Shankar Vedantam

Bans Of Same-Sex Marriage Can Take A Psychological Toll

Shankar Vedantam — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:03:00 +0000

As the country awaits two important Supreme Court decisions involving state laws on same-sex marriage, a small but consistent body of research suggests that laws that ban gay marriage — or approve it — can affect the mental health of gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans.

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