A recent study of the use of metaphors in spoken language and various sign languages shows that certain types of metaphors are difficult to convey in sign language. The study, "Iconicity and metaphor: Constraints on metaphorical extension of iconic forms," to be published in the December 2010 issue of the scholarly journal Language, is authored by Irit Meir of the University of Haifa. Read more »
Accents Shape Our Perceptions Of People
The accent someone talks in plays a crucial role in the way we judge this person, psychologists of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) found out recently. "The accent is much more important than the way a person looks", Dr. Tamara Rakic sums up one of the key findings of the study, which has just been published in the online edition of the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology". Read more »
Are attractive people more employable? Study finds double standard
"Good looks" are only sometimes a positive factor in consideration for a job, according to new research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). In the new working paper, "Are Good-Looking People More Employable?" two economics researchers from BGU prove that a double standard exists between good looks as a positive factor in men and women. Read more »
Young People Value Self-Esteem Boosts Over Sex and Paychecks
Researchers found that college students valued boosts to their self-esteem more than any other pleasant activity they were asked about, including sex, favorite foods, drinking alcohol, seeing a best friend or receiving a paycheck. Read more »
Close proximity leads to better science
According to new research by scientists at Harvard Medical School, the physical proximity of researchers, especially between the first and last author on published papers, strongly correlates with the impact of their work. Read more »
Beautiful people convey personality traits better during first impressions
A new University of British Columbia study has found that people identify the personality traits of people who are physically attractive more accurately than others during short encounters. Read more »
People in Jobs Traditionally Held by the Other Sex Are Judged More Harshly for Mistakes
In these modern times, people can have jobs that weren’t traditionally associated with their genders. Men are nurses; women are CEOs. A new study examines perceptions of people in high-powered jobs and finds that they’re likely to be judged more harshly for mistakes if they’re in a job that’s not normally associated with their gender. Read more »
Self-awareness can help people navigate rocky seas of relationships
A little self-awareness can help people struggling in the world of relationships, says Jeffrey Hall, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas. Hall recently completed a study into styles of flirting among dating adults, surveying more than 5,100 people regarding their methods of communicating romantic interest. Read more »
Self-Disclosure Used to Strengthen Friendships in the United States, but Not in Japan
In the United States, friends often share intimate details of their lives and problems. However, such self-disclosure is much less common in Japan. A new study by an American researcher living in Japan finds that this may be because of the different social systems in the two countries, and in particular the extent to which there are opportunities to make new friends. Read more »
Thoughts About Time Inspire People to Socialize
Does thinking about time or money make you happier? A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people who are made to think about time plan to spend more of their time with the people in their lives while people who think about money fill their schedules with work, work, and—you guessed it—more work. Read more »