-
The Use and Misuse of Science in the Justice System
The psychological factors that play into the criminal justice system, from police interrogations to jury verdicts and sentencing decisions, were highlighted in a cross-cutting theme program at the APS Annual Convention in New York City. The session included a look at myths and facts about psychopathic traits in children, flawed methods used to understand human lie detection, and false confessions that often trump factual evidence. Among the cross-disciplinary group of speakers were APS Fellow Saul Kassin, (Williams College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice) and forensic psychologist John Edens (Texas A&M University).
-
How to Combat Inequality in the LGBT Community
Although mainstream support for LGBT individuals has been steadily growing, workplace discrimination — both explicit and implicit — still poses many challenges. APS Board Member Mikki Hebl (Rice University) argues that one effective way to combat inequality is for allies and LGBT individuals alike to stand up and be counted in society: “Ironically, one of the reasons to come out is to reduce discrimination.” Hebl has also found that antidiscrimination laws play an important role in changing people's attitudes and behavior, ultimately reducing interpersonal discrimination.
-
At the Intersection of Self-Control and Emotion
In an invited talk at the 2015 APS Annual Convention in New York City, APS Fellow Michael Inzlicht posed a question that he acknowledged runs counter to some commonly held psychological theories: Is self-control an emotion? “Emotions are often seen as the enemy of self-control … I think often they get a bad reputation in psychology,” he said, referencing the dual-processing model that often pits “hot” emotions against “cold” self-discipline. He suggested that, although this model has been useful, it might sometimes be a simplification or even a mischaracterization, and that instead conflict, emotion, and self-control are linked in complex ways that should further be explored.
-
New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Folk Explanations of Behavior: A Specialized Use of a Domain-General Mechanism Robert P. Spunt and Ralph Adolphs Do people use similar or different cognitive processes when making sense of social and nonsocial events? Participants' brain activity was measured while they completed a task in which they answered attributional and factual yes/no questions about the content of social images (emotional expressions and intentional hand actions) and nonsocial images (weather- and season-related).
-
Hiding Your True Colors May Make You Feel Morally Tainted
The advice, whether from Shakespeare or a modern self-help guru, is common: Be true to yourself. New research suggests that this drive for authenticity — living in accordance with our sense of self, emotions, and values — may be so fundamental that we actually feel immoral and impure when we violate our true sense of self. This sense of impurity, in turn, may lead us to engage in cleansing or charitable behaviors as a way of clearing our conscience. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
-
Getting Hands-On Deepens Science Learning
Students who use hands-on approaches to test or demonstrate scientific concepts understand the concepts more deeply and score better on science tests.
