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New Research From Psychological Science
On the Strength of Connections Between Localist Mental Modules as a Source of Frequency-of-Occurrence Effects Shannon O’Malley, Derek Besner, and Sarah Moroz How do people become familiar with items and events that appear frequently in their lives? To test potential mechanisms, the reaction times to numerical stimuli presented in either Arabic numerals (the more frequent form in which numbers are presented) or words (less frequent) were compared in different tasks. There was a difference in the reaction times between the two formats for a parity judgment task (in which participants indicated whether a number was odd or even) but not for a test in which participants read each stimulus aloud.
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Lie Detection: Misconceptions, Pitfalls, and Opportunities for Improvement
Researchers discuss some of the common misconceptions about people proficient in the art of deception, and reviews the shortcomings of commonly used lie-detection techniques.
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Dial ‘5683’ for Love: Dialing Certain Numbers on a Cell Phone Changes Your Emotional State
A psychological scientist in Germany has found a way that cell phones, and specifically texting, have hacked into our brains. Just by typing the numbers that correspond to the letters in a word like "love," we can activate the meaning of that word in our minds. The results are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. For the study, Sascha Topolinski and his students at the University of Würzburg in Germany created a list of German words that can be typed on a cell phone keypad without typing the same digit twice in a row. Also, each number combination could spell only one word.
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‘Was Doing’ Versus ‘Did’: Verbs Matter When Judging Other People’s Intentions
Your English teacher wasn't kidding: Grammar really does matter. The verb form used to describe an action can affect how the action is perceived—and these subtle variations could mean the difference between an innocent or guilty verdict in criminal law, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. William Hart, of the University of Alabama, was inspired to conduct the study by research on how people think about narratives.
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Got a Goal? A Helpful Partner Isn’t Always Helpful
Thinking about the support a significant other offers in pursuing goals can undermine the motivation to work toward those goals.
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Does Social Anxiety Disorder Respond to Psychotherapy? Brain Study Says Yes
When psychotherapy is helping someone get better, what does that change look like in the brain? This was the question a team of Canadian psychological scientists set out to investigate in patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science. Social anxiety is a common disorder, marked by overwhelming fears of interacting with others and expectations of being harshly judged. Medication and psychotherapy both help people with the disorder. But research on the neurological effects of psychotherapy has lagged far behind that on medication-induced changes in the brain.
