as Scientific

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Culture, EnvironmentAl Gore, andy hoffman, climate change, climate change exists, debate, democrats, diagnostic, Environment, evidence of global warming, logic schism, man made phenomena, newspaper editorials, political ideology, prognostic, republicans, united states, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— While debate on climate change often strikes a caustic tone, the real impediment to meaningful dialogue is that the two sides often talk past each other in what amounts to a “logic schism,” says a University of Michigan researcher.

“In a logic schism, a contest emerges in which opposing sides are debating different issues, seeking only information that supports their position and disconfirms their opponents’ arguments,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at U-M’s Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “Each side views the other with suspicion, even demonizing the other, leading to a strong resistance to any form of engagement, much less negotiation and concession.” (more…)

PASSIVE NEWS REPORTS MAY LEAD READERS TO FEEL THEY CAN’T FIND THE TRUTH

By Guest PostMarch 12, 2011Culture, Technologyfactual disputes in politics, house of representatives, obama’s health care, political disputes, resolving factual, truth in politics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Passive news reporting that doesn’t attempt to resolve factual disputes in politics may have detrimental effects on readers, new research suggests.

The study found that people are more likely to doubt their own ability to determine the truth in politics after reading an article that simply lists competing claims without offering any idea of which side is right. (more…)

More Reasons to Be Nice: It’s Less Work for Everyone

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2011Culturealtruism, common etiquette, critical distance model, david rosenbaum, emily post, joseph santamaria, polite act, relationships, social codes

A polite act shows respect. But a new study of a common etiquette—holding a door for someone—suggests that courtesy may have a more practical, though unconscious, shared motivation: to reduce the work for those involved. The research, by Joseph P. Santamaria and David A. Rosenbaum of Pennsylvania State University, is the first to combine two fields of study ordinarily considered unrelated: altruism and motor control. It is to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

“The way etiquette has been viewed by Emily Post—that you’re being proper by following social codes—is undoubtedly part of it,” said psychology professor Rosenbaum. “Our insight is there is another contributor: the mental representation of other people’s physical effort. Substantial research in the field of motor control shows that people are good at estimating how much effort they and others expend,” Rosenbaum continued. “We realized that this concept could be extended to a shared-effort model of politeness.” (more…)

Web Use Doesn’t Encourage Belief in Poltical Rumors, But E-mail Does

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2011Culture, Politics, Technologyalaska, Barack Obama, e mail, Facebook, factcheck, harmful consequences, internet communication, kelly garrett, mayor, mccain-palin, muslim, obama-biden, online sources, political information, political rumors, presidential election, rumor-mongering, Sarah Palin, telephone survey, Twitter, use of the internet, vicious feedback loop, wasilla

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite the fears of some, a new study suggests that use of the internet in general does not make people more likely to believe political rumors.

However, one form of internet communication – e-mail – does seem to have troubling consequences for the spread and belief of rumors.

“I think a lot of people will be surprised to learn that using the internet doesn’t necessarily promote belief in rumors. Many people seem to think that’s self-evident,” said R. Kelly Garrett, author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University. (more…)

Am I Safe Here?: How People With HIV/AIDS Perceive Hidden Prejudices in Their Communities

By Guest PostMarch 7, 2011Culture, Healthacts of discrimination, blatant discrimination, carol miller, disclosure concerns, hiv positive people, internally motivated, janice bunn, kristin grover, marginalized groups, new englanders, paranoid, people, politically correct, prejudiced, racial minorities, society, sondra solomon, stereotyping, subtle clues

People in marginalized groups, such as the disabled or racial minorities, feel stigmatized—condemned, feared, or excluded—when other people stigmatize them. That’s obvious. But they can also feel stigma when nobody blatantly discriminates against them or says a negative word.

These folks aren’t paranoid, suggests a new study of HIV-positive people and their communities to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science. Rather, they’re picking up subtle clues from their communities. (more…)

U.S. Remains the Largest Cocaine Market in the World

By PravdaMarch 6, 20111 commentCulture, GeneralEurope, heroin, largest market for cocaine, legalisation of marijuana, lisa karpova, marijuana, methamphetamine, mexican traffickers, overuse of drugs, united states

The United States remains the world’s largest market for cocaine, with 4.8 million users, although its importance has been reduced in recent years, according to the INCB (International Board for Narcotics Control).

“In 2009, 4.8 million people consumed some form of cocaine in the U.S., compared with 5.3 million in 2008,” the INCB said in its report in 2010. With this number of consumers, the U.S. represents 41% of the international drug market, ahead of Europe, with 29%, according to the board, stating that “Although the market for cocaine has been reduced in North America, it continues to grow in Europe.” (more…)

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