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Study Shows Limits on Brain’s Ability to Perceive Multifeatured Objects
New research sheds light on how the brain encodes objects with multiple features, a fundamental task for the perceptual system. The study, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that we have limited ability to perceive mixed color-shape associations among objects that exist in several locations. Research suggests that neurons that encode a certain feature -- shape or color, for example -- fire in synchrony with neurons that encode other features of the same object.
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Facial Structure May Predict Endorsement of Racial Prejudice
The structure of a man’s face may indicate his tendency to express racially prejudiced beliefs, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Studies have shown that facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is associated with testosterone-related behaviors, which some researchers have linked with aggression. But psychological scientist Eric Hehman of Dartmouth College and colleagues at the University of Delaware speculated that these behaviors may have more to do with social dominance than outright aggression.
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Name-Brand or Generic? Your Political Ideology Might Influence Your Choice
Conservatives and liberals don’t just differ when it comes to politics, they may also make different purchases at the grocery store, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Psychological research has shown that conservatives and liberals differ on basic personality traits such as conscientiousness, tolerance for uncertainty, and openness to new experience.
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How You Treat Others May Depend on Whether You’re Single or Attached
With Valentine’s Day looming, many married couples will wish marital bliss for their single friends. At the same time, many singles will pity their coupled friends’ loss of freedom. People like to believe that their way of life -- whether single or coupled -- is the best for everyone, especially if they think their relationship status is unlikely to change, according to a study forthcoming in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study suggests that this bias may influence how we treat others, even in situations where relationship status shouldn’t matter.
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Research Explores How Our Relationships Can Impact Our Health
New reports published by the Association for Psychological Science take a closer look at physiological and genetic factors that may help to explain the influence that our relationships can have on our physical health. Does Attachment Get Under the Skin? Adult Romantic Attachment and Cortisol Responses to Stress Paula R. Pietromonaco, Casey J. DeBuse, and Sally I. Powers Our adult relationships can affect our overall health in the long-term, but they can also influence how we respond to specific stressors in the short-term.
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New Insights From Clinical Psychological Science
Read about the latest research and boundary-crossing insights published in Clinical Psychological Science. Suppression-Induced Reduction in the Specificity of Autobiographical Memories Elizabeth Stephens, Amy Braid, and Paula T. Hertel Although research has shown that repeated suppression of memories can lead people to forget them -- something that may be adaptive -- the effect of suppression on autobiographical memories is not well understood. Dysphoric and nondysphoric participants were asked to recall autobiographical memories in response to negative, positive, and neutral cue words and to create a title for each memory.