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Our Brains Have Multiple Mechanisms For Learning
One of the most important things humans do is learning this kind of pattern: when A happens, B follows. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, examines how people learn, and finds that they use different mental processes in different situations. “There's a long history in the field of psychology of two different approaches to thinking about how we learn,” says James McClelland of Stanford University, who cowrote the paper with graduate student Daniel Sternberg. One is learning by association; Pavlov's dog learned to associate food with the sound of a bell.
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Rooney take note! Goalies dive to the RIGHT in penalty shootouts if their team is behind
Daily Mail: It's news that could have proved useful to footballers Stuart Pearce, Gareth Southgate and Jamie Carragher - goalkeepers under pressure are more likely to dive to the right. The England players all missed crucial penalties in international matches trying to slot the ball in the left side of the goal, leading commentators to bemoan the country's poor record in shoot-outs. Now scientists from the University of Amsterdam have made a promising finding after examining every penalty shoot-out in every World Cup from 1982 to 2010. Read the whole story: Daily Mail
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Vokale vermitteln Größe
ORF News Austria: Die Forscher arbeiteten mit 28 Babys im Alter von vier Monaten. Ihre Muttersprache war Spanisch. Sie spielten den Babys Silben vor, die aus Konsonanten und den Vokalen I, O, E oder A zusammengesetzt waren. Bedeutung hatten die Silben keine. Während die Babys eine Silbe hörten, zeigten ihnen die Forscher gleichzeitig mehrere geometrische Figuren. Die Kreise, Ovale, Quadrate und Dreiecke waren unterschiedlich groß und hatten verschiedene Farben. Mit einem sogenannten Eyetracker wurde das Blickverhalten der Babys aufgezeichnet. Hörten die Babys Silben mit den Vokalen I und E, fiel ihr Blick als erstes auf kleinere geometrische Figuren.
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Optimism helps teens tackle anxiety
Times of India: Training teens to develop a positive outlook might help them tackle anxiety effectively as adults, according to a new research. "For example, I might wave at someone I recently met on the other side of the street," says experimental psychologist Jennifer Lau from Oxford University, who led the study. "If they don't wave back, I might think they didn't remember me - or alternatively, I might think they're snubbing me. People with anxiety are more likely to assume the latter interpretation," Lau said Read more: Times of India
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Was dem Huhn ins Ohr geht
Bild der Wissenschaft: Die kleinen Hühner wurden für die Tests bereits kurz nach dem Schlüpfen darauf trainiert, einem kleinen roten Plastikzylinder zu folgen. Im eigentlichen Test ein paar Tage später setzten die Forscher sie dann in eine weißlackierte Holzkiste, in der auf jeder Seite ein Lautsprecher installiert war. Vor den Boxen war auf jeder Seite einer der roten Zylinder angebracht, wobei die gesamte Installation aus Sicht der Hühner jeweils hinter einem Gazevorhang versteckt war.
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Researchers Find That Wisdom Really Does Come With Age
Texas A&M News and Information: COLLEGE STATION — The adage “with age comes wisdom” may actually ring true, according to psychologists at Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin. By examining how aging affects decision-making, researchers concluded that older adults use the experience in decision-making accumulated over their lifetime to determine the long-term utility and not just the immediate benefit before making a choice. However, younger adults tend to focus their decision-making on instant gratification, says Darrell Worthy, a professor of psychology at Texas A&M.
