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Boosting Older Adults’ Vision Through Training
Just a weeks’ worth of training can improve vision in older adults, according to new research in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that training boosted older adults’ sensitivity to contrast and also their ability to see things clearly at close distances. “Our research indicates that the visual system of older adults maintains a high degree of plasticity and demonstrates that training methods can be used to improve visual function,” explains psychological scientist G.
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Societally-Engaged Adults See Their Lives as Redemption Stories
Middle-aged Americans who show high levels of societal involvement and mental health are especially likely to construe their lives as stories of personal redemption, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Previous research has shown that adults who are inclined toward generativity — the concern for and commitment to promoting the growth and well-being of future generations — are more likely to engage in a wide range of prosocial behaviors, including positive parenting styles, political participation, and community volunteerism.
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Cognitive Skills Peak at Different Ages Across Adulthood
Overall fluid intelligence — the ability to analyze information, engage in critical thinking, and solve problems — is thought to peak in early adulthood, but a new study suggests that different aspects of fluid intelligence peak at
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New Research in Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Anticipatory Control Through Associative Learning of Subliminal Relations: Invisible May Be Better Than Visible Ausaf A. Farooqui and Tom Manly In this study, the researchers examined whether information presented in subliminal cues could be used to proactively enhance goal-directed cognitive control. In a series of 10 experiments, the researchers had participants perform two different tasks. The task that participants were asked to perform could change from one trial to the next.
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The Perils of Adolescence
The Huffington Post: Adolescence is a perilous time of life. It's a time of heightened risk taking -- reckless driving, risky sex, excessive drug and alcohol use. For decades the prevalent view -- the common wisdom of parenting manuals -- was that teenagers feel invulnerable, immortal. They simply perceive less peril in dicey situations and believe they have much more control than they actually do. In short, they underestimate life's very real risks and dangers. But scientists who study adolescent decision making now dispute this common parenting wisdom. Teenagers do indeed underestimate risk -- sometimes -- but at other times they overestimate how risky and harmful a situation is.
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Problems Too Disgusting to Solve
The New Yorker: Early last month, Bill Gates released a video of one of the latest ventures funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: the Omniprocessor, a Seattle-based processing plant that burns sewage to make clean drinking water. In the video, Gates raises a glass of water to his lips. Just five minutes ago, the caption explains, that water was human waste. Gates takes a sip. “It’s water,” he says. “Having studied the engineering behind it,” he writes, on the foundation’s blog, “I would happily drink it every day.
