Score another one for Wolfgang Amadeus. Researchers report the soothing sounds of a Mozart minuet boosts the ability of children and seniors to focus on a task and ignore extraneous information.

Dissonant music has the opposite effect, according to Nobuo Masataka of Japan’s Kyoto University and Leonard Perlovsky of Harvard University. Their findings help make the case that music, sometimes thought of as a pleasant byproduct of evolution, has in fact played an active role in human development.

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Are you uncomfortable with ambiguity? It’s a common condition, but a highly problematic one. The compulsion to quell that unease can inspire snap judgments, rigid thinking, and bad decision-making.

Fortunately, new research suggests a simple anecdote for this affliction: Read more literary fiction.

A trio of University of Toronto scholars, led by psychologist Maja Djikic, report that people who have just read a short story have less need for what psychologists call “cognitive closure.” Compared with peers who have just read an essay, they expressed more comfort with disorder and uncertainty—attitudes that allow for both sophisticated thinking and greater creativity.

“Exposure to literature,” the researchers write in the Creativity Research Journal, “may offer a (way for people) to become more likely to open their minds.”

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The scientists say they based their hypothesis on evolutionary theory, as Science 2.0 reports:

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While recommending that Americans avoid "excessive" sodium intake, the panel also stated that there is no evidence to suggest that no-sodium and very low-sodium diets are good for you, as the Associated Press reports:

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Newly published research suggests they could also be called the generation with unrealistic expectations.

An analysis of the values and ambitions of American 12th graders finds “a growing discrepancy between the desire for material rewards and the willingness to do the work usually required to earn them.” Psychologists Jean Twenge of San Diego State University and Tim Kasser of Knox College report that, for high school seniors in 2005, 2006, and 2007, materialism remained at historically high levels, even as commitment to hard work declined.

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The survey interviewed 1,500 likely voters about two fictional candidates, "Dan Jones" and "Jane Smith." The interview subjects were split into groups, some of which received materials on both candidates that did not mention any of their physical attributes while others received materials that either included neutral, negative and positive appraisals of Smith's appearance:

Neutral description: Smith dressed in a brown blouse, black skirt, and modest pumps with a short heel…

Positive description: In person, Smith is fit and attractive and looks even younger than her age. At the press conference, smartly turned out in a ruffled jacket, pencil skirt, and fashionable high heels….

Negative description: Smith unfortunately sported a heavy layer of foundation and powder that had settled into her forehead lines, creating an unflattering look for an otherwise pretty woman, along with her famous fake, tacky nails.

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After comparing the data to responses given by study participants in a personality test, researchers found that "likes" were a fairly reliable predictor of the users's sexual orientation, gender, age, ethnicity, IQ, religion, politics and cigarette, drug, or alcohol use.

Now, this might seem pretty obvious. If you "like" the National Rifle Association, odds are good that you're a gun enthusiast. If you "like" the Salon page, odds are good that you are a super attractive genius with excellent taste in reading material. The findings of the study seems self-evident since users are, after all, building an Internet personality profile by curating their tastes.

But not everything you give the tiny "thumbs up" to is quite that obvious, and some "likes" reveal more than others.

As reported by the Associated Press:

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A recent Yale University study asked 109 people to look at pictures of animals. Some of the photos were cute (like this baby gorilla!), some were funny (like this dog who hates wearing socks!) while others were classified as "neutral" images (maybe like this unimpressed cat?). Then researchers asked participants how they felt about the pictures.

As it turns out, the cuter the animal, the more aggressive the response.

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Their proposed solution? Empower women.

Studies of the planet's ecological footprint show that sustaining modern rates of consumption will require roughly an additional half planet of resources (or, four to five more Earths if everyone in the world consumed at the level of the United States).

So give women equal rights, the Ehrlichs say. Not just because women who control their reproductive choices tend to have fewer children, healthier families and greater life expectancy (although research suggests this is true), but because "This will allow us to include more of their brainpower to help solve these problems," according to the pair.

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If you want to get something done, you might want to turn off your phone.

A new study led by Michigan State University found that even the smallest interruptions -- like that really quick glance at an incoming message -- derail productivity and lead to big mistakes.

Researchers asked 300 people to perform a sequence-based task, and found that interruptions lasting just seconds managed to double the error rate.

Little distractions are everywhere, from smartphones to chatty co-workers, but the resulting errors can have big consequences. While handing in an expense report a few minutes late isn't the end of the world, small mistakes in high-pressure fields like air traffic control and emergency medicine can be catastrophic.

“What this means is that our health and safety is, on some level, contingent on whether the people looking after it have been interrupted,” Erik Altmann, lead researcher and associate professor of psychology, told Michigan State University Today.

Altmann added that he was surprised to find that the length of a disruption didn't matter, "Even momentary interruptions can seem jarring when they occur during a process that takes considerable thought.”

Are there possible solutions other than working in a sensory deprivation tank? If you want to be productive and error-free, turn "all cellphones off at the very least," says Altmann.

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But we knew this already. Many other reports have found the exact same thing.

There is, however, some striking -- and troubling -- new research in the report: Our infant mortality rate is nearly double the rate in countries like Japan and Sweden.

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The first and only study on female premature orgasm has found that 40 percent of the women surveyed experienced rapid climax at least once in their sexual life, with around 3 percent chronically reaching orgasm too soon. Researcher Serafim Carvalho of Hospital Magalhães Lemos in Porto, Portugal, was surprised by the findings, but deeply sympathetic, noting, "For this group, female premature orgasm is more than bothersome. We think it's as serious a distress as it is in men."

As reported in Science Daily:

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Gun violence is just one of many factors contributing to lower U.S. life expectancy, but the finding took on urgency because the report comes less than a month after the shooting deaths of 26 people at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

The United States has about six violent deaths per 100,000 residents. None of the 16 other countries included in the review came anywhere close to that ratio. Finland was closest to the U.S. ranking with slightly more than two violent deaths per 100,000 residents.

For many years, Americans have been dying at younger ages that people in almost all other wealthy countries. In addition to the impact of gun violence, Americans consume the most calories among peer countries and get involved in more accidents that involve alcohol. The U.S. also suffers higher rates of drug-related deaths, infant mortality and AIDS.

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Sure it's possible that you'll stick to that diet or learn a second language in 2013, it's just not probable.

A report in the university's Journal of Clinical Psychology reveals that most Americans make the same resolutions, with commitments to health, self-improvement and family ranking heavily in the top 10. And most Americans fail miserably at keeping them. How miserably? The data indicates Americans have a success rate of 8 percent when it comes to being our best selves in the new year.

But don't feel too bad: 75 percent of us keep our resolutions for at least two weeks! And two weeks on the elliptical is better than nothing.

There's always next year, right?

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A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reports that after three days of playing violent video games like "Call of Duty," research subjects exhibited a spike in "hostile expectations" as compared to the group who played nonviolent games. As Science Daily reports:

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