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Melissa Dahl

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  1. friendship
    A Small But Deeply Sad Detail in That New Study on Facebook and Friendship“Public-health interventions urging people to go out and try to make more friends may have no effect on health.”
  2. science of us
    It Is Stupidly Important to Plan Your Election-Day LogisticsThree very specific questions to ask yourself.
  3. It Seems a Lot of Dying People See Visions of Their Mothers“Anybody who works in hospice will tell you that it’s really common.”
  4. Empathy Is Nice, But It’s Not Exactly NecessaryYou don’t need to feel someone else’s emotions — you just need to care about them.
  5. the office
    Apparently, There Are 13 Giveaways That You Are About to Quit Your JobThey are more subtle than you think.
  6. Give In to the Soothing Futility of the ‘Placebo Button’Elevator door-close buttons, office thermostats, and more.
  7. the office
    The Worst Work Distraction Is a Noisy Co-workerYou are not the only one who feels this way.
  8. Somewhere Along the Way, HIV’s ‘Patient O’ Became ‘Patient Zero’Patient O became Patient Zero, and Patient Zero became Gaetan Dugas.
  9. the brain
    Here Is a New and Very Complicated Excuse for Why You’re Always LateThis could work.
  10. You Don’t Have to Stop Power PosingIf power posing before a scary meeting or job interview has helped you, by god, keep right on doing it.
  11. This Wells Fargo Employee Was So Stressed She Started Guzzling Hand SanitizerShe drank “at least a bottle a day” to cope with her workplace anxiety.
  12. Everyone Wants to Believe That Reading Good Books Will Make You a Good PersonThe studies on this just keep piling up.
  13. And Now, Please Enjoy These 9 Photos of Animals Being WeirdSomething called the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was announced this week. Maybe 2016 isn’t all terrible.
  14. A Leading Autism Organization Is No Longer Searching for a ‘Cure’What the change means for a group with a “very troubled history.”
  15. If You Run Fast Enough You Can Shut Your Mind Up for a WhileA neuroscientist explains the cognitive effects of high-intensity workouts.
  16. A Little Loneliness Can Be a Very Good ThingIf you use it correctly, that is.
  17. the science of dreams
    If Your Uncontrollable Life Is Making You Anxious, Try Controlling Your DreamsSome scientists believe that lucid dreaming may be useful as a therapeutic tool.
  18. If Only Kids Knew How Bad Adults Are at Spotting Their LiesThis would’ve been nice to know a little earlier in life.
  19. It Seems That ‘Learning Styles’ Are Probably a MythAnd yet the idea sure feels like it makes sense.
  20. Apparently Dogs Can Tell Time With Their NosesEach day wears a new smell, and its hours mark changes in odors that only your dog is noticing.
  21. personality
    The World Looks Different When You’re Speaking a Second LanguageA new memoir lends a fresh perspective to one of the great mysteries of modern linguistics.
  22. This Harvard Psychologist Is Tirelessly Investigating Workplace AwkwardnessHer latest research provides some helpful advice for job seekers.
  23. Brain-Training Games Probably Don’t Work, So Here’s What to Do InsteadThere are ways to improve your cognitive functioning that do not involve staring at a screen.
  24. Here Is Amy Cuddy’s Response to Critiques of Her Power-Posing ResearchIt has likely been a long week for the power-posing guru.
  25. Why People Love(d) Power Posing: A Science of Us ConversationThis is a bomb going off in the center of the thought leadership–industrial complex.
  26. ‘Whisper Porn’ Has Apparently Stopped Working for Some PeopleSome theories on ASMR immunity.
  27. An Idea: Let’s Get Rid of Middle SchoolA big new study suggests kids would be better off in K–8 schools.
  28. You Can Inherit LonelinessBut it’s complicated.
  29. pets
    Pit Bulls Turn Out to Be Unexpectedly ChillChihuahuas, on the other hand, are tiny tough guys.
  30. Every Hangover Cure Is a LiePrevention is the only cure.
  31. Your Job Interviewer Is Judging You by Your Terrible Small-Talk SkillsConcerning.
  32. motivation
    Get Yourself to Do Stuff by Appealing to Your Own Sense of PrideIn a new book, a researcher argues that pride is the secret key to motivation.
  33. The Obscure Ultra-Endurance Sport Women Are Quietly DominatingAn intriguing twist on an old theory about extreme endurance events.
  34. The Annoying Psychology of How Your Friends Influence the Beer You OrderThe small and dumb ways people signal their uniqueness.
  35. You Will Probably Refuse, But I Wonder If You Would Read This PostFour magic words that get people to think doing the thing you want them to do was their idea.
  36. You Were Born to Run (But Only When Forced To)“It is natural and normal to be physically lazy,” argues a Harvard biologist.
  37. Most People With Depression Are Not Being Treated for ItAccording to a big new study.
  38. People Tend to Accidentally Waste Their Precious Time Off From WorkBrief advice about what to do (and what not to do), in order to have a better weekend.
  39. It Seems Your Own Circadian Rhythm Is Helping You Sabotage YourselfThis is annoying.
  40. September Is Your Second-Chance JanuaryThe psychology of fresh starts.
  41. These Noble Scientists Want to Help Dogs Live LongerPlease give them any and all funding they require.
  42. love
    The 5 Love Languages Is Popular Because It Helps You Read Your Partner’s MindWhy does an evangelical Christian book published in the 1990s continue to captivate today?
  43. How to Motivate Your Employees: Give Them Compliments and PizzaGive the people what they want. (And what they want is pizza.)
  44. You’re Not Supposed to Be Happy All the TimeThis sounds incredibly depressing, but doesn’t have to be.
  45. Another Reason to Be Smug About Your Superior Taste in BooksReading literature may help you “read” people, too.
  46. If Making New Friends Seems Too Hard, Try Reviving a Dormant Friendship InsteadMaybe we’re overthinking this.
  47. You Should Copy This 100-Year-Old To-do List ModelIt’s super simple. That’s the whole point.
  48. A (Fake) Terms-of-Service Contract Asked People to Give Up Their FirstbornSurprise! Almost no one noticed.
  49. This Study Got People to Make Huge Life Decisions by Flipping a CoinAnd those who made the big change were happier for it.
  50. Your Vacation Will Feel Longer If You Don’t Plan It to DeathEverybody chill.
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