Researchers found that 15-month-olds struggle to distinguish Jamaican-accented words, but 19-month-olds exhibit cross-dialect recognition. By 19 months, children demonstrate phonological constancy for both familiar and unfamiliar words in any English dialect.
A study by Kellogg School researchers examines how physical characteristics, particularly 'babyfaced' traits, influence perception and achievement among black CEOs. They found that those with more babyface features were perceived as warmer, more competent, and earned higher salaries and led more prestigious companies.
Researchers discovered a preference for processing information on the left side of faces, which can aid in facial recognition. In contrast, experts who read Chinese characters exhibit reduced holistic processing and show a left-side bias, indicating general visual expertise.
Researchers found that Deity Yoga (DY) meditation enhances mental rotation and visual memory skills. DY practitioners showed significant improvements compared to Open Presence (OP) meditators and controls after a 20-minute meditation session.
Researchers found that historically-defined autobiographical periods exist, but their formation depends on the intensity and novelty of public events. Public events like wars and natural disasters can categorize personal memories as 'emotionally charged' or 'epoch-defining', causing them to become entwined with history.
Researchers found that demand for pain relief is almost completely dependent on recent past pain experience and available cash. The study's results suggest that the value of pain relief is flexible and cannot be predicted by individual behavior, with significant economic implications.
Young students from low-income families who were told about need-based financial-aid opportunities performed better academically and planned more study time. However, this positive effect was limited for those with lower grades, highlighting the importance of early exposure to financial aid information.
Researchers found that imagining a posture can affect behavior, suggesting that our 'peripersonal space' can be extended to influence actions. This ability may have advantages in determining realism and avoiding collisions.
A study by Michael D. Dodd and colleagues found that inhibition of return occurs during visual search tasks, but not during other visual behaviors. Volunteers were tracked while viewing scenes to identify eye movements, revealing a 'facilitation of return' effect where previously fixated locations are shifted faster than new ones.
Researchers found that feeling good encourages individuals to explore values inconsistent with their cultural norms, while feeling bad reinforces traditional stereotypes. This suggests that emotions play a significant role in shaping our cultural identities.
Research by Joshua M. Ackerman and John A. Bargh found that imagining another person's self-control can lead to a depletion of one's own self-control, causing impulsive behaviors like overspending. In experiments, participants who imagined exerting self-control in someone else performed worse on cognitive tasks after the simulation.
A study published in Psychological Science found that acute stress impairs rational thinking, causing individuals to become more conservative in financial decisions but riskier when losses are involved. This can have significant implications for personal finance and decision-making under stress.
Research finds that three- and four-year-old children favor majority opinions, even in follow-up experiments with only two individuals present. This suggests young children can recognize and trust consensus, and remember group membership.
A new study published in Psychological Science suggests that young, healthy individuals who stereotype old people are at risk of heart disease years down the road. Researchers analyzed data from over 400 participants and found a striking link between negative age attitudes early in life and poor cardiovascular health later on.
Researchers found that describing past actions in the imperfective aspect (e.g. I was solving word puzzles) improves memory recall and performance on similar tasks compared to the perfective aspect (e.g. I solved word puzzles). This technique may be useful in behavioral therapy for increasing healthy behaviors.
Researchers found that genetic variations in serotonin transporter gene and COMT enzyme affect how individuals learn and overcome fear. Participants with shorter version of serotonin transporter gene had strong physiological fear response, while those with longer version did not.
Researchers found that 'dialectical bootstrapping' technique can improve accuracy of estimates across various domains by averaging conflicting opinions and considering potential errors. The study suggests this method can be an effective strategy for boosting individual decision-making.
Researchers found that pride leads to dominant roles, likability and admiration from teammates, rather than scorn. This study suggests pride has functional outcomes for successful interpersonal interaction and team dynamics.
A national survey found that participants expressed more anger towards individuals with stereotypical mental health conditions, but showed more empathy when their symptoms deviated from expectations. This suggests that stigma-busting campaigns should consider the role of intersecting stereotypes in shaping mental illness stigma.
A new study finds that power can cause individuals to think they have more personal control over outcomes than they actually do. Researchers discovered that those in positions of power are more likely to believe they can influence events beyond their control, resulting in unrealistic optimism and inflated self-esteem.
A new report suggests that teenagers' increased internet use has transformed it into a social networking tool, fostering closer relationships and reducing superficial connections. The study also highlights the positive effects of online communication on mental health, including reduced inhibition and higher quality friendships.
A study by John T. Serences and colleagues found that the visual cortex actively 'thinks' about specific features of an object during short-term memory, allowing for the maintenance of relevant details. This suggests that observers have top-down control over which features are stored in their online mental workspace.
A study found that when individuals are presented with a challenging task, they are more likely to be drawn to it and perceive its importance in helping them achieve their goals. Conversely, simple tasks are often overlooked despite being equally valuable.
A new study by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz found that people tend to classify difficult-to-pronounce items as risky, whether they are desirable or undesirable risks. This suggests that the ease of processing a product's name can influence risk perception.
Recent experiments using brain waves have shown that our brains rapidly draw upon a wide range of information to understand unfolding sentences. Key findings include the rapid classification of speakers based on their voice and social stereotypes.
