Society & Culture - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 11:58 - 2 Comments
Men who batter think other guys do, too

“With sexual assault the more a man thought it was prevalent the more likely he was to engage in such behavior. If we can correct misperceptions about the prevalence of intimate partner violence, we have a chance to change men’s behavior. If you give them factual information it is harder for them to justify their behavior,” Clayton Neighbors says. (Courtesy: iStockphoto)
U. WASHINGTON (US)—Men who engage in domestic violence consistently overestimate how common such behavior is, and the more they overestimate, the more they engage in abusing their partner. Continue…
Society & Culture - Mar 15, 2010 14:11 - 0 Comments
Shakespeare’s lost work?

The plot of Shakespeare’s lost play, Double Falsehood’s, contains all the ingredients of an intriguing play of both the Elizabethan and 18th-century periods: two contrasting beautiful female protagonists, one lowborn and one of higher birth but not aristocratic, and two contrasting leading men, one, of modest birth, full of honour and probity and the other an aristocratic villain. (Courtesy: U. Nottingham)
U. NOTTINGHAM (UK)—A literary detective who claims to have found evidence of a ‘lost play’ by William Shakespeare has won the backing of the acclaimed Shakespeare publishers, Arden, with the publication of his new book, Double Falsehood, or the Distressed Lovers. Continue…
Society & Culture - Mar 15, 2010 11:17 - 2 Comments
Monkeys like to mix it up

New research shows that capuchin monkeys prefer variety for variety’s sake and are willing to eat food they like less to satisfy their desire for variety. The implications of this simple experiment shed some light on consumer behavior, Dan Ariely says. Above, capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) sharing a food treat. (Credit: Frans de Waal/Wikimedia Commons)
DUKE (US)—Given a choice between spending a token to get their absolute favorite food or spending it to have a choice from a buffet of options, capuchin monkeys will opt for variety. Continue…
Society & Culture - Mar 15, 2010 10:02 - 0 Comments
Can lookalike avatars help us shape up?
Researchers found that study participants who saw their own avatars running were more likely to exercise after they left the lab than participants who saw someone else’s avatar exercising or saw themselves hanging out in a virtual room. They also found that an avatar’s dress influenced attitudes and views toward women. (Courtesy: Stanford)
STANFORD (US)—If you saw a digital image of yourself running on a virtual treadmill, would you feel like going to the gym? Probably so, according to a study showing that personalized avatars can motivate people to exercise and eat right. Continue…
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