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Testing Improves Memory
“We’ve known for over 100 years that testing is good for memory,” says Kent State University psychology graduate student Kalif Vaughn. Psychologists have proven in a myriad of experiments that “retrieval practice”—correctly producing a studied item—increases the likelihood that you’ll get it right the next time. “But we didn’t know why.” In the past, many researchers have believed that testing is good for memory, but only for the exact thing you are trying to remember: so-called “target memory.” If you’re asked to recall the Lithuanian equivalent of an English word, say, you will get good at remembering the Lithuanian, but you won’t necessarily remember the English.
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In the Hole! Golfing in the Mind’s Eye
When the world’s finest golfers descend this week on Maryland’s Congressional Country Club for the 111th U.S. Open, there will be no hands-down favorite for the crowds to follow. Bubba Watson will bring his monstrous drives, KJ Choi his intense focus, and Luke Donald his consistency. Veterans Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will have experience on their side, and Graeme McDowell his status as defending champion. That's the great thing about golf. Golfers may have different strengths, but at the end of the day each of them faces the identical challenge: Putting a sphere measuring 42.67 mm in diameter into a hole measuring 108 mm in diameter. Or maybe not.
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Nodding Off First May Leave Your Partner Wanting
LiveScience: Falling asleep first after having sex may leave your partner longing for attention and more bonding time, new research finds. "The time the couple spends together after sex is prime time for bonding and the commitment conversation," said Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "Your oxytocin and the hormones related to affective relationships are raging, so it's prime time for bonding." This after-sex bonding period could be evolutionarily derived, since in the case of a pregnancy, the female would desire a commitment from her sexual partner. Spending this time bonding could be an important way to secure that commitment. Read more: LiveScience
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Chinese-English Speakers Translate English into Chinese Automatically
Over half the world’s population speaks more than one language. But it’s not clear how these languages interact in the brain. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that Chinese people who are fluent in English translate English words into Chinese automatically and quickly, without thinking about it. Like her research subjects, Taoli Zhang of the University of Nottingham is originally from China, but she lives in the UK and is fluent in English. She co wrote the new paper with her colleagues, Walter J.B. van Heuven and Kathy Conklin.
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The Behavioral Immune System
Scientific American: We are prejudiced against all kinds of other people, based on superficial physical features: We react negatively to facial disfigurement; we avoid sitting next to people who are obese, or old, or in a wheelchair; we favor familiar folks over folks that are foreign. If I asked you why these prejudices exist and what one can do to eliminate them, your answer probably wouldn't involve the words "infectious disease." Perhaps it should. What does infectious disease have to do with these prejudices? The answer lies in something that I've come to call the "behavioral immune system." The behavioral immune system is our brain's way of engaging in a kind of preventative medicine.
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Videogames: An untapped source of calm?
CBS News: Video games may soon join the ranks of yoga and meditation as sources of calm and compassion, according to a new study that finds video games can have many psychological benefits. "Our research shows that playing relaxing video games puts people in a better mood," said Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University and co-author of the study. "These games don't only have a positive effect on the person who plays them -- the effect reaches other people too because people who are in a good mood state are more willing to help others Read more: CBS News
