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In Future Math Whizzes, Signs of ‘Number Sense’
The New York Times: Children as young as 3 have a “number sense” that may be correlated with mathematical aptitude, according to a new study. Melissa Libertus, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues looked at something called “number sense,” an intuition — not involving counting — about the concepts of more and less. It exists in all people, Dr. Libertus said, including infants and indigenous peoples who have had no formal education. The researchers measured this intuition in preschoolers by displaying flashing groups of blue and yellow dots on a computer screen. The children had to estimate which group of dots was larger in number.
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Understanding Mind-Body Influences
Wendy Berry Mendes focuses her research on embodiment -- how the mind and body reciprocally influence each other. Specifically, she looks at how the brain and body experience emotions, stress, and motivation and how physical responses influence behavior and decision-making. Her research looks at a wide range of topics from coping with stigma and discrimination, to the differentiation of “good” and “bad” stress physiology and how they influence decision-making, to mind-body relations across the lifespan.
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Learning from Experience
Daphna Shohamy researches learning, memory and decision making. Specifically, she tries to understand the underlying brain mechanisms of how we learn from experience and how we use what we learn to guide decisions and actions. She adopts an integrative approach that draws broadly on neuroscience to make predictions about cognition. Her research provides a deeper understanding of the cognitive and neural processes involved for different aspects of behavior. In 2011, Shohamy received a Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Q&A with Daphna Shohamy
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La ricerca che boccia i ricchi “Più egoisti e insensibili”
La Repubblica Italia: Egoista, insensibile e incredibilmente avaro, l'Arpagone di Molière non avrebbe avuto nessun problema ad ammettere che i ricchi sono diversi dai poveri, e che l'abisso che separa le due categorie non sta tanto nelle possibilità economiche quanto in quelle emozionali. Dura da digerire, la sua teoria è stata snobbata in favore di quella della telenovela più famosa del mondo, Anche i ricchi piangono, ma dopo quasi quattro secoli per il commediografo francese è arrivato il momento della rivincita.
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The Secret Language Code
Scientific American: Are there hidden messages in your emails? Yes, and in everything you write or say, according to James Pennebaker, chair of the department of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Pennebaker has been a leader in the computer analysis of texts for their psychological content. And in his new book, “The Secret Life of Pronouns,” he argues that how we use words like “I,” “she,” and “who” reveal secrets of our psychology. He spoke recently with Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook. COOK: How did you become interested in pronouns? Read the whole story: Scientific American
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Widespread panic: Why math anxiety continues to multiply
Miami Herald: One look at math word problems and many students cringe. Even worse, many elementary school teachers seem to have the same reaction. Math anxiety, a fear that first gained recognition as a feminist issue in the 1970s, remains a big problem that psychologists, educators, and parents are trying to crack. A negative emotional reaction to math or even the prospect of solving a problem that has to do with mathematics, math anxiety is now the topic of many books, research papers and seminars. Read the whole story: Miami Herald