Latest news with #behavior
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
The 3 Steps To Take When Dealing With Other People's Annoying Kids, According To A School Psychologist
There's a certain universal experience that transcends age, background and even our best intentions. It's the subtle (or not-so-subtle) cringe, the weary sigh, the fleeting moment of 'Oh, hell no' when faced with the disruptive, disobedient or destructive behavior of someone else's child. Whether it's the out-of-nowhere, ear-piercing shriek in the coffee shop, the relentless toy-banging in the doctor's waiting room or the seemingly endless stream of 'Why?' questions, the feeling that other people's children are annoying is surprisingly common. And if you've ever felt that way, you're definitely not alone. It's not that we're heartless monsters. But there's something about the unbridled enthusiasm, the unfiltered honesty, and the sheer volume of some little humans that can test the patience of even the most even-keeled among us. We may find other people's kids annoying for various reasons, often tied to behavior, expectations or environment. Dr. Matthew Morand, a licensed psychologist, told HuffPost this topic comes up more than people think. His advice? 'Minimize the negative voices in your head.' But how, when you're at your wit's end? Morand's strategy is simple: 'Utilize 'the other shoe' mentality. If I were to count how many times a child has kicked the back of my head on an airplane, I could sue their parents for traumatic brain injury. Most people's responses typically go right for the negative and pass judgment. I ask them, and ask myself, 'Have my children not been the difficult ones?' How can I get angry at that child when I have literally worn the other shoe?' Dr. Kristen Piering, a licensed clinical psychologist, agrees. 'If you're annoyed by a kid out in public, keep in mind that we need kids to experience these places to learn how to engage appropriately in society.' She added, 'Kids are people, too, and can have bad days like anyone else. If they act in a way you find 'annoying,' they may have had a rough day at school or a fight with a friend.' Parents can relate, but what about those of us without kids? Morand says, 'Focus on whether the parent is cognizant of their child's behavior. We can give credit and find a sense of calmness in respecting that parenting is hard, and if that parent is trying to address the behavior, then that is all that really matters.' And sometimes it's not even the kids themselves. It's the parents. The ones who seem blissfully unaware (or just don't care) as their little ones dismantle the local bookstore or treat public spaces as their personal playgrounds (and garbage bins). It's the 'hands-off' approach taken to an extreme, leaving the rest of us to contend with the resulting bedlam. That said, what you see isn't always the whole story. Piering said, 'Not everyone parents the same way, and that's OK. You have no idea what goes on in their home, and something that might seem like an odd parenting choice to you may have come from years of knowing their child and what works best for their child and their family.' So, how do we navigate this minefield of mini-humans without losing our marbles? Perhaps some expert-advised strategies for keeping your sanity intact (even when surrounded by the most lively of children) can help before we pull our hair out. Shira Schwartz, a school psychologist and district administrator, has a three-step rule: 1. Ignore; 2. Redirect; 3. Resist the urge to parent. As for her first rule, Schwartz explains, 'The most annoying behavior is attention-, or, as some like to put it, 'connection-seeking' behavior. When you don't reinforce the behavior, they're far likelier to give up and move onto something or someone else.' Too bad for the 'someone else,' but it does take a village, right? Imagine a park bench where a child repeatedly sings the same off-key song at the top of their lungs, trying to get a rise out of someone. Instead of reacting, a person nearby continues reading their book, seemingly unfazed. Finding no audience, the child soon wanders off to explore the playground. That leads to rule two. Draw the child's attention elsewhere. Whether it's toward something interesting on the other side of the room or giving them a job to do to make them feel important, redirection can be your relief. 'Most kids just want to connect with grown-ups, even grown-ups who aren't theirs,' Schwartz said. Picture yourself at a museum when you spot a restless child pulling on their mom's pant leg. Rather than getting frustrated, the parent directs the child's attention to a mural, asking them to find hidden animals. Excited by the challenge, the child becomes focused and enthusiastic. Later, that same child proudly 'guards' a rope, feeling important. When it comes to resisting the urge to parent (rule 3), it can be a tough one — especially when you know the child is about to go off the rails. But that doesn't mean you have to stay silent. Schwartz points out, 'You're not this kid's parent, but you are still a grown-up with limits and boundaries. It's OK to be direct and say, 'Hey, I don't like that; you need to stop.'' If all else fails, she recommended you close your eyes, take a deep breath and remember you get to leave those little hellions with their lucky parents. Piering is on the same page. 'When they're not your kids, you don't have to go home with them! Kids won't be kids forever and will probably grow out of whatever you happen to find annoying. But even the most annoying of kids still need love, affection and care, and acting displeased or dismissing them won't change their behavior or teach them to act more appropriately.' Remember, our childhoods weren't masterclasses in tranquility, either. We were probably annoying kids, too. So let's offer a sympathetic glance and maybe a well-timed distraction with a shiny object. After all, those little agents of chaos are just preparing for the ultimate test: navigating the world of adulting, which is basically just a giant, slightly more organized tantrum. Before You Give Kids Dark Chocolate, Doctors Want You To Know A Few Things 5 Common Phrases That Financially Shame Kids Joe Jonas Shares Surprising Take On Co-Parenting With Sophie Turner