When reading sentences describing everyday actions, volunteers who read second-person statements (
A new study found that collective religious rituals, not religious devotion, are linked to support for suicide attacks. Regular attendance at religious services was associated with increased support for parochial altruism and suicide attacks, but not with regular prayer.
Increased empathy towards minority groups can reduce prejudice and promote positive inter-group relationships when viewed in abstract contexts. However, the effect is negative during actual interactions with minority group members due to increased self-consciousness about being perceived as prejudiced.
A study by Tufts University psychologists found that mentally depleted individuals were more direct and authentic in conversation with black interviewers, and perceived as less prejudiced. This suggests that relinquishing power over oneself can lead to more harmonious interactions.
Recent studies suggest that humans use multiple senses for speech perception, including lip-reading, teeth movements, and facial features. The McGurk Effect demonstrates the integration of visual and auditory information, showing how our brains blend these senses together to process speech.
Pragmatically licensed statements, which sound natural and informative, don't hinder the brain's understanding of negative statements. In contrast, pragmatically unlicensed statements elicit similar ERPs to true words, suggesting negation is not more challenging when useful.
Researchers found that males maintain larger social networks with other males compared to women and have longer-lasting friendships with members of the same-sex. Males rated their roommates as more satisfactory and less bothersome than females did.
Researchers found that high sensation seekers show increased activity in the insula, a region associated with addictive behaviors, while low sensation seekers exhibit increased activity in the frontal cortex area important for emotional regulation. This study may indicate how sensation seeking contributes to negative behaviors such as ...
A study by Michael W. Kraus and Dacher Keltner found that nonverbal cues, such as disengagement behaviors, can give away a person's socioeconomic status. Volunteers from upper SES backgrounds displayed more disengagement-related behaviors compared to those from lower SES backgrounds.
A new study by Michigan State psychologist Carlos David Navarrete found that men's fears are reserved for members of their own gender when it comes to out-groups. The findings suggest that this fear is linked to evolutionary history, with male faces being a potent cue for danger.
A new study published in Psychological Science found differences in recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, with some individuals prone to false memories and others forgetting earlier recollections. The research suggests that clinicians should consider the context of recovered memories to effectively treat patients.
The September 11 attacks caused heightened levels of stress and anxiety, particularly among those closest to the World Trade Center. This stress impacted day-to-day behaviors like driving, leading to a significant increase in traffic fatalities in the Northeast region.
Research suggests that positive contact between groups can lead to improved attitudes towards the advantaged group, but also reduces awareness of inequality and decreases support for social change. Encounters emphasizing both common connections and problem inequalities can promote intergroup understanding and recognition of change.
Researchers found that increased temptation, such as sweets in a gym setting, can actually decrease desire for them. This counteractive self-control theory suggests the mind dampens desire to protect greater goals like good health. The study also applied this concept to other temptations like work and play.
A new study suggests that synchrony fosters cooperation, even when individuals have financial incentives to behave selfishly. Volunteers who participated in synchronized activities, such as walking in step or moving cups to music, were more likely to cooperate with others and report feeling part of a team.
A recent study found that when people are told false information about an event shortly after witnessing it, they become less likely to remember the actual details. However, forcing them to recall what they witnessed shortly afterwards improves their ability to learn and retain false information.
Researchers found that young infants (8-12 months) can tell the difference between an action's goal and its outcome. However, younger infants need explicit information about successful outcomes to infer goals. This study suggests that understanding internal causes of actions develops over time, enabling effective social navigation.
A recent study found that false confessions can significantly influence eyewitness testimony, with 60% of witnesses changing their minds when told of a confession. This has serious implications for the legal system and suggests that investigators need to be aware of how confessions may impact eyewitness identifications.
A study by Rachel Smallman and Neal J. Roese found that people with positive preferences sort items into finer, more specific categories compared to those with negative preferences. This suggests that our likes can shape how we categorize information, particularly in consumer psychology where this can influence brand perceptions.
A study by psychologist Jaime L. Kurtz found that college seniors who thought they had a limited amount of time left reported participating in more college-related activities than those who did not. This suggests that thinking about an experience's future ending can enhance present enjoyment and motivation.
Researchers found that students who thought abstractly about tasks were more likely to procrastinate, while those who focused on the how, when, and where of doing the task completed assignments sooner. The study suggests that concrete thinking can reduce procrastination.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a novel ultrasound display that allows doctors to view images within the object being scanned, reducing the need for visualization. This innovation improves accuracy in surgeries guided by ultrasound technology, which relies on combining direct perception and visualization.
Researchers studied stone-handling behavior in Japanese macaques, observing the transmission of traditions across generations. The study found that infant proximity to their mothers influenced development of stone-handling skills, with infants exposed to frequent maternal behavior acquiring the skill more quickly.
Research by Kristin R. Ratliff and Nora S. Newcombe found that human adults rely on both geometric and feature cues for reorientation, with a preference depending on the environment and past experiences. The study used experiments with different room sizes and landmarks to investigate this phenomenon.
Researchers found that people from the same racial group as participants are more sensitive to signs of anxiety, such as fidgeting and vocal tension, in interracial interactions. This 'in-group advantage' makes it difficult for those outside the same racial group to detect changes in anxiety levels.