-
OppNet Request for Applications: Basic Behavioral Research on Multisensory Processing (R21)
OppNet, NIH’s Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network, announces the first of its two FY2013 RFAs: Basic behavioral research on multisensory processing (R21): http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-EY-13-001.html Application due date: October 31, 2012, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. Purpose: This RFA encourages research grant applications investigating multisensory processing in perception or other behavioral and social outcomes. The FOA is intended to support basic behavioral research projects focused on two or more sensory modalities.
-
‘Helicopter Parenting’ Discourages Kids
"Helicopter parent" is a 21st century term for parents that “hover” over their children, monitoring and micromanaging their every move. Although parents may find this hard to do, research shows that giving kids space may better motivate them. According to APS Fellow Carol Dweck, a psychological scientist at Stanford University who researches motivation and development, helicopter parenting is more likely to hold kids back. “We’ve studied parents over-praising and we are studying parents overdoing. It makes the child feel they can’t do anything without the parent.” The bottom line, she says, is that less parenting may help kids more in the long run.
-
Certain Kinds of Passion Can Take a Toll on Self-Esteem
Whether it’s the drive of an Olympic athlete, the vision of an entrepreneur, or the skill of a fantasy role-playing game champion (more on that later), intense passion often inspires admiration. But the findings from a recent study in the European Journal of Social Psychology suggest that not all passions are created equal; some kinds of passion may even be harmful to your health. Geneviéve A. Mageau and Joëlle Carpentier of the Université de Montréal and Robert J. Vallerand of Université du Québec à Montréal wanted to test Vallerand’s Dualistic Model of Passion.
-
Psychological Science Goes to Mars
Teamwork is important in most jobs — but it’s especially critical for people who have to complete an expensive, high-stakes, and technically complicated mission all while locked in a zero-gravity chamber with their co-workers for eighteen straight months. That’s why NASA is calling on psychological scientists like Eduardo Salas and Kimberly Smith-Jentsch to design strategies that astronauts can use to help each other stay healthy and safe during a voyage to Mars that is planned for 2030. In 2010, Salas and Smith-Jentsch, both of the University of Central Florida, were awarded a three-year, $1.2 million grant by NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
-
WeSearchTogether Connects Researchers to Study Participants Instantly
Nearly 1 in 4 American adults lives with a mental health disorder, yet less than 2 in 100 participate in mental health research (CISRP, 2012). Researchers in the field struggle to engage enough participants in their work, making it difficult to achieve breakthroughs in the treatment of mood disorders. WeSearchTogether.org is a national online clearinghouse and registry that offers researchers a free opportunity to connect with people living with mood disorders who are thinking about participating in research. WeSearchTogether was launched this summer by the University of Michigan Depression Center and the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).
-
The History of Decision Making
APS Fellow Gerd Gigerenzer is the Director at the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany, where he investigates how humans and other animals make decisions and use cognitive strategies when facing uncertainty. The findings are used in training and informing law students, judges, and mangers. Gigerenzer is also the Director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany. Watch Gerd Gigerenzer discuss his research on human decision making in this series of interviews.
