Psychology
Thanks to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, most people now recognize the need to maintain good hygiene as a means to avoid sickness. And undoubtedly, frequent updates on death tolls, school closures and airport screenings from health officials and media figures also deserve some credit for the public's hyper vigilance in maintaining good hygiene--frequently washing hands, sneezing into shirt sleeves and so on.
While these behaviors can be good ways to prevent the spread of disease, is it possible that the current trend of hygiene awareness is overblown? Even to the point of…
A recent article addressed the issue of children being frightened of costumed characters and some of the other fears they might experience. In some cases, this fear escalated into a phobia.
However, comments like "fears likely helped our ancestors survive" generate more alarm than comfort to me. Besides being pretty obvious, it raises the question of why fear should be considered such a bad thing, especially for children.
I can certainly understand that an unreasonable fear that has escalated all of out proportion and become debilitating can be problematic. I suspect that the vast…
Are women naturally different from men when it comes to detecting emotions? Biology may play a role, since there are few opportunities for socialization to shape such gender differences, and some evolutionary psychologists have suggested that females, because of their role as primary caretakers, are wired to quickly and accurately decode or detect distress in preverbal infants or threatening signals from other adults to enhance their chances at survival.
But women are better than men at distinguishing between emotions, especially fear and disgust, according to a new…
In a previous entry, I discussed Sharon Begley’s Newsweek article titled “Ignoring the Evidence; Why do psychologists reject science?” It nettled a perennial sore spot for me, which is the culture of Psychology and the role Psychology plays in the family of sciences. An issue I often wrestle with is the widely held disbelief in the merit of a psychological science. Some of this animosity is of course well earned. The annals of Psychology are replete with crackpot ideas, the infant crawl and first steps of ascendancy to legitimate science, and a number of discredited ideas remain…
If you think choosing a candy bar or a granola bar is totally a matter of free will, think again. A new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research argues that the choices we make to indulge ourselves or exercise self-control depend on how the choices are presented.
University of Miami Assistant professor of marketing Juliano Laran tested subjects to determine how certain words and concepts affected their ability to control themselves when confronted with the choice of healthy or unhealthy food. He found that consumer choices were affected by the actions most recently suggested to…
This study was released today, regarding the incidence of Autism in the population. According to the study, which is based on data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, there is a prevalence rate of 1 in 91 American children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and even worse, 1 in 58 boys.
I can hear the people screaming.... "Autism Epidemic!!! Run for the hills!!! Don't vaccinate your children!!! It is a government conspiracy!!!"
I am on the lookout for Jenny McCarthy, but so far, her mug has not found its way to the big news stations yet.
Here are some take-home points:
(to…
Sitting up straight in a chair is obviously good for posture but it can also make you unconsciously more confident, say Ohio State University researchers.
They found that people who were told to sit up straight were more likely to believe thoughts they wrote down while in that posture concerning whether they were qualified for a job while those who were slumped over their desks were less likely to accept written-down feelings about their own qualifications.
The results are an indication that our body posture can affect not only what others think about us, but also how we think…
We have all heard the term, "Nutty Professor", which brings to mind the highly intelligent, yet socially inept individual; excelling in the academic world, yet failing miserably in the realm of common sense. Is there an evolutionary explanation for why this phenomenon exists?
Bruce Charlton, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Medical Hypotheses, says "yes". He calls these people 'Clever Sillies' in his article, "Clever Sillies- Why the High IQ Lack Common Sense". He proposes that high IQ is not just a cognitive ability, but also a cognitive disposition. He says,
"...my suggested explanation for…
jhawkins |
after 9/11 went to church
far from alone
tragedy pushed toward a religios like experience
made me think that life has traditionally been more difficult
and that ease may be what eased out religion from day to day life
method of coping not just with unknown but unbearable
what is most unbearable would be losing a child
but in years past very common
read about the life of an historical figure... always involves losing children
ayad |
The truth of the situation is this; notice this: you are conversing with a friend on any topic. Next, a pretty woman enters the room, and immediately the intent of the conversationalists changes, even though the topic itself lingers on. What has changed?
The situation has changed.
Why?
Because of the entry of the lady has created a significant new factor in the minds of the two conversationalists. And so, the aim of each conversationalists has changed in accordance with the new situation. The two men now are speaking with the intention not to convince each other about…