Ten Psychology Studies from 2009 Worth Knowing About - David DiSalvo - Brainspin Image by AFP/Getty Images via Daylife Several great psychology and neuroscience studies were published in 2009. Below I’ve chosen 10 that I think are among the most noteworthy, not just because they’re interesting, but useful as well. 1. If you have to choose between buying something or spending the money on a memorable experience, go with the experience. According to a study conducted at San Francisco State University, the things you own can’t make you as happy as the things you do. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 5 Psychological Experiments That Prove Humanity is Doomed Cracked.com's new book is now on sale. What follows is one of 22 classic articles that appear in the book, along with 18 new articles that you can't read anywhere else. Psychologists know you have to be careful when you go poking around the human mind because you're never sure what you'll find there. A number of psychological experiments over the years have yielded terrifying conclusions about the subjects. Oh, we're not talking about the occasional psychopath who turns up. The Asch Conformity Experiment (1953) The Setup: Solomon Asch wanted to run a series of studies that would document the power of conformity, for the purpose of depressing everyone who would ever read the results. Subjects were told that they would be taking part in a vision test, along with a handful of people. The Result: Questions the subjects were asked were like the puzzle shown here: All they had to do was say which line on the right matched the one on the left. ... and make sure you conform to it perfectly. C.
The Ten Most Revealing Psych Experiments Psychology is the study of the human mind and mental processes in relation to human behaviors - human nature. Due to its subject matter, psychology is not considered a 'hard' science, even though psychologists do experiment and publish their findings in respected journals. Some of the experiments psychologists have conducted over the years reveal things about the way we humans think and behave that we might not want to embrace, but which can at least help keep us humble. That's something. 1. 'Lord of the Flies': Social Identity Theory The Robbers Cave Experiment is a classic social psychology experiment conducted with two groups of 11-year old boys at a state park in Oklahoma, and demonstrates just how easily an exclusive group identity is adopted and how quickly the group can degenerate into prejudice and antagonism toward outsiders. Researcher Muzafer Sherif actually conducted a series of 3 experiments. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Turns out that it's all about framing.
5 Ways To Hack Your Brain Into Awesomeness Much of the brain is still mysterious to modern science, possibly because modern science itself is using brains to analyze it. There are probably secrets the brain simply doesn't want us to know. But by no means should that stop us from tinkering around in there, using somewhat questionable and possibly dangerous techniques to make our brains do what we want. We can't vouch for any of these, either their effectiveness or safety. All we can say is that they sound awesome, since apparently you can make your brain... #5. So you just picked up the night shift at your local McDonald's, you have class every morning at 8am and you have no idea how you're going to make it through the day without looking like a guy straight out of Dawn of the Dead, minus the blood... hopefully. "SLEEEEEEEEEP... uh... What if we told you there was a way to sleep for little more than two hours a day, and still feel more refreshed than taking a 12-hour siesta on a bed made entirely out of baby kitten fur? Holy Shit!
Does the comfort of conformity ease thoughts of death? - life - 25 February 2011 AS THE light at the end of the tunnel approaches, the need to belong to a group and be near loved ones may be among your final thoughts. So say Markus Quirin and his colleagues at the University of Osnabrück in Germany. The team prompted thoughts of death in 17 young men with an average age of 23 by asking them whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements such as "I am afraid of dying a painful death". At the same time, the men's brain activity was monitored using a functional MRI scanner. To compare the brain activity associated with thoughts of death with that coupled to another unpleasant experience, the team also prompted thoughts of dental pain using statements like "I panic when I am sitting in the dentist's waiting room". Although the threat of dental pain is unpleasant, "it's not a threat of death", Quirin says. Quirin thinks the work of German philosopher Martin Heidegger could explain the unexpected result. New Scientist Not just a website! Sentient robots?
Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature Human nature is one of those things that everybody talks about but no one can define precisely. Every time we fall in love, fight with our spouse, get upset about the influx of immigrants into our country, or go to church, we are, in part, behaving as a human animal with our own unique evolved nature—human nature. This means two things. First, our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are produced not only by our individual experiences and environment in our own lifetime but also by what happened to our ancestors millions of years ago. Second, our thoughts, feelings, and behavior are shared, to a large extent, by all men or women, despite seemingly large cultural differences. Human behavior is a product both of our innate human nature and of our individual experience and environment. The implications of some of the ideas in this article may seem immoral, contrary to our ideals, or offensive. Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters,
Top 10 Thinking Traps Exposed Our minds set up many traps for us. Unless we’re aware of them, these traps can seriously hinder our ability to think rationally, leading us to bad reasoning and making stupid decisions. Features of our minds that are meant to help us may, eventually, get us into trouble. Here are the first 5 of the most harmful of these traps and how to avoid each one of them. 1. “Is the population of Turkey greater than 35 million? Lesson: Your starting point can heavily bias your thinking: initial impressions, ideas, estimates or data “anchor” subsequent thoughts. This trap is particularly dangerous as it’s deliberately used in many occasions, such as by experienced salesmen, who will show you a higher-priced item first, “anchoring” that price in your mind, for example. What can you do about it? Always view a problem from different perspectives. 2. In one experiment a group of people were randomly given one of two gifts — half received a decorated mug, the other half a large Swiss chocolate bar. 3. 4.
