-
Agreement of Alcohol Use Among Roommates
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Grace Jackson from New York University present her poster session research on “Agreement of Alcohol Use: A Year-Long Study of College Roommates.” Grace Jackson is interested in researching how relationships progress over time. Jackson and coauthors Sean P. Lane (New York University), Gertraud Stadler (Columbia University),Niall Bolger (Columbia University), andPatrick E. Shrout (New York University) studied 293 pairs of undergraduate roommates (N = 586). They found that roommates are generally pretty good at reporting trait-level, a.k.a.
-
In the Mood for Some Pi(e)?
Thanks to computer-driven calculations, we know the ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter goes on past one trillion digits. But since the 18th century, we’ve just called this behemoth number, Pi (π). And since 1988, people have been celebrating Pi Day on March 14th (3/14). Daily Observations has a few suggestions for celebrating Pi Day the psychological-science way: Don’t use your high school geometry skills very often? They might be helping you out anyway. A new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science suggests that “numeracy” — like literacy, but for numbers instead of letters — actually helps you make more informed decisions.
-
Health Psychology: The Politics of Health
Politics and health may seem like an unlikely pair. Yet, a brief glance into history shows us that public policies contribute mightily to individual health outcomes. Early examples of this relationship are found in the development of public and private sanitation systems in the Indus Valley region in 2000 BCE, the development of public water systems in ancient Greece and later Rome, and public health studies of the relationship between sewer systems and fevers in England in the mid-1800s. Dr.
-
Just 60 Seconds of Combat Impairs Memory
Just 60 seconds of all-out physical exertion in a threatening situation can seriously damage the memories of those involved for many details of the incident, according to a new study of police officers. Police officers, witnesses and victims of crime suffer loss of memory, recognition and awareness of their environment if they have had to use bursts of physical energy in a combative encounter, according to scientists.
-
Why police officers can forget
Belfast Telegraph: Extreme physical exertion in a threatening situation lasting just 60 seconds can "seriously damage" the memories of those involved, according to a new study of police officers. Police officers, witnesses and victims of crime suffer loss of memory, recognition and awareness of their environment if they have to use bursts of physical energy in a combative encounter. This can occur in situations such as an officer chasing a fleeing suspect, according to Lorraine Hope of the University of Portsmouth. She said that her findings, published in Psychological Science, are a warning of the problems with witness statements to the courts. Read the whole story: Belfast Telegraph
-
‘The whole is not greater than the sum of its parts’ in face recognition
Yahoo! India: Until now, most research has suggested that we recognize faces 'holistically' - we look at all the features-eyes, nose, mouth-simultaneously and, perceiving the relationships among them, gain an advantage over taking in each feature individually. Now, a new study overturns this theory. The researchers-Jason M. Gold and Patrick J. Mundy of the Indiana University and Bosco S. Tjan of the University of California Los Angeles-found that people's performance in recognizing a whole face is no better than their performance with each individual feature shown alone. "Surprisingly, the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts," said Gold.