A new study done at the University of Washington found that peoples’ gaydars are right more than 50 percent of the time — or even slightly higher than that when it comes to guessing womens’ sexual orientations. Participants were shown these (creepy) mask faces both right side up and upside down and were given a millisecond to determine whether the face belonged to a straight or gay person. Keep reading »
How you spend your money says a lot about you — and it says even more about whether or not you’re a happy person. A new study from San Francisco State University asked nearly 10,000 people to evaluate how happy they were. It found that people who spent their money on experiences were generally happier than people who spent their money on material goods. Experience-oriented spenders–people who’d rather spend their cash on a dinner with friends, a trip or a movie rather than a new shirt — also reported that they got along better with others and experienced less anxiety than their materialistic counterparts.
That’s in part, said the study’s lead researcher Ryan Howell, an assistant professor at San Francisco State, because experiential spenders are bigger risk takers. “You are taking a bigger risk on a night at a new restaurant or play,” he said. “You can’t return a trip or a meal the way you can return something from a store.”
So what kind of spender are you? Experiential or material? [NY Times]
Are you creative? Have you cheated? Well then, it might be because you’re creative. We’re not necessarily talking about cheating on a partner or anything — but say cheating on a test, or at a task? A new study from Harvard University published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that creative thinkers are more likely to find “original ways to bypass moral rules.”
“Ethical dilemmas often require people to weigh two opposing forces: the desire to maximize self-interest and the desire to maintain a positive view of oneself,” explain lead study professors Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely. “Recent research has suggested that individuals tend to resolve this tension through self-serving rationalizations: They behave dishonestly enough to profit from their unethical behavior but honestly enough to maintain a positive self-concept as honest human beings.” Keep reading »
Attractive women are getting the shorter end of the job stick, according to a new study out of Israel. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University tested the idea that more attractive people get more job opportunities. They sent out identical resumes with “average-looking” male and female headshots, “attractive” headshots, and no headshots to prospective employers. Attractive males got more callbacks than average-looking men, and — surprise, surprise! — attractive women got FEWER callbacks. The study argues that “female jealousy of attractive women in the workplace is a primary reason for the punishment of attractive women.” But we’re wondering if it’s something else — that those in power are intimidated by conventionally attractive women, not jealous of them, and anecdotal evidence seems to back this up. Either way, it’s a good thing that most places in the U.S. (sans Abercrombie & Fitch) don’t require headshots upon submitting your resume. [NYMag.com] Keep reading »
Teens: step away from the cell phone. According to new data from Nielson, teens send an average of 3,339 texts PER MONTH. At the same time, voice calling is on the decline. Phone usage has decreased 14 percent from last year. More than 3,000 texts a month is an exorbitant number — that’s around six texts every waking hour. And if each text takes an average of 20 seconds, then kids are spending almost 20 hours a month texting. Keep reading »
In another study apparently done by the “No Duh” doctors, it is official—men whine more about illness than women. The experts call the condition “man flu” and suggest that men are probably exaggerating illness to gain “maximum sympathy.” The Engage Mutual study of 3,000 people also found that 50 percent of men like to classify a common cold as “the flu” and regular headaches as “migraines.” Researcher Karl Elliot says, “Men may have fewer bouts of genuine sickness a year—five compared to the seven suffered by women—but when ill, their attention seeking behavior makes sure their partner knows about it.” But even with the kvetching, men are actually less likely to take time off of work, with 76 percent struggling through. The survey also found that women are more likely to whine about their aches on a daily basis. But maybe the most interesting aspect is the sympathy and caring. Elliott explained, “Women score higher than men on being prepared to dole out the sympathy for an attention seeking partner, regardless of whether they believe they are genuinely ill, or not. But when it comes to doing the little things that make a partner more comfortable when they are ill, men and women seem to be more evenly matched.” Which means that your dude will get you Nyquil and draw you a bath, even though you’re all boogery and unattractive. Keep reading »
If you can count your true friends on one hand, then you’re a lucky lady according to a new study. Researchers found that women only need four girl friends at any given point in their lives to be happy and well-adjusted. Even though more than half of the 1,000 women between the ages of 18 and 45 surveyed felt that they should have more, four turned out to be the magic number. Why? Because groups of five tend to be the most harmonious. The study also found that within each friend group, the ladies tend to have set roles—like career girl, homemaker, drama queen, party girl, and the shy one. I love this study. When I sat here and counted my besties, there were four! When it comes to friendship, it’s so all about quality over quantity. Sure, I may have 493 friends on Facebook, but most of those people barely know my full name. That’s why I cherish those ladies who know what my childhood pet was named (Mandy) or which guy broke my heart the worst (name withheld). I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for friends whom I can’t share the big stuff with. [And who will give you their heartfelt opinion, straight-up. -- Amelia] [Daily Mail] Keep reading »
Bad news about relationships, folks. They might not be as fun as we think—especially when we are single and we see a canoodling couple. According to a new study, six out of 10 couples are no longer in the honeymoon phase. To be precise, they are fairly miserable and feel their relationship has much room for improvement. Of those six couples, four of them want out and one out of 10 doesn’t even trust their partner anymore. Geez, why even stay together at that point? But the stats get more depressing. Of the 3,000 couples surveyed, 75 percent don’t have sex as often as when they started dating (well, duh), more than 50 percent say that their partner is no longer affectionate, 25 percent say that their sex lives are obligatory, 33 percent say acts of spontaneity have ceased, 13 percent don’t share the same vision for their lives, 19 percent don’t spend enough time together, and seven percent don’t even like each other anymore. Holy relationship sadness! Almost makes you want to stay single … forever. People in a happy relationship, now would be the time to pipe up and offer words of encouragement! After the jump, the top 10 relationship complaints from the survey. Keep reading »
Quick everyone—let’s blame the internet! A report published recently by the Mental Heath Foundation found that nearly 60 percent of people in the U.K. between the ages of 18 and 24 admit to feeling lonely “sometimes” or “often,” while the same applies for only 35 percent of folks over the age of 55. I guess the assumption is that young people in the prime of their lives are supposed to be having the time of their lives so they can spend their 50s talking about it? [Daily Mail]
I don’t know. What went wrong that we’re all at least a little lonely? Yes, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that things have changed since the advent of social networking sites. But there have got to be some other reasons for this shift. Here are 10 I think are particularly salient. Keep reading »
I happen to be very trusting of strangers—I trust that they are trying to screw with me, every chance that they get. But apparently, this is a very male trait—testosterone-packed dudes are not only gifted with strength and aggression, but also cynicism. In a study conducted at Cape Town University, 24 women around the age of 20 were given either testosterone or dummy pills and asked to rate the trustworthiness of strangers’ faces on a scale of -100 to +100. Those who ingested the testosterone pill judged the photos an average of 5% less trustworthy. Testosterone is believed to better prepare a person for competition, the ability to fight for resources, and to “watch their back” for danger. Taking the hormone made the women less open to deception and more vigilant in general. The scientists suggest that, historically, it’s been beneficial for women to be cooperative for survival. But now that we live in this sick, sad world, it might benefit us to pick up some of these testosterone traits. Keep reading »
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