Daily Digest: 3 October 2012

We’ve searched the web for interesting articles, news, resources and tools – so you don’t have to. Below are today’s featured Daily Digest posts:

Reading fiction as a means to greater empathy

For many counselors, retreating into the depths of a novel can often be a much-needed and well-applauded act of self-care. But can reading fiction actually make someone a better counselor? Empathy-focused research in the past few years suggests that this may very well be a possibility. Read more…

Like Humans, Monkeys Can Make Irrational Decisions When Making Choices

When making decisions about the value of an assortment of different objects, people approximate an average overall value, which though frequently useful can lead to apparently irrational decision-making. Read more…

Anonymity may spoil the accuracy of data collected through questionnaires

Thousands of psychology papers are based on data derived from questionnaires that were filled out anonymously. That’s because most psychologists have reasoned that the way to get people to be honest about their practice of undesirable behaviours is to promise them anonymity. Read more…

Is ‘secondhand’ TV taking a toll on kids?

Young children in the United States watch about 80 minutes of television per day, on average. Depending on whether the programming is educational and age-appropriate, all that time in front of the tube can either help or harm their development, research suggests. Read more…

Assemblyman plans to introduce NJ bill to limit ‘conversion’ therapy

New Jersey could become the second state in the nation to limit practitioners of “conversion” counseling, a controversial form of psychological therapy that aims to persuade gay people to adopt a heterosexual identity. Read more…