Beautycheck - social perception Do attractive people have any advantages? Are they treated better than less attractive? Is it important to look good on an application photo? According to our investigations the answer to these questions is yes. We could show that people are perceived more positively the more attractive they are. A selection of the faces that have been presented: Attractive female faces: Unattractive female faces: Attractive male faces: Unattractive male faces: All faces do not exist in reality. The results are alarmingly clear. home
Gene Expression: James Watson Tells the Inconvenient Truth: Faces the Consequences ... [M]ight it be fair also to say that the champions of 'no difference' in race or sex, or intelligence ... are the guardians of a greater 'untruth' that allows people to live together in mutual harmony, implying that these critics really deserve to be praised as our protectors even when they are factually wrong? ... it is roughly how the self-appointed guardians choose to present themselves - leaving aside, usually, the step of frankly admitting that they are promoting factual untruths when they know that they are. W.D. Hamilton - ("... one of the greatest evolutionary theorists of the 20th century"). The public intellectual forum is being manipulated with intimidation and coercion and you are being lied to. It's difficult to name many more important living figures in 20th century biology than James Watson. Given such an august curriculum vitae, you would think that this man perhaps understands just a few things about genetics. ... Dr. ...
People don’t know when they’re lying to themselves | Not Exactly Rocket Science “I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it, you will die. “We put our fingers in the eyes of those who doubt that Libya is ruled by anyone other than its people.” – Muammar Gaddafi You don’t have to look far for instances of people lying to themselves. Using experiments where people could cheat on a test, Chance has found that cheaters not only deceive themselves, but are largely oblivious to their own lies. Chance asked 76 students to take a maths test, half of whom could see an answer key at the bottom of their sheets. And they were wrong – when Chance asked her recruits to actually take the hypothetical second test, neither group outperformed the other. Chance also found that the students weren’t aware that they were deceiving themselves. Some people are more prone to this than others. In 2004, Michael Norton (who worked with Chance on the latest study) showed that people can explain away biases in recruitment choices just as easily.
Cognitive science gaining ground in U.S. academic religion studies | FaithWorld The academic study of religion has come a long way from the days when knowledge of scripture, history and a few ancient languages were the main qualifications a scholar needed. Psychology, sociology and other social sciences have been applied to the field for over a century. Over the past 20 years, cognitive science has been edging into the field, especially with the explosion of neuroscience research. Some of the hottest research into religion is now being done with brain scanners searching for data on what happens inside believers’ heads when they pray or feel a special connection to God. (Photo: John Teehan at the Neuroscience Boot Camp, 6 Aug 2009/Tom Heneghan) Among the participants at the University of Pennsylvania’s Neuroscience Boot Camp I’m attending this week and next is John Teehan, an associate professor in the religion department at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Religion also seems to play a role in drawing lines between an in-group and an out-group.
Tapping our powers of persuasion Most psychologists will read this “Questionnaire” with Robert Cialdini, PhD. That may or may not be true, but according to Cialdini, that statement is powerfully persuasive because we tend to go along with our peers. Cialdini, who retired last year from a teaching and research position at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., is a renowned expert in the science of swaying. In his seminal book on the topic, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” (Quill, 1984), he went undercover to learn the tricks mastered by used-car dealers and Fortune 500 executives alike, bringing persuasion research to psychology’s forefront. Cialdini distilled his findings into six “weapons of influence,” each grounded in how we perceive ourselves or others: Reciprocity: We inherently want to return favors. In recent years, Cialdini has been leveraging those weapons to address major world problems such as climate change by persuading people to reduce energy use. I think it’s a little too early.
Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion Editors Pascal Boyer, Washington University in St. LouisArmin W. Geertz, Aarhus University Luther H. Martin, University of Vermont Managing EditorsRyan McKay, Royal Holloway, University of London Dimitris Xygalatas. Book review Editor Istvan Czachesz, Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg Send books for review to: Istvan Czachesz Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg Wissenschaftlich-Theologisches Seminar Kisselgasse 1 D-69117 HeidelbergGermany Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion is the official journal of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR). The cognitive science of religion is a burgeoning field that finds itself in the center of cross-disciplinary research. The editors will consider the following types of original papers: YouTube channel of the Brno research centre LEVYNA - Laboratory for the experimental research of religions Frequency: Continuous online publication comprising 2 issues per volume year Announcements
15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. 1. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. 2. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. “By letting it go it all gets done. 3. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. 4. Oh my. “The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Cognitive Science and Religion John F. Kihlstrom University of California, Berkeley Paper presented at a conference on "Religion and Cognitive Science: From conflict to connection", co-sponsored by the Graduate Theological Union and the University of California, Berkeley. For those of you who are from out of town, or at least not denizens of either Berkeley or Holy Hill, let me welcome you again to this conference on religion and cognitive science. So here's mine. Cognition is about knowledge and knowing, and cognitive science tries to understand the acquisition, representation, and use of knowledge by minds, brains, machines, and social entities. A Capsule History of Cognitive Science The deep origins of cognitive science are in modern philosophy -- which, since Descartes, has been focused on problems of epistemology, as opposed to metaphysics, ethics, and other traditional areas. Nevertheless, the 1960s were a period of rapid development on many fronts (Baars, 1986; Gardner, 1985; Hirst & Miller, 1988).
