Helping Others Improves the Lives and Psychological Well-being of Russians
HSE Researcher Ekaterina Nastina has found that the more often Russians help others (whether loved ones or strangers), the more satisfied they are with their lives. However, if a person is over 50 years of age or if values of social justice are important to him or her, helping family and friends has no significant influence on his or her psychological well-being. On the other hand, pro-social, altruistic behaviour towards strangers is equally beneficial to people of all ages and beliefs. A total of 757 respondents took part in the study. An article containing the results was published in the Sociological Journal.
Light Breezes Improve Moods of Social Media Users
Sergey Smetanin, Research Fellow of the HSE Graduate School of Business, conducted a large-scale analysis to examine the impact of weather conditions on the sentiments expressed by users of the Odnoklassniki (OK) social network. The findings have been published in PeerJ Computer Science. This is the first study of its kind in Russia.
HSE Psychologists Examine Baby Duck Syndrome in Digital Interface Users
Researchers of the HSE Laboratory for Cognitive Psychology of Digital Interfaces Nadezhda Glebko and Elena Gorbunova have examined the so-called ‘Baby Duck Syndrome’—the tendency among digital product users to prefer the the old version of an interface over a new one. The authors compare this phenomenon to similar cognitive biases such as the mere-exposure effect, the endowment effect, and the status quo bias. Their findings are published in Psikhologicheskie Issledovaniya [Psychological Studies].
Defenders in Football Underrated in the Transfer Market
Having analysed the statistics of players in the German Bundesliga, researchers from the HSE University Laboratory of Sports Studies found that the impact of defensive actions by players during a football match is much greater than contribution of such actions to their market value. The results of the study were published in the journal Applied Economics.
Middle Volga Experienced Half as Many Droughts in 20th and 21st Centuries as in 19th Century
These were the findings made by researchers of the HSE Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology and the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Geography. They studied tree rings of Scots pines for an insight into the region's climatic past and published their results in Dendrochronologia.
HSE Researchers Can Now Measure Individual Decision-making Time
HSE researchers have developed an algorithm for estimating individual response preparation period duration. Their approach can help diagnose disruptions in decision-making and motor functions associated with certain diseases. The study findings are published in PLoS ONE. The research was financed by a megagrant from the Russian government as part of the 'Science and Universities' National Project.
HSE Researchers Find Out How to Communicate Health Information More Effectively to Fight COVID-19
Focusing on mortality from the COVID-19 virus is no more effective than calls to wear masks and save lives, but it significantly increases people's anxiety. After conducting an experiment with over 15,000 respondents from 84 countries, an international group of researchers, including scientists from HSE, came to this conclusion. The results of the study have been published in the Affective Science journal.
HSE Scientists Simulate Rogue Waves in Standing Wave Fields
Researchers from the HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod, together with scientists from Australia and Japan, have built a model explaining the occurrence of abnormally high waves on the sea surface. Also known as rogue waves or killer waves, they often lead to accidents in the sea. The study findings are published in Physical Review Letters. The paper was selected as the Editor's Suggestion for its significance, novelty, and wide application. The research was financed by a megagrant from the Russian government as part of the 'Science and Universities' National Project and a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR).
Khanty Dialects Differ More Than Slavic Languages
Idalia Fedotova, researcher at HSE University and the RAS Ivannikov Institute for System Programming, examined lexical differences across Khanty dialects and found that members of this relatively small ethnic group speak three distinct languages—rather than two, as previously thought. The findings are published in Ural-Altaic Studies.
First Cold Atom Chip Presented in Russia
A team of scientists from HSE University, the RAS Institute of Spectroscopy, and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have developed a cold atom chip for devices with high accuracy of measurements. The researchers are currently working to create atomic clocks which could be used on spacecraft and the ISS. The paper has been published in Optics & Laser Technology.