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Scientists discover mystery genes behind a cat's purr and behaviour
A new study from Kyoto University suggests that cats with a gene type associated with mixed breeds may purr more at their human companions. The study, published in PLoS One, assessed the behavior of 280 spayed or neutered mixed-breed cats and analyzed their DNA, focusing on the androgen receptor gene. Researchers found that cats with the short-type androgen receptor gene showed higher owner-assessed purring, while male cats with this gene exhibited higher vocalization towards humans. Female cats with the short-type gene displayed higher stranger-directed aggression, and mixed-breed cats and rescues tended to meow more, contrasting with pure-breed cats who are more likely to carry the long-type gene. The findings suggest that longer androgen receptor genes in domestic cats may have emerged due to domestication and selective breeding, potentially helping predict house cat behavioral tendencies and enhance feline care.
Fast Company
09-05-2025
- General
- Fast Company
It's easy to design safer streets. City planners just need to care
Psychologist: 'Design influences behavior.' Neuroscientist: 'Design influences behavior.' Uncivil engineer: 'It's not like my road design influences driver behavior.' Every day, preventable crashes are destroying lives because transportation planners and engineers don't understand that design influences behavior. (I'm being charitable by assuming they don't understand.) Drivers respond to the built environment much the same way water responds to a riverbed. The shape, width, and surface conditions of the riverbed determine the water's speed, turbulence, and direction. Likewise, the width of a road, presence of visual cues, curvature, intersections, and surrounding land use dictate how fast, aggressively, or cautiously people drive. The grocery store model If water sounds like too much of a stretch as a comparison, consider a grocery store. If you want to create public spaces that are intuitive and inviting, and encourage people to engage with their surroundings, then the best place to perfect these skills might be the grocery store. Retail giants understand and exploit the fact that design influences how people move through space. A grocery store is a real place where influencing behavior determines whether a business thrives or dies. Store layout is based on the art of persuasion. It's all about creating an environment that encourages customers to buy more products as easily as possible. Any parent knows this, but it's not just about candy at the cash register. Stores large and small invest time and money understanding human behavior, so they know which techniques work the best to influence buying habits. Expectations and habits Our brains are hardwired to react to buildings and spaces based on their visual characteristics. Tragically, those of us in the infrastructure business weren't taught about how psychology and neuroscience directly relate to everything we plan, design, and construct. Street design doesn't just influence behavior—it creates expectations and habits, often without conscious thought. For example: 1. Lane Width. Wide lanes signal to the brain: 'You're safe going fast.' Narrow lanes or painted-edge lanes create a sensation of compression, signaling: 'Stay alert, slow down.' Wider lanes increase speed, which multiplies injury severity rates exponentially when collisions occur. 2. Sight Lines and Curvature. Long, straight sight lines encourage higher speeds. The farther ahead a driver can see, the more they feel they can safely accelerate. Curved roads, particularly in urban contexts, force natural speed modulation because the driver's sight distance shrinks and perceived risk increases. 3. Street Trees and Vertical Elements. Streets with trees, light posts, benches, and buildings close to the curb create a 'street wall,' giving drivers the impression that the space is tight and shared. A bare, wide-open road without vertical edges feels boundless and invites acceleration. Researchers call this 'edge friction.' The more visual complexity and physical containment along the sides of a street, the slower and more carefully people drive. 4. Speed Limits vs. Speed Cues. Posted speed limits are barely noticed if street design suggests otherwise. A street engineered for 45 mph but posted at 25 mph will still see speeds closer to 45 unless strong visual and physical constraints are introduced. Design speed always wins over posted speed. 5. Lighting and Nighttime Design. Overly bright, highway-style lighting often promotes a false sense of security and encourages speeding. Moderate, pedestrian-scale lighting at consistent intervals supports slower, more cautious driving. Subconscious instructions The human brain processes the street as a series of subconscious instructions. The street is constantly whispering to drivers: 'Relax and go fast,' or 'Pay attention and slow down.' No amount of signage or enforcement will undo the basic psychological script written by engineers. Maybe transportation professionals should start their workday by looking at pictures of horrific crashes on streets that followed status quo design. At some point, someone on staff will have the courage to say, 'What if design influences behavior?'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Study Reveals a Simple Technique to Communicate With Your Cat