why our relationships fail - Robin S. Cohen, Ph.D. How do we first begin to experience love? Perhaps as babies, as early psychoanalysts Fairbairn and Guntrip believed, the only way we could feel loved was by having our needs met. The language of bodily transformation was the language of love. Mommy feeds us, changes our diaper or picks us up and we feel satisfied. This is not an unreasonable perspective– we do want our loved ones to be attuned to us and to care enough about us to do what they can to add to our lives. How can we negotiate this impossibly thorny paradox of love if we both believe deep down that we can only feel loved if someone loves us enough to be who we need them to be? D.W. Related Articles and Authors Tara Parker-Pope: The Happy Marriage is the “Me” Marriage Stephen Mitchell. D.W. Jessica Benjamin (multiple books) Harry Guntrip. Adam Phillips: a life in writing
Best evidence yet that a single gene can affect IQ - health - 16 April 2012 By Andy Coghlan A massive genetics study relying on MRI brain scans and DNA samples from over 20,000 people has revealed what is claimed as the biggest effect yet of a single gene on intelligence – although the effect is small. There is little dispute that genetics accounts for a large amount of the variation in people’s intelligence, but studies have consistently failed to find any single genes that have a substantial impact. Instead, researchers typically find that hundreds of genes contribute. Following a brain study on an unprecedented scale, an international collaboration has now managed to tease out a single gene that does have a measurable effect on intelligence. But the effect – although measurable – is small: the gene alters IQ by just 1.29 points. “It seems like the biggest single-gene impact we know of that affects IQ,” says Paul Thompson of the University of California, Los Angeles, who led the collaboration of 207 researchers. Two teaspoons “C is the good one,” says Thompson.
How Love Works" If you've ever been in love, you've probably at least considered classifying the feeling as an addiction. And guess what: You were right. As it turns out, scientists are discovering that the same chemical process that takes place with addiction takes place when we fall in love. Love is a chemical state of mind that's part of our genes and influenced by our upbringing. We are wired for romance in part because we are supposed to be loving parents who care diligently for our helpless babies. In this article, we'll find out what love really is and what happens in our bodies that makes us fall in love -- and ensures we stay there.
Richard Carrier Blogs: Books on Ancient Science Ptolemy, Galen, Soranus, etc.). Next in line is the much shorter (and easier to read) two-volume set by G.E.R. Lloyd, Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle (1970) and Greek Science after Aristotle (1973). These are also out of date, but less so, and though they are much less extensive in coverage, this fact adds up to the converse advantage that they are a quick read. They also cover the Roman period. An even shorter survey of ancient science has recently been written. Rihll's book has three defects. A good supplement to all of the above is the collection of Cohen and Drabkin, A Source Book in Greek Science (1948). Finally, there is Lucio Russo's The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why it Had to Be Reborn (2003), which is a revised edition (and translation) of La rivoluzione dimenticata (1996). There are a few related tendencies toward hyperbolic theorizing in the book, such as his effort to argue that the Roman engineer Hero invented motion pictures (pp. 139-41).
Dead Malls Attention, dead mall fans: this one’s for you. The following gem of a mall is almost completely dead, totally unrenovated and as dated as they come. It’s just as interesting as other deadmall icons like Southwyck, Machesney Park, Summit Place, Rolling Acres, Randall Park, or any of those, but hasn’t received nearly as much fan press. And, as of July 2010 it is still open for regular business with no imminent plans for closure. In fact, this is one of the last ones left of its kind. I’m talking about Mountaineer Mall. Mountaineer Mall was once the dominant – and only – mall in the Morgantown region. Mountaineer Mall originally opened in 1975 on a bluff, high above the Monongahela River, on the south side of Morgantown. Even though Mountaineer Mall was small, it became immensely popular and gained a loyal following in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Unfortunately, Mountaineer Mall’s time in the sun was short-lived. As of 2010, the only stores remaining in the mall are listed here.
IQ scores reflect motivation as well as 'intelligence' Ever since there have been IQ tests, people have debated what they actually measure. Is it “intelligence”, is it an abstract combination of mental abilities, or is it, as Edwin Boring said, “the capacity to do well in an intelligence test”? Regardless of the answer, studies have repeatedly shown that people who achieve higher scores in IQ tests are more likely to do well in school, perform well in their jobs, earn more money, avoid criminal convictions, and even live longer. Say what you like about the tests, but they have predictive power. However, Angela Lee Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania has found that this power is overrated. The link between our IQs and our fates becomes muddier when we consider motivation – an aspect of test-taking that is often ignored. Many standardised tests assume that the people who take them are alert and motivated. To look at how motivation affects IQ scores, Duckworth reviewed 25 previous studies, which included a total of 2,008 people.