-
How Many People Can You Remember?
FiveThirtyEight: Dear Joe, First up, let me try to look at faces. It’s generally accepted that people are better at remembering faces than names because a person’s mug is so rich with visual information (how many times have you seen someone and struggled to remember her name? how many times have you remembered someone’s name but struggled to remember what she looks like?). But studies haven’t tried to determine the exact number of faces people can remember. And to be fair, I really can’t imagine how any scientist could design an experiment that would do so reliably. Studies have looked at what makes some faces easier to remember than others.
-
Studies May Overstate The Benefits of Talk Therapy For Depression
NPR: The benefits of talk therapy for depression have been overstated in the scientific literature, according to a study in the journal PLOS ONE. The finding comes several years after a similar study reached the same conclusion about antidepressant drugs. Both talk therapy and antidepressant drugs "are efficacious," says Steven Hollon, a professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University and an author of the study, which was published Wednesday. "They're just not as efficacious as we think they are." Read the whole story: NPR
-
Are Americans Really More Narcissistic?
Pacific Standard: Many people around the world claim Americans have an unusually high opinion of themselves. But, according to a new study, accusations of narcissism may actually be a bit overblown. Americans and non-Americans alike share "the belief that the typical American is grandiose, callous, and self-centered," write a team of psychologists led by University of Georgia professor Joshua Miller in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. However, the same surveys that reveal that perception also suggests the average American may not be nearly as narcissistic as everybody thinks.
-
Why Do We Admire Mobsters?
The New Yorker: In 1947, when Elaine Slott was sixteen, she travelled with her mother and sister to visit her aunt and uncle in Florida. The day after they arrived, however, Elaine and her aunt boarded another plane by themselves. Elaine soon found herself speeding to Cuba, where the family had business interests. Elaine remembers that night well. After they landed, she and her aunt left Havana and drove for several hours into areas that seemed increasingly remote. It was very late and very dark when they finally arrived at a stately house. Along with a few guests, a number of family members, including Elaine’s uncle, had gathered there for a dinner party.
-
What a Mission to Mars Can Teach Us about Teamwork
In The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney is accidentally abandoned on the surface of the planet Mars. Through his own ingenuity he manages to stay alive on the inhospitable planet, but his only chance to make it home depends on the sophisticated collaboration between the crew still on the shuttle and his colleagues back on Earth. As the film elegantly illustrates, some of the biggest challenges for a mission to Mars aren’t technological, they’re psychological. Just imagine being trapped in a confined space with your coworkers 24 hours a day for over a year without seeing your friends or family.
-
Understanding Others’ Thoughts Enables Young Kids to Lie
Developing theory of mind, a critical social skill, may enable children to engage in the sophisticated thinking necessary for intentionally deceiving others.