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways A cat squints its eyes while laying on a bed. Cats have a reputation for aloofness (and flooffiness), but if you and your feline friend aren't bonding, maybe you're just not speaking their language. Never fear – research from 2020 has shown that it's not so difficult. You just need to smile at them more. Not the human way, by baring your teeth, but the cat way, by narrowing your eyes and blinking slowly. By observing cat-human interactions, scientists confirmed that this expression makes cats – both familiar and strange – approach and be more receptive to humans. "As someone who has both studied animal behavior and is a cat owner, it's great to be able to show that cats and humans can communicate in this way," Karen McComb, a University of Sussex psychologist, said in a 2020 statement. "It's something that many cat owners had already suspected, so it's exciting to have found evidence for it." If you've spent any time around cats, you've probably seen their 'partially closed eyes' facial expressions, accompanied by slow blinking. It's similar to how human eyes narrow when smiling and usually occurs when the puss is relaxed and content. The expression is interpreted as a kind of cat smile. Anecdotal evidence from cat owners has hinted that humans can copy this expression to communicate to cats that we are friendly and open to interaction. So, a team of psychologists designed two experiments to determine whether cats behaved differently towards slow–blinking humans. In the first experiment, owners slow-blinked at 21 cats from 14 different households. Once the cat was settled and comfy in one spot in their home environment, the owners were instructed to sit about 1 meter away and slow-blink when the cat was looking at them. Cameras recorded both the owner's and the cat's faces, and the results were compared to how cats blink with no human interaction. The results showed that cats are more likely to slow-blink at their humans after their humans have slow–blinked at them, compared to the no–interaction condition. The second experiment included 24 cats from eight different households. This time, it wasn't the owners doing the blinking but the researchers, who'd had no prior contact with the cat. For a control, the cats were recorded responding to a no–blink condition, in which humans stared at the cats without blinking their eyes. The researchers performed the same slow–blink process as the first experiment, adding an extended hand toward the cat. And they found that not only were the cats more likely to blink back, but they were also more likely to approach the human's hand after the human blinked. "This study is the first to experimentally investigate the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication," McComb said. "And it is something you can try yourself with your own cat at home or with cats you meet in the street. It's a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats. Try narrowing your eyes at them as you would in a relaxed smile, followed by closing your eyes for a couple of seconds. You'll find they respond in the same way themselves, and you can start a sort of conversation." Dogs may be much more enthusiastically demonstrative than cats, but this news isn't a surprise for cat lovers. Research in recent years has shown that our feline friends are much more in tune with their human housemates than previously supposed and that comparing them to dogs is a disservice. Cats, for example, respond in kind to humans who are receptive to them – so if you find cats standoffish, that might be a problem with you, not the kitty. Likewise, cats echo the personality traits of the humans they live with – this may be related to why cats seem to pick up when their humans are sad. They also can recognize their names (although they choose to ignore them a lot of the time). And their bonds with their humans are surprisingly deep. It's difficult to know why cats slow–blink at humans this way. It's been interpreted as a means of signaling benign intentions since cats are thought to interpret unbroken staring as threatening. But it's also possible that cats developed the expression since humans respond positively to it. With domesticated animals, it's often impossible to tell. Either way, it does seem to help forge a rapport. And that's a good thing to know. Learning how to improve our relationships with these enigmatic animals could also be a way to improve their emotional health – not just in the home environment but across a range of potentially stressful situations. "Understanding positive ways in which cats and humans interact can enhance public understanding of cats, improve feline welfare, and tell us more about the socio-cognitive abilities of this under-studied species," said psychologist Tasmin Humphrey of the University of Sussex. "Our findings could potentially be used to assess the welfare of cats in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and shelters." You're going to try it right now, aren't you? The research was published in Scientific Reports. An earlier version of this article was published in October 2020. Related News
