A roundup of new and noteworthy insights from the week’s most talked-about studies:
1 FEELING BAD ABOUT FAILURE MAKES YOU IMPROVE
A study in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making found that concentrating on emotions related to failure in a certain task made people more likely to try harder in the future than those who thought only about the details of their mistakes in the task.
2 TATTOOS MAY RELEASE TOXIC PARTICLES INTO YOUR BODY
Research in Scientific Reports found that in autopsies of four corpses with tattoos, nanoparticles of titanium dioxide–a possibly carcinogenic ingredient found in tattoo pigments–had appeared in the lymph nodes. But more research is needed to assess possible dangers.
3 IT MIGHT BE NICER NOT TO SAY ‘SORRY’
A study of more than 1,000 people in Frontiers in Psychology found that people reported feeling more hurt about a rejection when it contained an apology and that the word sorry made people feel obliged to offer forgiveness when they didn’t want to.
–J.Z.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com