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How our pupils contract when we think of memories – and how this is an evolutionary leftover which we no longer require
Daily Mail: Eyes are the windows to our souls - but they are also a window to our minds. This is the claim of scientists from Arizona State University, who say that our eye movements can reflect our emotional state and the ways we think. The study, published in Psychological Science, also shows that pupil dilation is not just down to light conditions, but also reflects the creation and retrieval of memories. Students used pupillometry - the study of pupil movement - in their study, observing eye movements while questions were asked. They suggest this type of study could be an efficient means for studying memory creation and retrieval.
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Inside the Brains of Bieber Fans
The Wall Street Journal: The symptoms include uncontrollable screaming, swooning and spending hours on Twitter and Facebook. It primarily affects preteen and teen girls, yet it is highly contagious and can infect mothers, too. In severe cases, sufferers camp out on sidewalks for days. "The appeal for me is, of course, that he's beautiful," says 15-year-old Emma Reeves of Madison, Conn., who has seen Justin Bieber twice in concert. "It's hard to find people who are successful, nice and care about other people and he has it all!" By disease standards, "Bieber Fever" is approaching a global pandemic with the release of the 18-year-old pop star's latest album, "Believe," last week.
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Eurocopa 2012: El arte de ganar (o perder) una tanda de penaltis [Euro 2012: The art of winning (or losing) a penalty shoot-out]
ABC España: Dos hombres, un balón y una portería separados por once metros. No existe una línea tan fina en el mundo del deporte entre la gloria y el fracaso como la tanda de penaltis, un recurso de nuevo favorable para España, que eliminó así en semifinales de la Eurocopa 2012 a la Portugal de Cristiano Ronaldo. Una lotería que podría tener los días contados si cumple su amenaza Blatter, presidente de la FIFA, que invitó a buscar una alternativa ante semejante «tragedia». Todo drama tiene un origen. En este caso los libros de historia no se ponen de acuerdo.
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The Science of Illusion
The New York Times: PINCH a coin at its edge between the thumb and first fingers of your right hand and begin to place it in your left palm, without letting go. Begin to close the fingers of the left hand. The instant the coin is out of sight, extend the last three digits of your right hand and secretly retract the coin. Make a fist with your left — as if holding the coin — as your right hand palms the coin and drops to the side. You’ve just performed what magicians call a retention vanish: a false transfer that exploits a lag in the brain’s perception of motion, called persistence of vision.
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New Research from Current Directions in Psychological Science
Psychological Detachment From Work During Leisure Time: The Benefits of Mentally Disengaging From Work Sabine Sonnentag Are you the type of person who still thinks about work during the weekend? In this article, Sonnentag reviews research examining the psychological benefits of mentally disengaging from work during leisure time -- evenings, weekends, and vacations. She highlights main findings from studies examining the benefits of psychological detachment and discusses factors that help and hinder disengagement from work. She concludes by discussing the future directions and the practical implications of this research.
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Anxiety Disorders Diagnosed More Often in Women Than Men
The Wall Street Journal: Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders—and the reasons range from hormonal fluctuations to brain chemistry to upbringing to empathy, researchers theorize. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, chair of the department of psychology at Yale, says one reason women are more anxious is that they tend to take responsibility for other peoples’ happiness, especially their children’s and spouse’s. “It’s kind of a Catch-22, because they can’t always do anything about them,” says Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema, author of “The Power of Women” and other books.
