Friday, May 7th, 2010

Wash Your Hands of That Decision

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A study finds that people making a tough decision may find some solace in washing their hands. Writing this week in the journal Science, researchers report that having test subjects wash their hands after making a difficult decision could reduce 'cognitive dissonance,' the uneasiness that comes from holding two opposing ideas in your mind at the same time. Test subjects who washed their hands after the decision-making test appeared to be more at ease with the choices made during the experiment. We'll talk about the finding, and what it tells us about the human mind.

Guests

Spike Lee
Graduate Student
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Segment produced by:Christopher Intagliata

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Support for Science Friday provided in part by the Noyce Foundation
and
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The National Science Foundation
Research Corporation for Science Advancement