Don’t believe everything you see on the telly. In a recent study by the Medical University of Vienna’s Center for Public Health, researchers asked 322 participants about their TV viewing habits, and found that the more the volunteers watched, the higher their probability of believing fiction as fact. “For example, people who watch a lot of television often overestimate the number of people in those professions that are frequently portrayed on television, such as doctors, lawyers or policemen. They also overestimate the probability of being the victim of crime,” says lead author Benedikt Till.
Don’t believe everything you see on the telly. In a recent study by the Medical University of Vienna’s Center for Public Health, researchers asked 322 participants about their TV viewing habits, and found that the more the volunteers watched, the higher their probability of believing fiction as fact. “For example, people who watch a lot of television often overestimate the number of people in those professions that are frequently portrayed on television, such as doctors, lawyers or policemen. They also overestimate the probability of being the victim of crime,” says lead author Benedikt Till.
Grooving in sync
Crank up the radio in your workplace for a mood lift. New research published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that playing happy, upbeat music in the background increases how likely team members are to be cooperative and supportive of one another. “Music is a pervasive part of much of our daily lives, whether we consciously notice it or not,” says Kevin Kniffin, a behavioural scientist at Cornell University and lead author on the paper. He adds that people are more likely to get into sync with one another if they’re listening to music that has a steady beat to it.
The average number of words a native English-speaking adult knows by the age of 20.
