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Two-thirds of romantic couples start out as friends, study finds

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Movies and television often show romance sparking when two strangers meet. Real-life couples, however, are far more likely to begin as friends. Two-thirds of romantic relationships start out platonically, a new study in Social Psychological and Personality Science finds.

This friends-first initiation of romance is often overlooked by researchers. Examining a sample of previous studies on how relationships begin, the authors found that nearly 75 percent focused on the spark of romance between strangers. Only eight percent centered on romance that develops among friends over time.

“There are a lot of people who would feel very confident saying that we know why and how people choose partners and become a couple and fall in love, but our research suggests that is not the case,” says lead author Danu Anthony Stinson, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria, Canada. [Read more…] about Two-thirds of romantic couples start out as friends, study finds

Not enough women and minorities apply for a job? Change the recruitment committee

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Amid calls for racial and social justice nationwide, businesses and educational institutions are grappling with how to adopt more inclusive organizational practices, including more diversified hiring.

However, recruitment teams and strategic leaders often blame their lack of a diverse workforce on a lack of diverse applicants.

A large study of recruitment data suggests a simple and efficient way of increasing diversity in applicant pools: have more diverse recruitment committees and leadership teams. [Read more…] about Not enough women and minorities apply for a job? Change the recruitment committee

Rude behavior at work not an epidemic, new study shows

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Rude behavior at work has come to be expected, like donuts in the breakroom. Two decades of research on employee relationships shows that 98 percent of employees experience rude behavior at work, but now a new study suggests a large majority of workplace relationships are not characterized by rudeness.

Isolated incidents of rude behavior at work, although somewhat common, do not point to widespread incivility between employees and their colleagues, according to a new UCF study.

“Because prior research suggests workplace mistreatment is harmful and widespread, it is often called an epidemic, but our findings show that rude behavior is less like the flu and more like cholera,” says Shannon Taylor, an associate professor of management and co-author of the report. [Read more…] about Rude behavior at work not an epidemic, new study shows

The job you want versus the job you get

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When it comes to career aspirations for teenagers, a University of Houston psychology researcher believes it’s best to shoot for the moon, so you can at least land in the stars. The truth is the moon may sometimes be unreachable.

In the Journal of Career Assessment, Kevin Hoff, assistant professor of psychology, reports the existence of important discrepancies between young people’s dream jobs and employment realities.

“Almost 50% of adolescents aspired to investigative or artistic careers, which together account for only 8% of the U.S. labor market,” reports Hoff, whose research examined the career aspirations of 3,367 adolescents (age 13-18 years) from 42 U.S. states. Investigative jobs include those in the field of science and research. [Read more…] about The job you want versus the job you get

Anti-gay statements trigger elevated stress in lesbian, gay and bisexual study participants

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Previous research has suggested that the stress of discrimination may play a role in the development of health problems that disproportionately affect lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals.

A study published today finds that when lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are exposed to even mild anti-gay prejudice, it triggers bodily changes such as increases in blood pressure that can contribute to heart disease.

“This study provides strong evidence that when LGB people experience anti-gay prejudice, their bodies respond with increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and in the stress hormone cortisol,” David M. Huebner, a professor of prevention and community health at the George Washington University and lead author of the study, said. [Read more…] about Anti-gay statements trigger elevated stress in lesbian, gay and bisexual study participants

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Study: A quarter of adults don’t want children – and they’re still happy

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Parenting is one of life’s greatest joys, right? Not for everyone. New research from Michigan State University psychologists examines characteristics and satisfaction of adults who don’t want children.

As more people acknowledge they simply don’t want to have kids, Jennifer Watling Neal and Zachary Neal, both associate professors in MSU’s department of psychology, are among the first to dive deeper into how these “child-free” individuals differ from others.

“Most studies haven’t asked the questions necessary to distinguish ‘child-free’ individuals – those who choose not to have children – from other types of nonparents,” Jennifer Watling Neal said. [Read more…] about Study: A quarter of adults don’t want children – and they’re still happy

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Bed sharing does not lead to stronger infant-mother attachment or maternal bonding

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New research led by the University of Kent has found that there is no link between bed sharing, infant-mother attachment, and infant behavioural outcomes.

Contrary to previous beliefs that bed sharing is beneficial (or even required) for babies to develop a secure attachment style and for mothers to develop a strong bond to their baby, researchers have found that it is neither associated with positive or negative outcomes related to infant attachment and maternal bonding.

There is a lot of controversial debate about bed sharing by parents and the infant sleep literature, in particular. Notably, researchers and practitioners recommend against bed sharing, particularly before four months of age due to the increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). [Read more…] about Bed sharing does not lead to stronger infant-mother attachment or maternal bonding

Men make more extreme choices and decisions, find scientists

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This is the main finding of new research involving more than 50,000 participants in 97 samples, published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

The findings show that the more extreme choices and decisions of men can be both positive and negative.

“The question of whether men and women make systematically different choices and decisions is one on the most fundamental (and controversial) questions in psychological research,” Associate Professor Stefan Volk from the University of Sydney Business School said. [Read more…] about Men make more extreme choices and decisions, find scientists

When to release free and paid apps for maximal revenue

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Researchers from Tulane University and University of Maryland published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the dynamic interplay between free and paid versions of an app over its lifetime and suggests a possible remedy for the failure of apps.

The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Managing the Versioning Decision over an App’s Lifetime” and is authored by Seoungwoo Lee, Jie Zhang, and Michel Wedel.

Is it really over for paid mobile apps? The mobile app industry is unique because free apps are much more prevalent than paid apps in most app categories, contrary to many other product markets where free products primarily play a supportive role to the paid products. [Read more…] about When to release free and paid apps for maximal revenue

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A new replication crisis: Research that is less likely to be true is cited more

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Papers in leading psychology, economic and science journals that fail to replicate and therefore are less likely to be true are often the most cited papers in academic research, according to a new study by the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management.

Published in Science Advances, the paper explores the ongoing “replication crisis” in which researchers have discovered that many findings in the fields of social sciences and medicine don’t hold up when other researchers try to repeat the experiments.

The paper reveals that findings from studies that cannot be verified when the experiments are repeated have a bigger influence over time. The unreliable research tends to be cited as if the results were true long after the publication failed to replicate. [Read more…] about A new replication crisis: Research that is less likely to be true is cited more