WSU Discovery

Eureka moments from Washington State.

[wsudiscovery]

“The broader impacts of our study include helping policy makers create innovative interventions revealing how and which social structures enable or constrain black men’s IT-related career choices. This research may also be used to sensitize teachers and school counselors to the unique career development needs experienced by black men that can help their recruitment into STEM related careers.”

-K.D. Joshi, Washington State University Carson College of Business professor and lead author of the article “How Do Black Men Succeed in IT Careers: The Effects of Capital.”

[wsudiscovery]

Bolster a New Year’s Resolution

For people making New Year’s resolutions, a question like, “Will I exercise – yes or no?” may be more effective than declaring, “I will exercise.”

According to a recent study spanning 40 years of research, a simple question like that can be a game be a game-changing technique for people who want to influence their own or others’ behavior.

Writing in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, marketing researchers from Washington State University, the University of California, Irvine, the University at Albany, State University of New York, and the University of Idaho examined why the effect occurs. Their findings offer guidance to social marketers, policy makers and others seeking to impact human behavior.

Read more.

[wsudiscovery]

It’s all about ‘me’

THE INFLUENCE OF NARCISSISM ON CUSTOMIZABLE PRODUCTS

Thanks to social media, everyone knows a Sally Selfie or someone who constantly self-promotes. Marketing and psychology researchers say a rising trend in narcissism is cause for retailing and manufacturing firms offering customizable products to rethink their marketing strategies.

In a new study published in the Journal of Retailing, Washington State University marketing professor David Sprott and colleagues suggest that firms should consider customers’ narcissistic tendencies as well as the ability to influence their current states of mind to take advantage of the largely untapped potential of systems that allow customers to design and customize products. 

They focus on the automobile industry to demonstrate how narcissism can be used to enhance marketing strategies. In this industry, firms offer a wide range of options that allow customers to self-design truly unique products. Yet field evidence indicates that few shoppers fully use these systems. For example, most consumers select standard colors (black or white) rather than customize a car with a unique paint treatment (like volcano red).

Overall, the results showed car buyers with higher levels of narcissism selected significantly more unique and expensive cars, as did consumers in a state of narcissism.

The study coincides with what researchers refer to as a narcissism epidemic. Data shows narcissists rate customizable and personalizable products more favorably and are willing to pay more for them. Thus, the implications of this research could be relevant for a large number of firms. 

Read more about the influence of narcissism on mass-customized products in WSU News.  

[wsudiscovery]

How would you react if you discovered hotels profited from eco-friendly choices you make during your stay, including re-using towels or turning off lights?

Washington State University researchers answer this in a recent study published in the Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and suggest ways hotels can attract eco-minded guests to return.

The bottom line: an eco-friendly reputation must be proven. 

[wsudiscovery]

What color was the t rex? We don’t actually know! 

Fossils don’t tell us a lot about the actual skin color of the t rex. It could have looked like a typical reptile in mottled greens and browns or it could’ve had feathers like a bird. No one knows! 

Read more about the color of a t rex in the latest Dr. Universe column. 

[wsudiscovery]

Whether you realize it or not, stereotypes influence your everyday thinking. These stereotypes influence how we perceive and understand new situations and can explain biases against female managers in the workplace.

Women are constantly told to take charge and be confident, and that gender equality will follow. But what happens if the bias against a female boss is so deeply ingrained in some of her male employees? Will the men find her threatening and become more aggressive when advocating their own interests?

A new study by Ekaterina Netchaeva, Bocconi University; Maryam Kouchaki, Northwestern University; and WSU researcher Leah Sheppard, assistant professor of management in the Carson College of Business, demonstrates women bosses must walk a narrow path to gain the trust and respect of male employees.

The study's co-authors conducted experiments that looked at whether or not men were implicitly threatened by a woman in a supervisory role. Participants completed two cyber-simulated workplace tasks: negotiating a salary and splitting a bonus.

The gender of the manager made a big difference for the several dozen male participants.

