If all of American politics could be epitomized by a single emotion, it would be the frustration of watching an ignorant politician maniacally disregard the proof that your own position is correct. … There could be an entire book of syndicated newspaper columns that discuss “motivated reasoning”—the tendency to interpret […] Read more »
How To Win That Music Competition? Send A Video
… A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explains why the judges liked Chia-Jung Tsay more when they could see her perform. The researcher who published the study: Chia-Jung Tsay. In addition to her music career, Tsay is also a psychologist at University College, London. […] Read more »
Rituals Make Our Food More Flavorful
Do you always fold a New York slice in all its oily glory? Is a whole lobster best relished in this order: legs, claws then succulent tail? Do you eat Oreos middle first? Or dunked in milk? Far from being mere quirks of personality, rituals like these may actually enhance […] Read more »
Scientists Trace Memories of Things That Never Happened
… Not only are false, or mistaken, memories common in normal life, but researchers have found it relatively easy to generate false memories of words and images in human subjects. But exactly what goes on in the brain when mistaken memories are formed has remained mysterious. Now scientists at the […] Read more »
This Is Your Brain on Power
The powerful people of the world look down upon the powerless. … A decade of research on power and behavior show there are some predictable ways people react to power, which can be simply defined as the ability to influence others. While power in governments and across the world can come […] Read more »
Do You Wanna Know a Secret?
The revelation that the National Security Agency has been secretly amassing huge amounts of data about Americans’ phone and Internet use has sparked a lively debate about the proper role of secret information in a free and open society. … But there is a major problem with evaluating information labeled […] Read more »