100 Best Blogs for Psychology Students With the availability of so many different blogs and other internet resources, psychology students today have a unique opportunity to gain insights and perspectives not otherwise available to their predecessors. Some information comes straight from professionals, others from students, and still others straight from the patients themselves. Though one should always practice discretion when perusing data and research on the internet, most researchers professionally offer links to reliable sources such as journal articles and websites for the American Psychological Association, National Institute of Mental Health, and other respected organizations. The internet provides a wealth of opinions and experiences for psychology students to discover every facet of their chosen discipline. 1.PsyBlog : University College London researcher Jeremy Dean posts articles relating to the scientific aspect of psychology with the hopes of highlighting how it factors into everyday life. 28.Dr. 32.PANIC!
Hedgehog's dilemma Both Arthur Schopenhauer and Sigmund Freud have used this situation to describe what they feel is the state of individual in relation to others in society. The hedgehog's dilemma suggests that despite goodwill, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial mutual harm, and what results is cautious behavior and weak relationships. With the hedgehog's dilemma, one is recommended to use moderation in affairs with others both because of self-interest, as well as out of consideration for others. Schopenhauer[edit] The concept originates in the following parable from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's Parerga und Paralipomena, Volume II, Chapter XXXI, Section 396:[1] A number of porcupines huddled together for warmth on a cold day in winter; but, as they began to prick one another with their quills, they were obliged to disperse. Freud[edit] It entered the realm of psychology after the tale was discovered and adopted by Sigmund Freud. Social psychological research[edit]
Howstuffworks "How Police Interrogation Works" There are "Law & Order" addicts everywhere who think they could get a perp to confess. A little glaring, some getting in the guy's face, a revelation that his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon and voilà! He's recounting his crime. In real life, police interrogation requires more than confidence and creativity (although those qualities do help) -- interrogators are highly trained in the psychological tactics of social influence. Getting someone to confess to a crime is not a simple task, and the fact that detectives sometimes end up with confessions from the innocent testifies to their expertise in psychological manipulation. Police interrogations weren't always so complex. While the Supreme Court had ruled as early as 1897 against involuntary confessions, it was in 1937 that things really started to change. When the case Miranda v.
Overweight Children Never Bonded With Mom [STUDY] "Ronald Loves Me" There's a raging debate currently afoot and it has nothing to do with the millionaire's tax. Should parents be held accountable for their children's chubbiness? In a recent story, an eight-year-old boy was taken from his mother on charges of neglect, after his weight ballooned to over 200 pounds and he began having trouble breathing. Read: Obese 8 Year-Old Taken From Mother On Charges Of Neglect Now a new study has added more fuel to the raging fire, as it suggests that teens are more likely to be obese if they had a poor emotional relationship with their mother when they were toddlers. Looking at the numbers, researchers examined U.S. Read: Being Overweight, Even a Little, Can Increase Death Risk The analysis showed that the childrens' risk of obesity at age 15 was highest among those who had the lowest-quality emotional relationship with their mothers when they were toddlers.
Madonna–whore complex In sexual politics the view of women as either Madonnas or whores limits women's sexual expression, offering two mutually exclusive ways to construct a sexual identity.[4] The term is also used popularly, often with subtly different meanings. Causes[edit] Freud argued that the Madonna–whore complex is caused by oedipal castration fears which arise when a man experiences the affection he once felt for his mother with women he now sexually desires. In order to manage this anxiety, the man categorizes women into two groups: women he can admire and women he finds sexually attractive. This earlier theory is based not on oedipal-based castration anxiety but on man's primary hatred of women, stimulated by the child’s sense that he had been made to experience intolerable frustration and/or narcissistic injury at the hands of his mother. According to Freudian psychology, this complex often develops when the sufferer is raised by a cold and distant mother. In popular culture[edit] See also[edit] Notes
Household Hints Disclaimer - As with all home remedies on this page, use at your own risk. 1) Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray and they will take a quick dive. 2) Sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. 3) Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. 4) For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. 5) Crayon marks on walls? 6) Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like store receipt BLUE!) 7) Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves. 8) Opening brand new jars can be a feat in itself. 9) Blood stains on clothes? 10) Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows. 11) Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room to create a lovely light scent in each room when the light is turned on. 21). 22) Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... * Clean a vase. Collect cat hair.