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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Iconic Gestures Facilitate Discourse Comprehension in Individuals With Superior Immediate Memory for Body Configurations Ying Choon Wu and Seana Coulson Iconic gestures are those that depict an aspect of the object or action to which they are referring. The researchers hypothesized that sensitivity to the meaning of these types of gestures is linked to differences in kinesthetic working memory (KWM). The researchers assessed participants' KWM span and had them watch short video clips in which a person's gestures were congruent or incongruent with the accompanying audio track.
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Think Remembering Is Always Best? Forget About It!
NPR: I forgot to schedule a haircut last week. I regularly forget my usernames and passwords. I've forgotten anniversaries, birthdays and promises. If these confessions sound familiar, it's because we forget all the time. And when wenotice we've forgotten, it usually means the thing we forgot was important. Forgetting in these cases is a failing and we naturally wish our memories were more complete. It's no wonder, then, that forgetting has a bad rap. But we also constantly forget in ways we don't notice — and a lot of this forgetting isn't bad. In fact, it could be crucial to making our memories work as well as they do. That's right: Forgetting can be a good thing.
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Economic Growth Can’t Buy Happiness
New psychological findings show why a country’s economic growth doesn’t always translate into greater happiness for its citizens.
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Homework: A New User’s Guide
NPR: If you made it past the headline, you're likely a student, concerned parent, teacher or, like me, a nerd nostalgist who enjoys basking in the distant glow of Homework Triumphs Past (second-grade report on Custer's Last Stand, nailed it!). Whoever you are, you're surely hoping for some clarity in the loud, perennial debate over whether U.S. students are justifiably exhausted and nervous from too much homework — even though some international comparisons suggest they're sitting comfortably at the average. Well, here goes. I've mapped out six, research-based polestars that should help guide you to some reasonable conclusions about homework. ... Better yet, how much is just right?
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The Use of Apps for Mental Health Has Outpaced the Scientific Evidence
The New York Times: One of every five Americans will experience major depression or anxiety every year. Unfortunately, most who suffer go untreated. To meet the need, a cottage industry has developed: Well-intentioned and enterprising individuals have designed over 3,000 apps dedicated to mental health, only some of which are free. The apps vary in function but most fall in line with the current zeitgeist of Track Thyself (whether it be calories, weight, steps or depression). The good news is that these kinds of apps increase access to health support and that access is portable. But their use should be supplemental, rather than a primary therapeutic avenue.
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Speak and Spell: How Dictation Software Makes Us Rethink Writing
Wired: IF I’VE WRITTEN you an email on my phone lately, you might have noticed something slightly off about it. It doesn’t read like email from me used to. I use fewer contractions, fewer adverbs, and I’m more likely to ramble. What’s changed is that, a year ago, I discovered that Android and Apple phones have become so good at transcription, it’s now much faster for me to talk than type. (And that’s saying a lot: I was a fast phone-typist.) So while sending texts and emails or using chat apps on my phone, I started talking it out—then quickly cleaning up any wrong words. There are shockingly few. I’d estimate that fully two-thirds of all messages I compose on my phone are now spoken. ...
