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Exploring the Space-Time Continuum…in the Mind
We often use words related to space to talk about time, describing the order of events in terms of “moving forward,” “looking back,” “thinking ahead,” and “lagging behind.” In fact, research suggests that people typically think about events on a timeline that right from left (past) to right (future). But is the ability to mentally represent space necessary for representing events on a mental timeline? Researcher Lera Boroditsky and colleagues decided to investigate this question by looking at mental representation of time in participants who had suffered strokes to the right hemisphere of the brain.
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Stimulating Integrative Research in Computational Cognition
The National Science Foundation is seeking proposals that will result in “encouraging active dialogue across the cognitive and computational communities, facilitating bidirectional cross-fertilization of ideas, and nurturing emerging areas of transdisciplinary research.” This is not a new program or solicitation. For more information, read the Dear Colleagues Letter on the NSF website.
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Alcohol Dampens Stress Responses, Especially for Uncertain Threats
Whether it's a glass of wine, a pint of beer, or a tumbler of whiskey, people often turn to alcohol to calm their nerves. Anecdotally, alcohol does seem to help dampen our stress response, but the specifics of how, when, and for whom this stress reduction actually occurs remains unclear. Researchers John Curtin, Daniel Bradford, and Benjamin Shapiro of the University of Wisconsin-Madison wanted to better understand the mechanisms and boundary conditions that contribute to the stress-dampening properties of alcohol. In particular, they wanted to explore how alcohol influences our responses to threats of varying certainty and severity.
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Think Again: Nostalgia Increases Positive Feelings Towards Out-Groups
Have you ever caught yourself wistfully thinking about a past event? If so, you aren’t alone; research has shown that almost everyone engages in nostalgic thinking and that these types of memories occur quite often — around 3 times per week. Historically, nostalgia was thought to be a variant of depression, but new research is changing the way we view this emotion. There is now a large body of evidence suggesting nostalgia has positive impacts on how people feel about themselves and how connected they feel towards others.
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BCS Seeking Program Directors in 4 Different Programs
The National Science Foundation is seeking candidates for four program director positions in its Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science (SBE). The job openings are for program directors for the Biological Anthropology Program, the Cognitive Neuroscience Program, the Geography and Spatial Sciences Program, and the Social Psychology Program.
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Our Estimates of Food Value Run “Hot” and “Cold”
It stands to reason that you’d be willing to pay more for a nice slice of pumpkin or apple pie before Thanksgiving dinner, when you’re hungry and salivating, than afterwards, when you’re full to bursting.
