Shankar Vedantam

What Does 'Sexual Coercion' Say About A Society?

Shankar Vedantam — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:04:00 +0000

Anthropologists, sociologists and biologists have explored over several decades many factors that shape the likelihood of sexual coercion of women by men.

Such research cannot, of course, definitively explain the recent case in Cleveland involving Ariel Castro, who has been charged with abducting and raping three women over many years.

Girls May Get More 'Teaching Time' From Parents Than Boys Do

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:40:00 +0000

For some years now, teachers and parents have noted something about boys and girls.

Shhh, The Kids Can Hear You Arguing (Even When They're Asleep)

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:26:00 +0000

For years now, psychologists have been telling couples who yell at one another to stop for the sake of the kids.

What Does Modern Prejudice Look Like?

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:51:00 +0000

Harvard psychologist Mahzarin Banaji was once approached by a reporter for an interview.

To Find Insider Trading, Follow The Kids' Money

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 06:56:00 +0000

In New York and Washington, government regulators are cracking down on insider trading, the illegal practice in which people with internal information about important company events make stock market trades before ordinary investors find out what's happening.

In recent months, regulators have launched a series of high-profile arrests and presidents, we all know people who have done stupid, silly and evil things, then squared their jaws and told the world they've done nothing wrong.

Parents, educators and even public relations flacks have talked at length about the value of coming clean, and there is abundant research on the psychological value of apologizing.

Shift In Gay Marriage Support Mirrors A Changing America

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:14:00 +0000

When Ohio Republican Sen.

Your Child's Fat, Mine's Fine: Rose-Colored Glasses And The Obesity Epidemic

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:24:00 +0000

About 69 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, and more than four in five people say they are worried about obesity as a public health problem.

But a recent poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health revealed a curious schism in our national attitudes toward obesity: Only one in five kids had a parent who feared the boy or girl would grow up to be overweight as an adult.

Put another way, assuming current trends persist, parents of 80 percent of A

Pig Out In The Winter Or When Money's Tight? Blame Evolution

Shankar Vedantam — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:33:00 +0000

Has the recession made you fat?

To the long and growing list of risk factors known to increase the risk of obesity, scientists recently added a new one: scarcity.

People given subtle cues that they may have to confront harsh conditions in the near future choose to eat higher-calorie food than they might do otherwise, a response that researchers believe is shaped by the long hand of evolution.

Evolutionary biologists have long speculated that in prehistoric times, when the blueprint of modern human behavior was created as our ancestors struggled for survival, gluttony may have been a usef

When Crime Pays: Prison Can Teach Some To Be Better Criminals

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:59:00 +0000

In popular lore — movies, books and blogs — criminals who go to prison don't come out reformed.

Elite Colleges Struggle To Recruit Smart, Low-Income Kids

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:31:00 +0000

Across the United States, college administrators are poring over student essays, recommendation letters and SAT scores as they select a freshman class for the fall.

If this is like most years, administrators at top schools such as Harvard and Stanford will try hard to find talented high school students from poor families in a push to increase the socioeconomic diversity on campus and to counter the growing concern that highly selective colleges cater mainly to students from privileged backgrounds.

Top schools often offer scholarships that not only include free tuition, but also free room a

'Stand Your Ground' Linked To Increase In Homicides

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:10:00 +0000

If a stranger attacks you inside your own home, the law has always permitted you to defend yourself. On the other hand, if an altercation breaks out in public, the law requires you to try to retreat. At least, that's what it used to do.

In 2005, Florida became the first of nearly two-dozen states to pass a "stand your ground" law that removed the requirement to retreat. If you felt at risk of harm in a park or on the street, you could use lethal force to defend yourself.

Can Skinny Models Undermine Your Dieting Goals?

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:46:00 +0000

The millions of Americans who make New Year's resolutions to lose weight often have pictures in mind.

They're pictures that have been repeatedly supplied by the health and beauty magazines at supermarket checkout lines. They feature skinny models in bikinis, or toned guys with six-pack abs, and captions about how you could look like this by summer.

Some people go so far as to tape these pictures onto their refrigerators and cupboards.

Why Some Kids Have An Inflated Sense Of Their Science Skills

Shankar Vedantam — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:52:00 +0000

If you're a student at the halfway point of the academic year, and you've just taken stock of your performance, perhaps you have reason to feel proud of yourself.

But a recent study suggests some of the pride you feel at having done well — especially in science — may be unfounded.

Can Murder Be Tracked Like An Infectious Disease?

Shankar Vedantam — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:30:00 +0000

If I asked you to think of a murderer, what's the image that springs to mind?

If you're like most people, you'll probably think of an evil psychopath, or someone bent on revenge. Perhaps you'll see a criminal mastermind, who eliminates rivals on his way to riches.

Do Orchestras Really Need Conductors?

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered whether music conductors actually influence their orchestras?

They seem important. After all, they're standing in the middle of the stage and waving their hands. But the musicians all have scores before them that tell them what to play. If you took the conductor away, could the orchestra manage on its own?

A new study aims to answer this question.

Reading 'Maxim' Can Make You A Target For Thieves

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:19:00 +0000

Some time ago, a man wearing jeans, cowboy boots and a hoodie drove a dirty Ford Explorer into a carwash in Fort Worth, Texas. As soon as the car came back clean, he got it filthy again, and drove to the next carwash. He did this with every single full-service carwash in town.

