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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The Capacity of Audiovisual Integration Is Limited to One Item Erik Van der Burg, Ed Awh, and Christian N. L. Olivers Recent research has suggested that only three to four visual events can be processed at a time, but does this processing limit also apply to audiovisual events? Participants viewed black and white discs placed in a circle around a fixation point. A randomly determined number of the discs then reversed color. This reversal in color was accompanied by an auditory tone.
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The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
The New York Times: On the evening of April 8, 1999, a long line of Town Cars and taxis pulled up to the Minneapolis headquarters of Pillsbury and discharged 11 men who controlled America’s largest food companies. Nestlé was in attendance, as were Kraft and Nabisco, General Mills and Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Mars. Rivals any other day, the C.E.O.’s and company presidents had come together for a rare, private meeting. On the agenda was one item: the emerging obesity epidemic and how to deal with it. While the atmosphere was cordial, the men assembled were hardly friends.
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L’altruisme éclairé par un séisme (Altruism informed by an earthquake)
Le Monde: Face à l'adversité, qu'advient-il de l'altruisme, un des piliers du développement des sociétés humaines ? Une étude menée chez l'enfant, avant et après une catastrophe naturelle, livre des réponses étonnantes. "L'ensemble des études de laboratoire montre que les enfants sont naturellement altruistes", relève Jean Decety, professeur de psychologie et psychiatrie à l'université de Chicago. Mais aucune étude n'a été réalisée dans des conditions naturelles. Le 12 mai 2008, une catastrophe a brutalement fait irruption dans les expériences des chercheurs. Ce jour-là, un séisme de magnitude 7,9 ravage la province de Sichuan, à l'est du plateau du Tibet.
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Why Some Soldiers Develop PTSD While Others Don’t
Pre-war vulnerability is just as important as combat-related trauma in predicting whether veterans’ symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be long-lasting, according to new research published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Researcher Bruce Dohrenwend and colleagues at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health and the New York State Psychiatric Institute found that traumatic experiences during combat predicted the onset of the full complement of symptoms, known as the PTSD “syndrome,” in Vietnam veterans.
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Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart?
The New York Times: Noah Muthler took his first state standardized test in third grade at the Spring Cove Elementary School in Roaring Spring, Pa. It was a miserable experience, said his mother, Kathleen Muthler. He was a good student in a program for gifted children. But, Muthler said, “he was crying in my arms the night before the test, saying: ‘I’m not ready, Mom. They didn’t teach us everything that will be on the test.’ ” In fourth grade, he was upset the whole week before the exam. “He manifests it physically,” his mother said. “He got headaches and stomachaches.
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Positive family climate in teen years linked to happy marriage
Business Standard: Psychological scientist Robert Ackerman of the University of Texas at Dallas and colleagues wanted to examine whether positive interpersonal behaviours in families might also have long-lasting associations with future relationships. The researchers examined longitudinal data from individuals participating in the Iowa Youth and Families Project. Family interactions were assessed when the participants were in 7th grade. The interactions were coded for five indicators of positive engagement: listener responsiveness, assertiveness, prosocial behaviour, effective communication, and warmth-support. Read the whole story: Business Standard
