-
New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science. Time in Perspective Andrei Gorea and Janice Hau Researchers know that the perceived size of an object increases as its perceived distance from an observer increases (Emmert's law) and that the perceived time interval between two consecutively occurring stimuli increases when the distance between them is greater (Kappa effect). What happens when these two perceptual phenomena are induced together? The researchers found that people overestimated the perceived duration of objects moving in a distant plane relative to the perceived duration of the same objects moving in a closer plane.
-
Oxytocin May Reduce Anxiety Related to Social Threats, But Only for Some
Oxytocin — a hormone thought to promote trust and empathy — has been considered as a possible tool for the treatment of social anxiety. But research suggests that the effects of oxytocin promote prosocial behaviors only in people with low social anxiety.
-
The Psychology of Exile
The Huffington Post: When I was in middle school, one of the assigned readings was a story called "The Man Without a Country." It was written by Edward Everett Hale in 1863, and told the story of a young American army lieutenant, Philip Nolan, who is tried for treason along with Aaron Burr. During the trial, he angrily denounces his country, declaring his wish to never hear mention of the United States again, and the shocked judge complies: He sentences Nolan to spend the rest of his life in exile, aboard U.S. warships, where he will hear no word of life in America. ... The findings were clear. Those facing a life of loneliness were more apt to believe in supernatural agents of all kinds.
-
How brain lets us hear our inner voice
Deccan Chronicle: A new study has looked at a possible brain mechanism that could explain how we hear the inner voice in the absence of actual sound. In two experiments, researcher Mark Scott of the University of British Columbia found evidence that a brain signal called corollary discharge - a signal that helps us distinguish the sensory experiences we produce ourselves from those produced by external stimuli - plays an important role in our experiences of internal speech. Corollary discharge is a kind of predictive signal generated by the brain that helps to explain, for example, why other people can tickle us but we can't tickle ourselves.
-
Study Finds Spatial Skill Is Early Sign of Creativity
The New York Times: A gift for spatial reasoning — the kind that may inspire an imaginative child to dismantle a clock or the family refrigerator — may be a greater predictor of future creativity or innovation than math or verbal skills, particularly in math, science and related fields, according to a study published Monday in the journal Psychological Science. ... The researchers, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said their findings make a strong case for rewriting standardized tests like the SAT and ACT to focus more on spatial ability, to help identify children who excel in this area and foster their talents.
-
Of polar bears and consciousness: A tribute to Daniel Wegner
Scientific American: Last Friday, July 5, the psychology community lost one of its greatest minds, Daniel Wegner. It’s hard to overstate his influence on psychology as a whole — and on individual students and researchers (myself included) along the way. Just last week, I came across a new study that bears his clear imprint: the effect of suppressing your craving for cigarettes on the value you place on smoking. The more you suppress, the higher the value you assign to smoking. Wegner would have approved. About a year and a half ago, I wrote a piece about the origins of Wegner’s famed white bear — the one you can’t stop thinking about no matter how hard you try.
