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Gazzaniga Book Signing at APS Convention
Few scientists know the brain as well as APS Past President Michael Gazzaniga does. A pioneer in cognitive neuroscience, Gazzaniga was the first researcher to study patients in whom the right and left hemispheres of the brain had been split to treat epilepsy. This research contributed greatly to scientists’ understanding of lateralized cognitive function within the brain and communication between the two brain hemispheres. More recently, Gazznniga has been asking whether advances in neuroscience should change our beliefs about personal responsibility.
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More Career Options May Explain Why Fewer Women Pursue Jobs in Science and Math
Women may be less likely to pursue careers in science and math because they have more career choices, not because they have less ability, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Although the gender gap in mathematics has narrowed in recent decades, with more females enrolling and performing well in math classes, females are still less likely to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) than their male peers. Researchers tend to agree that differences in math ability can’t account for the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. So what does?
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Mirror Neurons Help Us Identify Emotion in Faces
Madeleine L. Werhane won an APSSC Student Research Award for her work examining mirror neurons’ role in the identification of facial emotions. She received the award in May 2012 at the 24th APS Annual Convention. Mirror neurons are unique in that they engage not only when we perform specific actions, but also when we see others performing specific actions. The same neurons that control hand and mouth actions in monkeys, for instance, are activated when one monkey sees another monkey pick up a piece of food. Mirror neurons allow humans to learn through observation and communication.
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Gone but Not Forgotten: Yearning for Lost Loved Ones Linked to Altered Thinking About the Future
People suffering from complicated grief may have difficulty recalling specific events from their past or imagining specific events in the future, but not when those events involve the partner they lost, according to a new study published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The death of a loved one is among the most painful and disruptive experiences a person can face. For most, the grief subsides over time. But those who suffer from complicated grief continue to yearn for the lost loved one, experience waves of painful emotion, and feel hopeless about the future.
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New Research From <em>Clinical Psychological Science</em>
Read about the latest research published in Clinical Psychological Science. David A. Sbarra, Adriel Boals, Ashley E. Mason, Grace M. Larson, and Matthias R. Mehl Expressive writing (EW) is a therapeutic exercise in which individuals write about their deepest thoughts and feelings related to a trauma. This study examined the effectiveness of a new form of expressive writing called narrative expressive writing (NEW). Recently separated individuals were assigned to complete a traditional EW, a NEW, or a control writing exercise.
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Know Thyself: How Mindfulness Can Improve Self-Knowledge
Mindfulness -- paying attention to one’s current experience in a non-judgmental way -- might help us to learn more about our own personalities, according to a new article published in the March 2013 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Recent research has highlighted the fact that we have many blind spots when it comes to understanding our patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Despite our intuition that we know ourselves the best, other people have a more accurate view of some traits (e.g., intellect) than we do.
