Image: Flickr/tifotter
For scientists, an answer to a question, or solution to a problem, is not true until proven so. And sometimes that means revealing what mere mortals already knew, like, say the fact that getting to the hospital quicker can save heart-attack victims, or, the seemingly far-fetched idea that exercise is good for you.
Here are a few of the most obvious findings of 2012.
1. Good partners make good parents
Perhaps not the most shocking news in the world: Marry a good, secure partner, and you can expect them to become a good, secure parent.
The same skills that make people good in romantic relationships make them good at building relationships with their kids, researchers reported Dec. 6 in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Among the key traits are cooperation and communication. [10 Scientific Tips for Raising Happy Kids]
While this may seem self-evident, researchers say that empirically linking the same skills to the two types of relationships may translate to better self-help and therapy. Fix one relationship, and you may fix them both.
2. We all want to date a hottie
Sure, you may say you look for a good sense of humor and a sweet disposition, but deep down, you have to admit a pretty face wouldn't go amiss.
Both men and women unconsciously desire a sexually attractive partner, a study released in January found.
Using a high-speed word association test, the researchers found that people responded faster to words linked to sexiness, no matter how low they claimed to prioritize the physical. The mismatch between what we say we want and what we want may be why online dating meet-ups sometimes go astray, the researchers said.
3. Pre-gamers drink more
Do the math: If you drink before you go out and then drink while you go out, you end up drinking more than if you hadn't had anything to drink before you went out. In other words, those who "pre-game" get drunker than those who just belly up to the bar, according to research published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"Pre-drinking is a pernicious drinking pattern that is likely to lead people to cumulate two normal drinking occasions — one off-premise followed by one on-premise — and generally results in excessive alcohol consumption," study researcher Florian Labhart of Addiction Switzerland, where the study was conducted, said in a statement. "Excessive consumption and adverse consequences are not simply related to the type of people who pre-drink, but rather to the practice of pre-drinking itself."
4. People with more experience make better decisions
Okay, so pre-drinking is a bad decision — and thus, a choice the more experienced would automatically avoid, according to a study released in December in the journal Organizational Decision Making and Human Decision Processes. People with more experience in a field (in this case, basketball or designer goods), were better at making intuitive judgments about that field than newbies, the study found. But the experienced were no better at making decisions than amateurs when told to reason out their choices analytically. In other words, it’s okay to go with your gut — but only if you know what you're talking about.
5. Keeping guns out of the hands of troubled individuals saves lives
In a report that would tragically prove very timely this year, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found that keeping guns away from high-risk individuals prevents gun violence. These individuals include criminals, those with a history of domestic violence, the mentally ill, people under age 21 and substance abusers.
The report also found that the availability of high-capacity magazines increased deaths in mass shootings. [The 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors]
"Mass shootings bring public attention to the exceptionally high rate of gun violence in the U.S., but policy discussions rarely focus on preventing the daily gun violence that results in an average of 30 lives lost every day," said study author Daniel Webster, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. "Addressing weaknesses in existing gun laws by expanding prohibitions for criminals, perpetrators of domestic violence, youth, and drug abusers, and closing the loopholes that allow prohibited persons to obtain guns can be effective strategies to reduce gun violence. It is important to note that making these changes to our gun laws would not disarm law-abiding adults."
6. Exercise is good for you
If you haven't heard by now that getting moving is good for you, you might want to get with the times. Perhaps also not new news to those who enjoy a good endorphin buzz: Exercise improves mental health as well as physical.
A study published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science in September found that both the improved body image that came with exercise and the social interaction inherent in organized sports made teens less likely to suffer from mental problems such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse. The study controlled for factors such as socioeconomic background, age and gender.
7. Calling an ambulance improves heart attack survival
Think you're having a heart attack? Dial 911. Believe it or not, paramedics really do save lives.
Research presented at the Acute Care Cardiac Congress in October found that only 29 percent of Turkish patients having heart attacks went to the hospital by ambulance, despite the fact that this service is free in Turkey. Taking a cab or driving one's own car was slower than an ambulance ride and delayed crucial treatment, the study found.
8. Guys are more into their girl friends than vice versa
Apparently some stereotypes about guys and sex are true. It turns out that college-age guys report more sexual interest in their platonic female friends than vice versa, though these crushes are usually described as more of a burden than a boon. [Busted! 6 Gender Myths in the Bedroom & Beyond]
In post-college-age adults, about half of the participants in the study, which was released in May, spontaneously mentioned attraction as a burden to their cross-sex friendships. Nevertheless, study researchers said, male-female friendships can be successful.
9. Smoking a lot of pot can make your mind fuzzy
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14 Comments
Add CommentMy favorite is #9; #9; #9.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGee, I thought this was a real science magazine, not "Science for Dummies". None of these items are even remotely new or interesting for anyone into science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthats why its called "12 Obvious Science Findings of 2012"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisits tongue in cheek. maybe you could use "English for Dummies"
"None of these items are even remotely new or interesting for anyone into science."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd yet they were all subject to scientific study by people that get paid to do science this year. Perhaps #13 should be, "despite thousands of years of evolution and being the smartest animal on the planet there is still no point that doesn't go way over at least one person's head"?
Is there a study on the existance of "common sense"?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can´t believe this has been posted. It is really way below a relevant level of information and novelty
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is not clear to me that calling an ambulance in Turkey would necessarily result in faster treatment than getting a friend to drive you to the hospital. I'm not saying that it wouldn't, just that it is not necessarily true.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis study supports the notion that in Turkey as elsewhere calling an ambulance is the better choice. The fact that the majority of Turks do not use ambulances suggest that this proficiency may be a new development.
Interesting study.
While I am aware that exercise is good for me it is nice to have documented studies to show that regular participation in organized sports is good for the mental health of teens.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSuch studies can be useful when applied in discussions of choices to be made in cutback to school programs. I.E. keep a sports program to help the general mental health or retain specialist counselors to deal with aftermath of lack of physical activity.
What an odd choice of photo to use for this story. And it's my photo of my pet duck, no less. What is the point of this photo for this story? Random.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, Duh.....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCommon sense is still a very rare commodity
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA great mind once said that 'There are two thing that are infinite. The Universe & human stupidity'
30 lives lost every day, by PEOPLE shooting guns.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a very biased short sighted view & and a misdirection.
What about the number of people killed by cars ?
Oh! i'm sorry cars don't kill people IT'S THE IDIOT DRIVERS WHO DO !!!
As was written (tongue in cheek?) in a recent article in the Toronto Star by Susan Delacourt, "Cigarettes don't kill people, people who smoke cigarettes kill people.".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article was "We could learn a lot about gun control from the war on smoking" and can be read here:
bit.ly/UsQLWy
The rising time of the sun and moon are still measured. You can never know too much about anything. And despite the obviousness of the titles, we don'tknow that much about the topics (otherwise I'd be out with a hottie each Friday!)
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