-
Förderliche Neugier
ScienceBlogs: Neugier ist lästig ("Lass mal sehen, was du da hast"), Neugier ist störend ("Was schreibst du gerade?"), Neugier ist indiskret ("Weißt Du, warum der M. neuerdings immer so früh nach Hause geht?") Kein Wunder also, dass "sei nicht so neugierig" zu den häufigeren erzieherischen Ermahnungen gehört. Pandoras Neugier brachte alles Übel unter die Menschen, und auch in der Bibel wird Neugier generell harsch bestraft, sei es die Neugier Adam und Evas auf die Frucht vom Baum der Erkenntnis, sei es die Neugier von Lots emahlin bei der Flucht aus Sodom.
-
Language and Cognition
Gabriella Vigliocco investigates how our brains integrate language and cognition, examining a variety of languages, both spoken and signed, and using tools from several disciplines, including neuroscience and experimental psychology. Over the years, her work has contributed to our understanding of how we represent meaning, how cognition shapes languages and how language shapes cognition. She has challenged many traditional ideas about language, like the notion that language is a modular and purely symbolic system that does not entail direct links with our sensory-motor and affective experience.
-
Fact Checker: Is the U.S. a land of Haves and Have-Nots?
Reno Gazette-Journal: What do you think is a fair amount of wealth inequality? Before getting to that, an explanation of "why this question now" is needed. People on the left and right have been noting the disparity in wealth with increasing alarm. The Occupy Wall Street movement has faced mass arrests, pepper spraying and increasing attention. It has spread to Boston, Chicago, LA, Japan -- and Las Vegas and Reno. One of its refrains pits the wealthy 1 percent of the nation against the 99 percent of the "rest of us," saying the Haves are dominating government and corporations to the detriment of the Have-Nots.
-
Steven Pinker on the Colbert Report
Appearing on “The Colbert Report,” psychological scientist Steven Pinker discusses his book The Stuff of Thought: Language As a Window Into Human Nature.
-
Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Understanding Mindfulness Meditation
In times of stress, we’re often encouraged to pause for a moment and simply be in the ‘now.’ This kind of mindfulness, an essential part of Buddhist and Indian Yoga traditions, has entered the mainstream as people try to find ways to combat stress and improve their quality of life. And research suggests that mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure, and enhanced cognitive function.
-
Practice Doesn’t Always Make Perfect, Study Suggests
Yahoo: Practice is an essential part of gaining excellence in a specific skill, but to become truly great other qualities must come into play, such as IQ or working memory, according to researchers who studied how practice affects the success of chess players. For the study, published in the October issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, the researchers also considered earlier research and noted that practicing harder or longer doesn't compensate for the lack of other important traits relevant to a certain activity. The study authors pointed out that there is a theory that people will do better in areas such as sports, music and chess if they practice more.
