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Don’t be fooled by a know-all
The Guardian: I’m not the first to point out that the rise of smartphones has killed one rather pleasurable form of conversation – the kind that involves confidently chuntering on about subjects you dimly recall, or know nothing about, as if you were really an expert. ... Yet the internet isn’t about to end the widespread human tendency to claim to know about topics you don’t – and even sincerely to believe that you know. The easiest way to demonstrate how prevalent this is, as outlined in a forthcoming paper in Psychological Science, is to ask people about “impossible knowledge” – facts they couldn’t possibly know, because researchers made them up.
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Thirty Million Words Aren’t Enough
Pacific Standard: Thirty million words. That's the gap between what kids from high- and low-income families hear by the time they're three, and it's widely thought to explain socioeconomic disparities in language skills and, later on, academic success. But a recent study puts an age-old twist on that: Quality may matter more than quantity. ... "Yet the quantity of language input is insufficient to account for variations in language development," argues a team of psychologists led by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek.
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Different cognitive skills peak at different times over our lifespans, research finds
MinnPost: Here’s some promising news for anybody who’s aging (and that, of course, is all of us): A recent series of crowd-sourced experiments suggest that different aspects of fluid intelligence — our ability to think abstractly, reason quickly and solve problems — peak at different periods during adulthood. In other words, our brains do not, as previously believed, reach a so-called cognitive peak when were in our 20s and then start an inevitable descent. Some kinds of fluid intelligence actually improve with age. Read the whole story: MinnPost
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Everyday Routines Make Life Feel More Meaningful
Scientific American: Think about the most meaningful experiences in your life. You will probably recall your wedding, or a trip across Europe, or your first skydive. You won't name brushing your teeth. Yet recent research suggests that the mundane regularities of life can very much contribute to your overall sense of meaning. As squishy as the concept sounds, meaning in life is an integral part of our well-being. Research has associated it with good mental health, success at work and longevity. Psychologists have proposed three aspects: significance, purpose and coherence. In other words, life is meaningful when it feels important, when it seems to have a point and when it makes sense.
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How to Make Online Dating Work
The New York Times: WE turn to screens for nearly every decision. Where to eat. Where to vacation. Where to eat on vacation. Where to get treatment for the food poisoning you got at that restaurant where you ate on vacation. Where to write a negative review calling out the restaurant that gave you food poisoning and ruined your vacation. So it’s no surprise our screens are becoming the first place we turn to when looking for romance — because you need someone to take care of you when you get food poisoning on your vacation, right? One of the most amazing social changes is the rise of online dating and the decline of other ways of meeting a romantic partner.
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On the Horizon: Virtual Reality Therapy that Treats Chronic Pain
Scientific American: Strap on a headset, immerse yourself in an alternate reality and cure your pain—that's the idea of a recent study in Psychological Science. Most people think of pain as something that happens in the body—I twist my head too far, and my neck sends a “pain signal” to the brain to indicate that the twisting hurts. In reality, pain is simply the brain telling us we are in danger. Although certain nerve endings throughout the body can indeed detect bodily harm, their signals are only one factor that the brain uses to determine if we should experience pain. Many cases of chronic pain are thought to be the result of obsolete brain associations between movement and pain. ...
