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Detecting Misinformation Can Improve Memory Later On
Exposure to false information about an event usually makes it more difficult for people to recall the original details, but new research suggests that there may be times when misinformation actually boosts memory.
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This Illusion Shows How Your Peripheral Vision Is Playing Tricks on You
New York Magazine: Of the five senses, sight seems to be the most trustworthy. It’s the one that’s most helpful in getting us through the day, the one that pushes us the most from I think to I know. Seeing is believing, a picture’s worth a thousand words, etc. But really, sight is a lot trickier than we give it credit for. Often times, the reality we think we’re seeing is something else altogether — the brain bends visual information to suit its purposes, warping our vision in any number of ways. The sting of rejection, for example, makes us more inclined to perceive a stray glance as eye contact, even when it hasn’t actually landed anywhere near our eyes.
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Helping the lonely and elderly during the holidays
The Baltimore Sun: When 92-year-old Carolyn Bochau gets a visitor at home, she concedes that she turns into a chatterbox. Because of health problems and old age, the Baltimore resident doesn't go out for much more than doctor appointments, so she gets excited when she has company. Around the holidays she said she wants companionship even more. "I can't keep quiet when someone is here," she said. "Because I am always cooped up in here, when someone comes I say everything and anything that comes out of my mouth." ... Prolonged isolation can be as bad for health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according research published last year in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
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Merci pour ce cadeau (Thank you for this gift)
Le Monde: Aujourd’hui, les cadeaux pour adultes les plus vendus (étude Deloitte, 2013) sont, dans l’ordre : les livres, le chocolat, les cosmétiques, les DVD, l’argent. C’est si simple finalement de ne pas se tromper. Alors, d’où viennent ces erreurs critiques qui poussent quelqu’un à offrir un CD de Mylène Farmer à un fan d’opéra ou un pull taille 12 ans à son fils de 40 piges ?
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Take the mind-bending tests that reveal how our brain ‘invents’ part of our peripheral vision
New Zealand Herald: The world around you might not be exactly as it seems. In a new study, researchers have found that some of what we see in the periphery - the areas just outside our eye's direct focus - could be a visual illusion. A series of 'uniformity illusions' reveals this phenomenon at work, as our brain 'fills in' part of the scene to make up for our less accurate peripheral vision. According to the study, published in the journal Psychological Science, peripheral vision captures far less detail than what's seen in the centre of the visual field. But, in our day-to-day lives, we often don't notice a difference.
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THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH THAT HELPS EXPLAIN THE ELECTION
The New Yorker: At the end of most years, I’m typically asked to write about the best psychology papers of the past twelve months. This year, though, is not your typical year. And so, instead of the usual “best of,” I’ve decided to create a list of classic psychology papers and findings that can explain not just the rise of Donald Trump in the U.S. but also the rising polarization and extremism that seem to have permeated the world. To do this, I solicited the opinion of many leading psychologists, asking them to nominate a paper or two, with a brief explanation for their choice.
