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Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions

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Businesses sometimes align themselves with important values such as a clean environment, feminism, or racial justice, thinking it’s a win-win: the value gets boosted along with the company’s bottom line.

But be careful, warns new research from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Using these values primarily for self-interested purposes such as profit or reputation can ultimately undermine their special status and erode people’s commitment to them. [Read more…] about Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions

Our attention is captured by eye-glance

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Eyes play an important role in social communication by expressing the intentions of our interlocutors, and even more so in times of pandemic when half of the face is hidden.

But is this eye contact automatic and rapid? Is it based on a priority attentional reaction or, on the contrary, on a particular emotional reaction?

To answer these questions, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, looked at the way we process human gaze, focusing on the estimation of the temporal duration of social interactions. [Read more…] about Our attention is captured by eye-glance

New research on good cholesterol possibly finds better marker for cardiovascular disease

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Good cholesterol, which is transported in HDLs (high-density lipoproteins), plays a key part in the prevention of atherosclerosis and thus the risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, according to a new paper co-authored by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and published in the journal Circulation, the anti-inflammatory properties of HDLs could be an even better biomarker for future cardiovascular events.

Atherosclerosis is considered a chronic local inflammation that leads to plaques in the blood vessels and that, if left untreated, can cause cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of death in the world. [Read more…] about New research on good cholesterol possibly finds better marker for cardiovascular disease

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  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
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    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
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  • Déjà brew? Another shot for lovers of coffee
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    Déjà brew? Another shot for lovers of coffeeLong black, espresso, or latte, whatever your coffee preference, drink too much and you could be in hot water, especially when it comes to heart health. In a world first genetic study, researchers from the Australian Centre for Precision Health at the University of South Australia found that that long-term,…
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Japanese consumers more concerned about gene-editing of livestock than of vegetables, survey shows

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A statistically rigorous survey of Japanese consumers has found that they have more negative opinions about the use of new gene-editing techniques on livestock than they do about use of the same technologies on vegetables.

The survey findings were reported in the journal BMC CABI Agriculture and Bioscience on March 31st, 2021.

Because humans tend to feel closer to animals than plants, and commonly express feelings regarding animal welfare but not plant welfare, the researchers, led by Naoko Kato-Nitta, a research scientist at Tokyo’s Joint Support Center for Data Science Research and Institute of Statistical Mathematics, wanted to see if such moral or taxonomic distinctions would produce any difference in their attitudes towards use of emerging gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9. [Read more…] about Japanese consumers more concerned about gene-editing of livestock than of vegetables, survey shows

Why the brain enjoys music

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Communication between the brain’s auditory and reward circuits is the reason why humans find music rewarding, according to new research published in JNeurosci.

Despite no obvious biological benefits, humans love music. Neuroimaging studies highlight similarities between how the brain’s reward circuits process music and other rewards like food, money, and alcohol.

Yet neuroimaging studies are correlational by nature. [Read more…] about Why the brain enjoys music

Astronauts in crewed missions to Mars could misread vital emotional cues

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Living for nearly 2 months in simulated weightlessness has a modest but widespread negative effect on cognitive performance that may not be counteracted by short periods of artificial gravity, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Physiology.

While cognitive speed on most tests initially declined but then remained unchanged over time in simulated microgravity, emotion recognition speed continued to worsen. In testing, research participants were more likely to identify facial expressions as angry and less likely as happy or neutral.

“Astronauts on long space missions, very much like our research participants, will spend extended durations in microgravity, confined to a small space with few other astronauts,” reports Mathias Basner, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. [Read more…] about Astronauts in crewed missions to Mars could misread vital emotional cues

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  • The human heart in space: What can we learn from mathematical modeling
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    The human heart in space: What can we learn from mathematical modelingHuman spaceflight has been fascinating man for centuries, representing the intangible need to explore the unknown, challenge new frontiers, advance technology and push scientific boundaries further. A key aspect of long-term human spaceflight is the physiological response and the consequent microgravity (0G) adaptation, which has all the features of accelerated…
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Online dating: Super effective or just… superficial?

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According to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 10 American adults have landed a long-term relationship from an online dating app, such as Tinder, OKCupid and Match.com. But what compels people to “swipe right” on certain profiles and reject others?

New research from William Chopik, an associate professor in the Michigan State University Department of Psychology, and Dr David Johnson from the University of Maryland, finds that people’s reason for swiping right is based primarily on attractiveness and the race of a potential partner, and that decisions are often made in less than a second.

“Despite online dating becoming an increasingly popular way for people to meet one another, there is little research on how people connect with each other on these platforms,” said Chopik. “We wanted to understand what makes someone want to swipe left or swipe right, and the process behind how they make those decisions.” [Read more…] about Online dating: Super effective or just… superficial?

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  • Empathy may be in the eye of the beholder
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    Empathy may be in the eye of the beholderEmpathy is talked about a lot these days. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and a divisive political climate in the United States, calls for empathy have become louder and more urgent. We encourage empathy for those inflicted with Covid-19 and those struggling with unemployment. We reminisce about the…
    Tags: participants, people, news, life

What might sheep and driverless cars have in common? Following the herd

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Psychologists have long found that people behave differently than when they learn of peers’ actions.

A new study by computer scientists found that when individuals in an experiment about autonomous vehicles were informed that their peers were more likely to sacrifice their own safety to program their vehicle to hit a wall rather than hit pedestrians who were at risk, the percentage of individuals willing to sacrifice their own safety increased by approximately two-thirds.

As computer scientists train machines to act as people’s agents in all sorts of situations, the study’s authors indicate that the social component of decision-making is often overlooked. [Read more…] about What might sheep and driverless cars have in common? Following the herd

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  • The appearance of robots affects our perception of the morality of their decisions
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    The appearance of robots affects our perception of the morality of their decisionsMoralities of Intelligent Machines is a project that investigates people's attitudes towards moral choices made by artificial intelligence. In the latest study completed under the project, study participants read short narratives where either a robot, a somewhat humanoid robot known as iRobot, a robot with a strong humanoid appearance called iClooney…
    Tags: people, moral, human, decisions, machines, problem, participants, humans, news

Common workplace interactions can trigger suicidal thoughts for employees with mood disorders

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Ignoring a colleague’s greeting or making a sarcastic comment in the workplace may actually do more harm than intended, according to West Virginia University research.

Perceived low-grade forms of workplace mistreatment, such as avoiding eye contact or excluding a coworker from conversation, can amplify suicidal thoughts in employees with mood disorders, based on a study by Kayla Follmer, assistant professor of management, and Jake Follmer, assistant professor of educational psychology.

“We know from prior research that minor forms of workplace mistreatment reduce employee engagement,” Kayla Follmer said. “But our paper provided an explanation for why this was occurring. Mistreatment increases suicidal ideation (thoughts) and because of that, work engagement is reduced.” [Read more…] about Common workplace interactions can trigger suicidal thoughts for employees with mood disorders

What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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What feels like up may actually be some other direction depending on how our brains process our orientation, according to psychology researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health. 

In a new study, researchers at York University’s Centre for Vision Research found that an individual’s interpretation of the direction of gravity can be altered by how their brain responds to visual information.

Laurence Harris, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and Meaghan McManus, a graduate student in his lab, found, using virtual reality, that people differ in how much they are influenced by their visual environment. [Read more…] about What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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  • Why some friends make you feel more supported than others
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    Why some friends make you feel more supported than othersIt's good to have friends and family to back you up when you need it – but it's even better if your supporters are close with each other too, a new set of studies suggests. Researchers found that people perceived they had more support from a group of friends or…
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