Smarts vs. Struggle: Cultural Perceptions of Learning
Yesterday NPR’s Morning Edition included a segment by Alix Spiegel about cultural differences in approaches to teaching and learning. Researchers have found interesting differences in how teachers and...
View ArticleComparing Official and Supplemental Poverty Rates
This month the Census Bureau released a supplemental poverty report to provide a broader picture of the poor in the U.S. The official poverty rate is based on a measure developed in the early 1960s....
View ArticleGender in the Hidden Curriculum (UPDATE)
The hidden curriculum refers to the unspoken and unofficial norms, behaviors, and values that kids learn at school in addition to the official curriculum of math, reading, science, and so on. These can...
View Article5-Hour Energy Acknowledges the Second Shift
Sociologists Arlie Hochschild and Anne Machung used “the second shift” to refer to the responsibilities of childcare and housework borne disproportionately by women, in addition to their paid labor. A...
View ArticleGirls vs. Boys “Laptops”: Guess Which Does More?
Back in 2009, Lisa posted about microscopes and telescopes in a Toys’R'Us catalog. In both cases, the pink version was the least powerful option. Reader Claudia, who lives in Ireland, found a similar...
View Article“Africa for Norway” Challenges Perceptions of Africa
Today we have an important public service announcement for you from Radi-Aid: Africa for Norway. The campaign has released a song and accompanying music video, imploring Africans to donate radiators to...
View ArticleExpectations and Perception
A couple of months back I posted a video that illustrated the way that our expectations shape our perceptions. In it, Jimmy Kimmel gave people an iPhone 4 but told them it was an iPhone 5. Believing...
View ArticleRegional Variation in Support for Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S.
Over the past couple of years, the U.S. appears to have finally reached a tipping point regarding attitudes toward same-sex marriage. In polls from a variety of organizations over the last two years,...
View ArticleGun Ownership & Political Affiliation
Since the school shooting last Friday, intense attention has focused on gun ownership in the U.S., as well as the likelihood of real changes in gun regulation. Nate Silver posted about characteristics...
View ArticleHow Do We Define a Family?
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. In Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and Americans’ Definitions of Family, released last month, authors Brian Powell,...
View ArticleGender and Biased Perceptions: Scientists Rate Job Applicants
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. Originally cross-posted at Ms. Larry H., Shayna A.-S., and Laura F. sent in a recently released study, “Science...
View ArticleChild Labor and the Social Construction of Childhood
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. Today, most people in the U.S. see childhood as a stage distinct from adulthood, and even from adolescence. We...
View Article“I Fancy the Lead Singer”: Bands, Fans, and Gender
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. In “Rock in a Hard Place: Grassroots Cultural Production in the Post-Elvis Era,” William Bielby discusses the...
View ArticleMale Affection in Vintage Photos
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. Today in the U.S., one of the major rules of masculinity is that men must avoid physical intimacy with each other...
View ArticleMyths and the Media: A Case Study
For the last week of December, we’re re-posting some of our favorite posts from 2012. This morning NPR aired a segment on media stories about the “boomerang generation,” college-educated children who...
View ArticlePublic Opinion about Abortion 40 Years after Roe v. Wade
Yesterday was the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the landmark case establishing women’s right to an abortion (though not an...
View ArticleA Breakdown of Televised Football Broadcasts
In honor of yesterday’s game, we’re re-posting two of our favorite football-related posts. This one and one about a young team that confused its opponent by deviating from the football script without...
View ArticleGreenwashing Water Use in Vegas
Greenwashing refers to efforts to present products or practices as environmentally friendly while making only minimal efforts to really reduce negative environmental impacts. I saw a great example of...
View ArticleYour Brain on Porn
In this short video, Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown of AsapSCIENCE discuss the neurological processes behind porn addiction. High levels of porn consumption, they argue, can create a feedback loop...
View ArticleWhat Was in the 1941 College Woman’s Closet?
Originally posted in 2010. Re-posted in honor of Women’s History Month. The New York Public Library posted a page from the first issue (September 1941) of Design for Living: The Magazine for Young...
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More Pages to Explore .....