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<em>Perspectives</em> Provides Strategies for Maximizing Informational Value of Research
It’s an exhilarating time in psychological science, as momentum continues to build toward improving research standards and practices across the field. A special section in the November issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science is part of an ongoing effort to involve researchers in this movement by providing a set of cutting-edge strategies that can be used to improve the way research is conducted and evaluated.
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Cornell’s Stephen Ceci on Changing Landscape for Women in Academic Science
Psychological scientist Stephen Ceci is the H. L. Carr Chaired Professor of Developmental Psychology at Cornell University. His research focuses on a range of subjects, including cognitive development of children’s memory, intelligence, and women and academic science. Below is a Q&A with Ceci on his recent report, Women in Academic Science: A Changing Landscape, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. What advice, if any, would you give parents to encourage their daughters on a path to the fields of geoscience, engineering, economics, mathematics, and physical sciences (GEEMP)?
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The Self, Motivation & Virtue Project
Request for Proposals: EXTENDED DEADLINE The Self, Motivation & Virtue Project Marquette University, with a generous grant from the Templeton Religion Trust, is pleased to announce a new research initiative on the topics of the self, motivation, and virtue. Approximately ten research proposals at $190,000 each will be funded through this initiative. Awards are intended to support research from September 1, 2015 through May 31, 2017 (two academic years and one summer). Letters of Intent are due no later than December 1, 2014. (This is extended from the original November 15 deadline.) Full proposals are by invitation only, and are due no later than June 1, 2015.
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Extremist Groups Appeal to Those Uncertain About Identity
In a world threatened by extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Boko Haram, many people wonder what pull such violent, fear-mongering organizations have over their followers. In a new Current Directions in Psychological Science article, APS Fellow Michael A. Hogg, describes a theory explaining why people with no previous record of violence or extremist views might be joining these causes. Hogg proposes that “uncertainty-identity theory” — the role uncertainty plays in motivating people to join a social group to feel accepted — could be a contributing factor pushing people toward fringe groups — whether ideological, religious, or political.
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Infants Can Tell If You’re a Reliable Informant
It’s hard to know how babies think, since they’re still getting a handle on language skills. One strategy that researchers use to gain some insight is eye tracking, which allows them to see where babies direct their gaze and for how long. In light of research suggesting that children trust other people’s testimony based on prior experience with them, psychological scientist Kristen Swan Tummeltshammer of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London and colleagues conducted two experiments to determine whether infants could discern a person’s trustworthiness and act on this knowledge — a crucial skill for successful learning.
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International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology
The International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology will be held 2–5 August 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. The call for submissions is open, and the abstract deadline is 9 November 2015. For more information, visit icttp2016.com.