Read more in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

[wsudiscovery]

In my country, I once had a dressmaker who turned down clients based on their body size. I was inspired to learn how to sew to meet the needs of these women – and make them realize their body is not wrong, it just requires the right expertise. This will affect their self-confidence and the way they feel about their body size and shape.

Oluwatosin Adelaja, master’s graduate student in the WSU Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles. 

Read more about her work in WSU News. 

[wsudiscovery]

The last few weeks Pullman has been experiencing high temperatures, even reaching into the triple digits last month. To help keep the grizzly bears at the WSU Bear Research Education and Conservation Center cool graduate students made giant ice cubes and fruit flavored pops for the bears. Check it out! 

See the original article in WSU News. 

[astronomicalwonders]

“Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let them live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another.”   ~ Carl Sagan, Cosmos

[wsudiscovery]

Happy Monday everyone! 

[wsudiscovery]

“Musicians use both sides of the brain because the right side can help make sense of a whole situation and the left side can make sense of details.”

Read more about how musicians use both side of their brain in Ask Dr. Universe. 

Listen to Bryson Andres’ full performance of Secrets by One Republic on Youtube.

[wsudiscovery]

Got a chubby mouse on your hands? Well, feeding it extra servings of fruit may help. 

Scientists at WSU have shown that berries, grapes, and other fruits convert excess white fat (the fat that causes obesity) into calorie-burning beige fat. In the study they fed mice high fat diets and then supplemented it with resveratrol, a polyphenol that increases gene expression to help oxidize dietary fats. 

The mice that received the equivalent of 12 ounces of fruit per day for humans gained 40 percent less weight. How ‘bout them apples? 

Read the full study in WSU News. 

[wsudiscovery]

“Winemaking is more sorcery than science

Dean Glawe, a WSU plant pathology professor.

Glawe is studying the wild yeast that grows on grapes in the vineyards. His team has found 55 species so far, and they’ve just begun. 

This yeast can impact how the wine tastes, either making really complex and interesting wine or making pure vinegar. Glawe’s goal is to gain a better understanding of this yeast to help winemakers who are interested in using wild yeast. 

Maybe it’s science, maybe it’s...

Read more about Glawe's research in WSU News.

[wsudiscovery]

“So we thought, ‘Why would so many people around the world be using plant toxins in this very “recreational” way?’ If you look at non-human animals, they do the same thing, and a lot of biologists think they’re doing it to kill parasites.”

- Dr. Ed Hagen, WSU Vancouver anthropologist on why people began using marijuana.

Read Medical marijuana: Hunter-gatherer users have fewer worms in WSU News.

[wsudiscovery]

Humans have a whole history of emotions. One theory is that jealousy might be a “leftover” as humans evolved. Jealousy grows out of fear—especially fear that you might lose something that’s really important to you. Jealousy often brings with it other emotions including anger, fear, or loneliness, too.

Dr. Universe, WSU cat scientist 

Learn more about why humans feel jealousy online on the Ask Dr. Universe website. 

[wsudiscovery]

Fungus to Fuel

Finding moldy food in your fridge is such a pain, but for a few WSU researchers it might be just what they're looking for. 

A team of WSU researchers led by Birgitte Ahring, the director of the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory at WSU Tri-Cities, have found a way to make jet fuel from a common black fungus found on decaying leaves and rotting fruit. The fungus munches on the food and produces hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum. Read more about this research in WSU News.

See the full apple timelapse on Youtube.

[pbsdigitalstudios]

Happy ‪#‎StarWarsDay‬! To celebrate, check out the physics of space battles.

[npr]

May the Fourth Be With You! -Emily

[wsudiscovery]

Happy Monday!

[wsudiscovery]

Just imagine if you were to move across a room packed full of people. You’d be bumping into everyone. You’d also go much slower than if the room were empty. The same is true for photons.

Dr. Universe talking about why stars twinkle. 

Read her entire answer at Ask Dr. Universe.