Science & Technology at Scientific America
Sleep aids memory. Whether tested in animals or humans, studies have shown that sense memories--such as learning a certain sequence of dance steps--take root more solidly when paired with adequate rest. Now new research shows that so-called declarative memories--such as a sequence of facts--also benefit from slumber, especially when subjects are challenged with subsequent, competing information. Jeffrey Ellenbogen of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues recruited 60 healthy subjects--excluding night owls, the restless and the lethargic--and asked them to memorize 20 pairs of random words, such as blanket and village. The participants were assigned to one of five groups of 12 and had unlimited time to learn the pairings. Two of the groups began learning at 9 A.M and returned for testing at 9 P.M. that evening--with no naps allowed--and two of the groups began learning at 9 P.M. and returned for testing at 9 A.M. the following morning after a night¿s sleep.
Understanding Human Behavior (English)
As of July 1, 2013 ThinkQuest has been discontinued. We would like to thank everyone for being a part of the ThinkQuest global community: Students - For your limitless creativity and innovation, which inspires us all. Teachers - For your passion in guiding students on their quest. Partners - For your unwavering support and evangelism.
47 Mind-Blowing Psychology-Proven Facts You Should Know About Yourself
I’ve decided to start a series called 100 Things You Should Know about People. As in: 100 things you should know if you are going to design an effective and persuasive website, web application or software application. Or maybe just 100 things that everyone should know about humans! The order that I’ll present these 100 things is going to be pretty random.
Sexual Success And The Schizoid Factor
28 April 2006 By Rusty Rockets Ever wondered why uncouth, scruffy rock musicians are pursued by legions of doting, lovelorn female fans? Or why women threw themselves at Pablo Picasso? Well, a new study suggests that creativity may confer an evolutionary advantage in finding a mate; indicating that creative types have increased sexual appeal. But paradoxically, people who have certain traits predictive of schizophrenia - a condition not normally associated with evolutionary fitness - also have a higher propensity toward artistic ability.
George
My wife Karen (on the right in the photo below) and I have been married since 1979, and we have two daughters. Evan Ann (on the far left in the family photo) was born in 1985, and she entered Stanford University in 2004. Caitlin (next to Evan) was born in 1988, and she started the University of Central Florida in 2006.
"This Is Your Brain on Music"
If you happened to have been born between about 1978 and 1981, there’s a fair chance you count yourself an obsessive of the Southern California rock band Weezer. The affection would not make sense to those even just a bit older or younger, who might regard Weezer’s guitar pop as clever and pleasing but also somewhat too shallow to have much lasting significance. Those of a certain age, though, experienced the group’s 1994 eponymous debut release, known to fans as the Blue Album, as a thing of precise and overflowing emotion — 10 tracks that functioned like keys to secret locks in the teenage brain, opening up all the awkwardness and anxiousness of those melodramatic high school years. We all have music like this, music that burns into the soul when we’re young and remains essential for the rest of time.
Jonah Berger - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Research Interests: diffusion, identity, consumer decision making, product adoption and abandonment, social contagion, social influence, viral marketing, word of mouth Links: CV, Personal Website Author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Contagious: Why Things Catch On. jonahberger.com What makes ideas viral and products spread contagiously? Professor Jonah Berger studies social epidemics, or how products, ideas, and behaviors catch on and become popular.
The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulati
Volunteers What suspects had done was to answer a local newspaper ad calling for volunteers in a study of the psychological effects of prison life. We wanted to see what the psychological effects were of becoming a prisoner or prison guard.
Your True Self Revealed - F
You are a Considerate Analyst. personalDNA about you
Stress Changes Who Men Find Attractive
When men are under stress, instead of preferring women who resemble themselves as they normally do, they choose dissimilar women, researchers now find. Scientists in Germany and their colleagues had 50 men look at 30 pictures of erotic female nudes. These photos were computer-modified so their faces subtly resembled either the volunteer in question or another volunteer. All the men in question were white, clean-shaven heterosexual university students of normal weight without facial tattoos or piercings, and none of the men recognized the erotica had been computer-modified or resembled them.
Power of Language - I’m Sorry, I Don’t Know, I Can’t
Photo by Vanessa Paxton I find myself blurting out I don’t know as an instant answer to questions I don’t have immediate answers for. Lately, I’ve been noting how these simple words made me feel, and I’m starting to take notice that on some level, these casual words are effecting my emotions and self-esteem. Saying I don’t know, I’m sorry, I can’t and “I don’t want to but have to” are slowly changing my mindset. Through my observations, I’ve noticed how common it is to use these popular phrases without giving them a second thought.