The man wasn't suffering from a strange mental disorder; Patrick Kinkade was a criminologist conducting an experiment.

Kinkade left a large amount of loose change inside the car each time he dropped it off.

What Earthquakes Can Teach Us About Elections

Shankar Vedantam — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 08:22:00 +0000

In January 2010, more than a year before Mitt Romney had formally announced he was running for president, political historian Allan Lichtman predicted President Obama would be re-elected in 2012.

On Tuesday, Lichtman extended his record of correctly forecasting the winner of the popular vote to eight straight elect

Behind A Halloween Mask, Even 'Good' Kids Can Turn Into Candy Thieves

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:05:00 +0000

Vampires and monsters will be out in force tonight, but some of the darkest creatures out there might be your little angels inside those Halloween costumes.

It's been more than a quarter-century since psychologists discovered that the cloak of anonymity of Halloween costumes gives children license to steal — not just candy, but real money.

A Lively Mind: Your Brain On Jane Austen

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:31:00 +0000

At a recent academic conference, Michigan State University professor Natalie Phillips stole a glance around the room. A speaker was talking but the audience was fidgety. Some people were conferring among themselves, or reading notes. One person had dozed off.

Phillips, who studies 18th- and 19th-century literature, says the distracted audience made something pop in her head. Distractability is a theme that runs through many novels of Jane Austen, whom Phillips admires.

Why Pictures Can Sway Your Moral Judgment

Shankar Vedantam — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 07:28:00 +0000

When we think about morality, many of us think about religion or what our parents taught us when we were young.

Five Ways To Spot A Fake Online Review, Restaurant Or Otherwise

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:39:00 +0000

Thinking of going to a nice restaurant? Before you decide, you probably go online and read reviews of the place from other customers (or you listen to these actors read them to you). Online reviews of restaurants, travel deals, apps and just about anything you want to buy have become a powerful driver of consumer behavior.

Can You Learn While You're Asleep?

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 07:27:00 +0000

If you're a student, you may have harbored the fantasy of learning lessons while you sleep. Who wouldn't want to stick on a pair of headphones, grab some shut-eye with a lesson about, say, Chinese history playing in his ears — and wake up with newly acquired knowledge of the Ming Dynasty?

Sadly, it doesn't work.

Are Independents Just Partisans In Disguise?

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 07:04:00 +0000

Independent voters have grown in recent years into a mega voting bloc. By some estimates they outnumber registered Republicans, and even registered Democrats.

Every election cycle, independents generate enormous amounts of interest as candidates, pollsters and the media probe their feelings. These voters are widely considered to hold the key to most elections.

Independents generally report that neither party fully represents their views.

An Anthropologist Walks Into A Bar And Asks, 'Why Is This Joke Funny?'

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:29:00 +0000

It's Saturday night at the Metropolitan Room, a comedy club in New York City. Host Jimmy Failla is warming up the crowd.

"Where you guys from?" he asks one group in the audience. "Boston? Home of the Red Sox. Personally, we'd prefer you rooted for the Taliban!"

There are 50 or 60 people in the audience, sipping cocktails. Failla has a system. He asks people where they're from. Most are locals.

Would You Rather Win Silver Or Bronze? (Be Careful What You Wish For)

Shankar Vedantam — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:14:00 +0000

Both athletes were U.S. swimmers, both were dripping wet after finishing an Olympics final, and both had just won medals.

The first said, "It's not my normal specialty. ... We went out there and raced tough – and just came up a little short."

The second had a beaming face. He said, "[I] swam my own race. And knew I had a lane, and had an opportunity, and I went for it. It worked out, you know, it's just awesome that I get to go on the podium tonight.

Tie My Shoes, Please: How Persuasion Works

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Marketers, managers and panhandlers all have something in common: They regularly want to make you do things they want. Marketers want you to buy stuff, managers want you to finish projects on time, and panhandlers want you to spare a buck, or three.

Over the years, psychologists have studied the techniques of manipulation and found several that seem to work.

'Stereotype Threat': Why Women Quit Science Jobs

Shankar Vedantam — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:24:00 +0000

Walk into any tech company or university math department, and you'll likely see a gender disparity: Fewer women than men seem to go into fields involving science, engineering, technology and mathematics.

Over the years, educators, recruiters and government authorities have bemoaned the gender gap and warned that it can have dire consequences for American competit

Listening To Parents Key To Financial Responsibility

Shankar Vedantam — Tue, 29 May 2012 06:57:00 +0000

As an increasing number of Americans live into their 80s and 90s, many families are struggling to find ways to make retirement dollars — that were once supposed to support seniors for years — now stretch over decades.

More and more, families have to care for the very elderly, as well as look after children who might be college grads but haven't found a job in a difficult economy.

All this requires one very important thing: lots of money.

Psychologists and other researchers have spent decades studying why some pe

Partisan Psychology: Why Are People Partial To Political Loyalties Over Facts?

Shankar Vedantam — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:42:00 +0000

When pollsters ask Republicans and Democrats whether the president can do anything about high gas prices, the answers reflect the usual partisan divisions in the country.