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Parking Behavior May Reflect Economic Drive

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: OK, what you're about to hear might make you think very differently next time you park your car. And maybe that's something you're about to do...

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The Poor Don't Always Benefit From Democracy, Mortality Rates Show

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: The U.S. government expends huge amounts of money and effort trying to spread democracy around the world. Americans do generally believe that...

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What's In A Name? It Could Matter If You're Writing To Your Lawmaker

In recent years, social scientists have tried to find out whether important decisions are shaped by subtle biases. They've studied recruiters as they decide whom to hire. They've studied teachers,...

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Fear Of Blowing Big Calls May Affect How Umpires Do Their Jobs

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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Why Your Brain Wants To Help One Child In Need — But Not Millions

Why do people sometimes give generously to a cause — and other times give nothing at all?That's a timely question, because humanitarian groups fighting the Ebola outbreak need donations from people in...

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Study Shows Long-Term Benefits Of Welfare Program

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Here's a reality of public policy. You know, government programs that affect the economy or public safety or individual's lives. The reality...

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Invasive Surgery May Motivate Patients To Adopt Healthier Behaviors

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: If you ever get surgery, you will want to know how effective the procedure is going to be. Is it going to fix your problem? And if it does,...

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Study Shows Riding The Quiet Car Is Crushing Your Spirit

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Many of us have some way to occupy ourselves on our commute. We may sip a cup of coffee in the drink holder. We may listen to the radio. If...

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Why Our Feelings Toward Some African-Americans Change On MLK Day

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: We will be celebrating the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this Monday. This is also a time when many people stop to...

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How TV Show Finales Affect The Stock Market

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: So what happens now now that "Mad Men" is over? This is a real question that researchers have studied, and NPR's social science correspondent...

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Attempt To Get More People On Board With Organ Donation Backfires

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Many patients in the United States die because there are not enough organs available for transplantation. This is because compared to many...

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Nice Kids Finish First: Study Finds Social Skills Can Predict Future Success

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Put yourself, for a moment, with a bunch of kindergartners. Then try and predict which one of them might finish college and get a good job...

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The Unintended Consequences Of A Program Designed To Help Homeowners

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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The Thrill Of (Near) Victory

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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Despite Improving Job Market, Blacks Still Face Tougher Prospects

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The outlook for jobs has been growing better over the last few years, but there are still many young people looking for work. And things have...

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Do E-Signatures Change How People Think Of Documents?

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Let's talk about a side effect of technology. Many people can use e-signatures. You know, you're given a form. It's sent to you online. You...

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Too Sweet, Or Too Shrill? The Double Bind For Women

Fewer than 1 in 5 members of Congress are women. At Fortune 500 companies, fewer than 1 in 20 CEOs are women. And if you look at all the presidents of the United States through Barack Obama, what are...

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Why Does This Election Have Us So Down? Social Science May Have An Answer

Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit MARTIN, HOST: It's no secret that this presidential campaign season has been tense, with disagreement and rancor even louder than usual. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED...

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What Happened? How Pollsters, Pundits And Politics Got It Wrong

The election of Donald Trump came as a shock to many Americans, but perhaps most of all to those in the business of calling elections. The pollsters on both the left and the right had confidently...

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How 'Broken Windows' Helped Shape Tensions Between Police And Communities

As the mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani was a proponent of a controversial policing philosophy known as "broken windows." It calls for police to go after small crimes, in hopes of preventing...

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