-
The Grass is Always Greener…Or is It? The Neural Basis of Searching Behaviors
What motivates some to constantly seek out the next best thing, the greener grass, while others of us are content to stick with what’s known and safe? Our ancient ancestors had to forage in the savanna for food and water, but there was no telling where they would find these resources. The environment was patchy and unpredictable. So what was the best search strategy? Once you find a hunting ground with some antelope in it, do you set up camp and make it your own, or go looking for a better hunting ground, then a better one still? Psychologists are very interested in this question, and some believe it may reflect a fundamental difference in cognitive style, wired into our neurons.
-
Trouble Quitting? New Pitt-Carnegie Mellon Smoking Study May Reveal Why
A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University sheds light on why smokers’ intentions to quit “cold turkey” often fizzle out within days or even hours. If a smoker isn’t yearning for a cigarette when he makes the decision to kick the habit — and most aren’t — he isn’t able to foresee how he will feel when he’s in need of a nicotine buzz.
-
It Runs in the Family: Siblings Closer in Age Have Similar IQ
An ongoing debate in science is the impact of “nature vs. nurture” on intelligence— are brainiacs simply born that way or is their intelligence influenced by their environment? Although numerous studies involving fraternal and identical twins have examined this issue, the results are inconclusive. In addition, not many studies have used non-twin siblings to look at this question. Researchers Jon Martin Sundet, Willy Eriksen and Kristian Tambs from the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, were interested in studying the effect of age difference between non-twin brothers on intelligence.
-
Constructing Emotion: The Fundamental Components of Fear
During a crisis, our behavior can often be unpredictable. Some people might respond with anger, others with fear and still others may show no reaction at all. The nature of emotion is so basic and automatic that we do not realize how complex experiencing emotions actually is. Previous research separates emotions into distinct categories (i.e. anger, fear, happiness, etc) and these categories are considered the building blocks of emotions. Scientists are still unsure of exactly how we experience emotions but recent work suggests that what is described as “fear” is actually more complicated than previously thought.
-
As Good as it Gets? Illusion vs. Reality: Age-Related Differences in Expectations for Future Happiness
Albert Einstein once quipped, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” The famous scientist might have added that the illusion of reality shifts over time. According to a new Brandeis University study in the September issue of Psychological Science, age influences how we perceive the future. When thinking about the future, some people seem pessimistic, while others’ optimism seems to border on fantasy. Whether a person is naturally a pessimist or an optimist, the study suggests there are other factors at work in determining the way people consider how satisfying their future lives may be.
-
Un-total Recall: Amnesics Remember Grammar, but Not Meaning of New Sentences
Syntactic persistence is the tendency for speakers to produce sentences using similar grammatical patterns and rules of language as those they have used before. Although the way this occurs is not well understood, previous research has indicated that this effect may involve a specific aspect of memory function. Memory is made up of two components: declarative and procedural. Declarative memory is used in remembering events and facts. Procedural memory helps us to remember how to perform tasks, such as playing the piano or riding a bike.
