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The Unconscious Has a Mind of Its Own
Consciousness is a very popular topic in psychological science, but new research suggests that we’ve been underestimating what unconsciousness is capable of. A study published in Psychological Science shows that the unconscious mind is more intricate and sophisticated than we think. Volunteers looked through a stereoscope that allowed each eye to view a separate image. In one eye, they viewed continuously flashing blocks of changing colors that suppressed the perception of other objects. In the other eye, they viewed scenes of people interacting with objects that were either congruent (e.g. a woman putting food in an oven) or incongruent (e.g. a woman putting a chessboard in the oven).
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You Bug Me. Now Science Explains Why.
NPR: Traffic. Mosquitoes. People who snap their gum. People who crack their knuckles. There are so many things in the world that are just downright annoying. But what makes them annoying? It's the question that NPR Science Correspondent Joe Palca and Science Friday's Flora Lichtman set out to answer in their new book, Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us. For instance, why is hearing someone else's phone call more irritating than just overhearing a normal conversation? In an interview with Morning Edition's Renee Montagne, Lichtman explains why this is so grating. "It's half of a conversation," she says.
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Wikipedia – a legitimate academic source?
QAA Podcasts: Professor Mahzarin Banaji, of Harvard University and President of the Association for Psychological Science, talks about an exciting new initiative to monitor and legitimise Wikipedia as a reliable source of information and genuine research, by encouraging the academic community to add new entries and enhance existing ones. Listen to the podcast here: Wikipedia - a legitimate academic source?
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Mind Reading: Positive Psychologist Martin Seligman on the Good Life
TIME: These days Martin Seligman, author of the best-selling book Authentic Happiness, is perhaps best known as a father of positive of psychology — the study of people's strengths and virtues, rather than on pathological behavior. But, previously, Seligman's work focused on "learned helplessness" — when people or animals learn helpless behavior as a result of exposure to powerful experiences over which they have no control. That research spawned thousands of related studies and helped researchers better understand the basis of depression. It was also used by the Bush administration to help devise its torture policy.
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All in the Mind
BBC Radio: Hot chilli sauce and a computer game called Cyberball are tools in the lab of psychologist Kip Williams. He explains his research on ostracism to Claudia Hammond. Listen to the broadcast: BBC Radio
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Happiness Has a Dark Side
It seems like everyone wants to be happier and the pursuit of happiness is one of the foundations of American life. But even happiness can have a dark side, according to the authors of a new review article published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. They say that happiness shouldn't be thought of as a universally good thing, and outline four ways in which this is the case. Indeed, not all types and degrees of happiness are equally good, and even pursuing happiness can make people feel worse. People who want to feel happier can choose from a multitude of books that tell them how to do it.
