Stats and Curiosities. Harvard Business Review

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      moral sentiments seem to arise from a single molecule

      An infusion of the neurohormone oxytocin into research participants’ noses increased their generosity 80% in an experimental game, suggesting that this molecule is responsible for humans’ moral sentiments, says Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University. A previous study showed that an oxytocin infusion can more than double the number of subjects who trusted a stranger with all their money.

      to your

      health

      These days, we’re inundated with health advice from sources as diverse as newspapers, doctors’ bulletin boards, and fortune cookies. But only here will you learn that forcing yourself to smile by gripping chopsticks in your teeth might reduce your stress level, as is suggested by Tara L. Kraft and Sarah D. Pressman of the University of Kansas. What this behavior might do to your coworkers’ stress levels is a subject for further research.

      the effect of college drinking is like having a bad teacher

      Drinking alcohol depresses college students’ academic performance by roughly the same amount as having a bad professor for an entire semester, according to a team led by Scott E. Carrell of the University of California, Davis. In a study of students at the US Air Force Academy, where underage drinking is tightly controlled, the researchers found that performance dropped by one-tenth of a standard deviation after students turned 21 and were allowed to drink, an effect that lasted 8 months and, surprisingly, was most pronounced for the best students.

      thoughts of organic food reduce your desire to be helpful

      People who viewed images of food labeled “organic” made harsher moral judgments about others’ behavior and volunteered 6 minutes less of their time to help someone out, compared with people who viewed nonorganic foods, says Kendall J. Eskine of Loyola University New Orleans. The findings suggest that morality and “ethical” foods occupy the same conceptual “space” in people’s minds, with the result that exposure to organic foods helps people affirm their moral identities and reduces their desire to be altruistic, Eskine says.

      a simple pain reliever reduces hurt feelings

      Daily doses of acetaminophen taken by undergraduates over the course of 3 weeks alleviated hurt feelings from social rejection, according to Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky. Humans’ social-pain system functions much like the physical-pain system; nevertheless, more research is needed on whether any analgesic is an effective means of treating social pain, DeWall says.

      south korea’s mass pardons of traffic offenders led to more accidents

      Since 1995, 4 presidents of South Korea have issued mass pardons to drivers who had lost their licenses because of drunk driving, vehicular homicide, and other violations. About 24.6 million people, more than 10% of the country’s population, have benefited from these populist gestures, but the pardons increased traffic accidents by an average of 4.3% in the subsequent years, says a team led by Youngsun Kwon of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Arbitrary and irrelevant pardons can be considered an abuse of clemency power, the researchers suggest.

      dad’s layoff diminishes baby’s birth weight

      The birth weights of babies born after their fathers lose their jobs are 4.7% lower, or about 5 ounces less, than those of employed dads’ babies, according to Jason M. Lindo of the University of Oregon. In a study of American fertility data from 1968 to 1997, Lindo says the effect may be due to factors such as the reduced food expenditures that result from lower family income and the stress experienced by moms who work more actively after their husbands are laid off.

      social participation provides the same happiness boost as a gigantic raise

      Regular participation in clubs and other social activities increases happiness to the same degree as doubling one’s income or obtaining a college degree, according to Harvard’s Robert D. Putnam, as reported by Chris M. Herbst of Arizona State University. Evidence indicates that social connectedness has a powerful influence not only on happiness but also on self-reported health, Herbst says.

      forcing yourself to smile can reduce stress

      The heart rates of people who were recovering from the stress of tracing a star with their non-dominant hands were 7% slower if they gripped a pair of chopsticks in their teeth in such a way as to force themselves to smile, say Tara L. Kraft and Sarah D. Pressman of the University of Kansas. While the researchers acknowledge that the generalizability of their findings is questionable given the artificiality of the setting, they say the study shows there are physiological and psychological benefits from maintaining a positive facial expression during stress.

      the presence of happy people appears to raise suicide risk

      Countries and US states with higher happiness levels tend to have higher suicide rates, says a team of researchers led by Mary C. Daly of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. For example, Utah is ranked number 1 in life satisfaction but has the 9th-highest suicide rate, whereas New York, ranked 45th in satisfaction, has the lowest suicide rate in the United States. Unhappy people may become suicidally distressed by others’ contentment, the researchers suggest.

      the unemployed exercise more, but get less exercise

      Working people expend more physical energy than the unemployed, even though they spend an average of 27% fewer minutes exercising each day because of the demands of their jobs, according to Gregory J. Colman of Pace University and Dhaval M. Dave of Bentley University. In a study of thousands of US workers, the researchers found that after employees are laid off, their total daily physical exertion declines between 21% and 24%, despite increased levels of recreational exercise.

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