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Q&A With Psychological Scientist John Dunlosky
John Dunlosky is a professor of psychology at Kent State University. A major aim of his research program is to develop techniques to improve the effectiveness of people’s self-regulated learning across the life span. We invited our Facebook and Twitter followers, as well as students, to submit questions based on Dunlosky's recent PSPI report, and here is what he had to say. How did you define "learning" in your study? Learning was defined in many ways — from how well students performed on tests that involved recalling critical information that they had studied, to tests that involve comprehending the information or applying it to solve problems.
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Study: False Memory Increases in Nonhabitual Consumers of Caffeine
The consumption of as little as 100 mg of caffeine elicits reliable changes in arousal and, in turn, false memories in individuals who do not habitually consume caffeine, according to a study.
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Need Some Help Getting to Convention?
In case you were on the fence about whether to attend the APS Annual Convention, the APSSC is offering ways to cut down on the travel and registration costs. For volunteering and travel assistance, the APSSC is currently accepting applications online here. The APS student affiliates who are selected as volunteers are provided with a $200 travel grant to help defray the cost of attending the annual convention. For 2013 the APSSC expects to fund 45-50 volunteers. The APSSC hotel match-up program is a service for APS student members seeking to reduce their convention-related expenses by finding other students who are interested in sharing the cost of accommodation at the annual convention.
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Seeing and Imagining Are Different in the Brain
The Sistine Chapel is a truly awe-inspiring sight: a testimony to human ingenuity, effort, and creativity. No less awe-inspiring — and far less easily understood — are the mental processes that allow humans to see the chapel’s famous vaulted ceilings and the paintings that adorn them. We know more or less how the Sistine Chapel was built and decorated, but scientists are still figuring out what goes on in our brains when we see it. In an article published in the Journal of Cognitive Psychology, William L. Thompson adds to our understanding of visual perception by contrasting visual attention with visual mental imagery.
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Q&A on Regifting With Gabrielle Adams
Gabrielle Adams is an assistant professor of organizational behavior at London Business School. Her research interests include morality and ethical behavior, as well as human behavior. In reference to "The Gifts We Keep On Giving," the research article in Psychological Science: What sparked your interest to study psychology and human behavior? As an undergraduate, I first decided to major in Philosophy because I wanted to ask questions about fundamental problems. When I took Thane Pittman’s social psychology course at Colby College, I realized that I could also come up with some answers to these questions by conducting empirical tests of the ideas I had about human behavior.
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A Long-Term Approach to Studying Antisocial Behavior
Some people respond to life’s pressures by engaging in criminal behavior; others don’t. Psychological scientists are trying to figure out why criminals are different, but much of the existing research that connects personal characteristics to antisocial behavior has measured personality and behavior simultaneously, making it difficult to establish a causal relationship. A longitudinal study of Estonian adolescents that was recently published in the European Journal of Personality may be an important addition to the literature on antisocial behavior.
