Hot MedFax

Now this is weird. Do thoughts of death change our shopping habits? According to a new study, yes, they do.  Newswise.com reports that it's not really what you think, but just that, in this time of holiday merriment, it's easy to become really depressed about reports of plane crashes, terrorist attacks, fatal car accidents and deadly fires, which may lead shoppers to think more about their own mortality than buying that new iPhone for your kid. Now new research from the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) and HEC Montréal shows that, for people with certain world views, thoughts of death don't cause us to curl up in our homes and not venture out.  They can actually trigger the buying impulse. While the habits of spendthrifts don't change after contemplating their own mortality, compulsive shoppers, on the other hand, go out and buy more. "Previous research shows that thoughts of death lead individuals to strongly defend world views that maintain ...

I have a friend who posts everything she does -- from the restaurants where she drinks wine (holding up the glass to prove it) to the meals she prepares in her kitchen to the new car she bought with a convertible top (posed with a Santa cap and the top down at Christmas), angling for likes. I guess you would say she's dependent on Facebook Now a new study says that if what drives you to Facebook is feedback on your posts, or even just news, or games, yup.  You're hooked.  But that's not necessarily a bad thing, says Amber Ferris, an assistant professor of communication at The University of Akron's Wayne College. at newswise.com. Ferris, who studies Facebook user trends, says the more people use Facebook to fulfill their goals, the more dependent on it they become. She is quick to explain this dependency is not equivalent to an addiction. Rather, the reason why people use Facebook determines the level of dependency they have on the social network. The study...

I always thought I was a  pretty good writer.  I've won state writing contests since I was 12.  But lately I've been reading some novels and I realized, maybe I'm not all that. That's right in keeping with what a new study has found.  According to newswise.com,  it’s a natural reaction "because we have a hard time accurately evaluating our abilities." People often think they are good at their job or have a talent, such as singing, because of the feedback they receive from employers, family and friends, the Web site reports. "Too often that feedback is vague" and does not offer any suggestions for improvement, it quotes a study expert. "It is much easier to tell someone they are doing a good job instead of being honest and risk hurting their feelings." “This is one reason why we have barriers to self-insight, because oftentimes, even if we get feedback, it’s not accurate,”  Zlatan Krizan, an associate professor of psychology at Iowa ...