-
Sat-navs leave us in dark
Daily Express: We instinctively remember maps and end up with a north-facing “compass” in our heads. But over-reliance on GPS devices could erase the maps from our brains, scientists say. They ran virtual-reality tests on 26 residents of a town all had lived in for at least two years. Subjects were made “sightless” by artificial fog – and when facing north they could point to where locations would be in real life. Scientists Julia Frankenstein and Tobias Meilinge say the subjects did so well because they had all “seen, and internalised”, a map of their town, Tubingen in Germany. But the researchers warn that relying too much on GPS devices will eventually wipe out our memorised maps.
-
Primed by expectations – why a classic psychology experiment isn’t what it seemed
Discover Magazine: In the early 20th century, the world was captivated by a mathematical horse called Clever Hans. He could apparently perform basic arithmetic, keep track of a calendar and tell the time. When his owner, Wilhelm von Osten, asked him a question, Hans would answer by tapping out the correct number with his hoof. Eventually, it was the psychologist Oskar Pfungst who debunked Hans’ extraordinary abilities. He showed that the horse was actually responding to the expectations of its human interrogators, reading subtle aspects of their posture and expressions to work out when it had tapped enough. The legend of Hans’ intellect was consigned to history.
-
Is gossip bad for you? New study finds health benefits
CBS News: Do you gossip? Even if the answer is yes, you're not likely to admit it. Gossip is generally frowned upon for its potential to spread harmful rumors or labeled as idle chatter. But a new study suggests gossip might be good for your social and psychological health. "Gossip gets a bad rap, but we're finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order," said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, coauthor of the study published in this month's online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
-
Are Religious People Better Adjusted Psychologically?
Psychological research has found that religious people feel great about themselves, with a tendency toward higher social self-esteem and better psychological adjustment than non-believers. But a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that this is only true in countries that put a high value on religion. The researchers got their data from eDarling, a European dating site that is affiliated with eHarmony. Like eHarmony, eDarling uses a long questionnaire to match clients with potential dates.
-
Why We Get Happier with Age
Yahoo: When you imagine a happy adult, the first picture that pops to mind might be a 25-year-old basking in the glow of youth, health, and beauty. Yet research suggests that a beaming 65-year-old might be a more accurate image. In study after study, older adults report having more positive emotions and fewer negative ones than younger adults do. At first blush, that might seem a bit counterintuitive. After all, the older we get, the more losses and disappointments we’ve racked up, and the more likely we are to have a chronic disease or disabling condition. Read the whole story: Yahoo
-
New Research on the Antidepressant-Versus-Placebo Debate
TIME: In the 1990s, everyone was “Listening to Prozac,” after bestselling author Peter Kramer described sparkling personality transformations in patients who took the titular antidepressant drug. Then came the backlash: by the early 2000s, studies showed that Prozac and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, weren’t exactly miracle pills, but were instead associated with suicide, especially in kids and teens. Another whiplash-inducing turn came in 2008, when a review of the research found that the drugs were actually no more effective than sugar pills, except in cases of the most severe depression. Read the full story: TIME
