Recent studies have found that reminding participants of money improves personal performance but decreases interpersonal sensitivity. Participants who were reminded of money spent less time helping others and showed decreased kindness, but increased persistence in difficult tasks.
A researcher's study reveals overconfidence in decision-making can lead to errors, as participants underestimated uncertainty and error costs. This objective task demonstrates overconfidence is a general characteristic of human decision making.
Research by Professor Adam Galinsky and colleagues reveals that legitimate power leads to increased action, while illegitimate power motivates resistance. The study's findings have significant implications for our understanding of power dynamics and behavior.
Researchers used a study on pen choice to investigate Japanese and American cultural differences. Contrary to previous stereotypes, the findings suggest that cultural differences are not due to inherent preferences, but rather how individuals interpret ambiguous situations.
Researchers found that actively engaging in health control strategies can prevent chronic health problems and functional limitations in older adults. The study, published in Psychological Science, suggests that these strategies may be particularly effective in preventing decline during the early stages of physical aging.
A new study reveals that individuals with higher working memory capacity are more likely to make consistent moral judgments and consider consequences of their actions. This capacity helps control emotional reactions, allowing for deliberate processing and rational decision-making.
Researchers found that sitting in neighboring seats due to random seat assignments led to higher friendship intensity ratings one year later. This counterintuitive finding suggests that friendships may not be as deliberate as thought.
Research suggests that being in a low-power role impairs executive functions, including tracking information, parsing out irrelevant details, and planning ahead. Participants in low-power groups made more errors on tasks requiring focus and planning.
Researchers found that individuals preferred contributing to in-group pool, which increases everyone's stash, without harming anyone. Participants who could consult with each other showed increased preference for cooperation, challenging common assumption of human competitiveness.
Researchers found that synesthetes share specific grapheme-color combinations and that these pairings are influenced by language use. The study also discovered a relationship between color saturation and linguistic frequency.
A study comparing English-speaking and Indonesian-speaking children found that polysemous words like 'animal' in English hindered their precision in identifying the scope of biological concepts. In contrast, Indonesian-speaking children exhibited little trouble distinguishing between plants and animals.
Researchers found that people can develop a general negative mood followed by a specific emotion after quick exposure to emotional stimuli. The study's results support the theory that humans should be able to detect specific emotion-evoking information automatically.
Researchers found that wanting what you have contributes to happiness, but only up to a point. Having what you want also brings happiness, but in moderation. The key to true happiness lies in appreciating the possessions you already own and managing desires for more.
Researchers found that dominant individuals exhibit a preference for vertically-oriented stimuli, indicating their level of dominance can be measured based on this bias. This study provides new insights into personality processes and suggests a link between thinking dominantly and perceiving power.
A study published in Psychological Science found that perspective-taking improves negotiation outcomes and creates more value for all parties involved. Empathy, on the other hand, can lead to preferential treatments and less successful deals.
A study using the ultimatum game found that even when subjects stood to gain the same amount of money, they were happier with fair offers and more disdainful of lopsided deals. The brain's emotional response was linked to regions associated with reward and self-control.
Researchers found that higher levels of brain activation in the anterior insula region can help individuals learn to avoid losses and financial risks, but excessive activity may be problematic. A healthy amount of anxiety grants survival value, but too much can lead to excessive worry and clinical conditions.
Research suggests that transference is more pronounced when an individual's energy resources are low, rather than abundant. Studies have shown that people tend to rely on automatic associations and fail to notice differences when they are tired or at a circadian mismatch.
A new study found that individuals are motivated to increase their level of anger when expecting to complete a confrontational task, which enhances performance. Participants preferred activities making them angry before playing the game in such situations.
Studies reveal that word order affects language production, with French speakers using a different syntax than English speakers. Additionally, researchers find commonalities in naming patterns for locomotion across languages, suggesting universal rules and constraints.
A study published in Psychological Science found that our grasp reflects the real size of objects, not their apparent size, even when they appear distorted through optical illusions. This supports the two visual systems hypothesis, which suggests that our brain has two separate systems for processing images and controlling actions.
Researchers found that non-conscious goal pursuit helps individuals achieve their objectives, even in new environments. In two experiments, participants who received achievement-related cues demonstrated improved performance in tasks requiring implicit learning.
A new study examines how our gazes shift towards potentially offended individuals, revealing a complex interplay of social identity, possible reactions, and assessment of the situation. The researchers found that participants fixated on the Black discussant four times longer when they believed he could hear what was being said.
Researchers identified common genes influencing personality and predisposing people to happiness. The 'affective reserve' of happiness can be called upon in stressful times, suggesting a heritable component of well-being.
Researchers found that preschool children and their parents can quickly identify snakes in pictures, suggesting an evolved fear mechanism. The study suggests that the common fear of snakes may be hardwired into humans from an early age.
Psychologists Agneta Herlitz and Jenny Rehnman found significant sex differences in episodic memory, favoring women. Women excel in verbal episodic memory tasks and are better at remembering faces, especially of females.
Researchers have developed a new classification system, The Range of Possible Changes Model, to help eliminate inconsistencies in evidence-based treatments. This model sorts pertinent information from multiple studies, allowing researchers to draw reliable conclusions amidst inconsistent results.
A team of psychologists found that people's emotional desire for a mate leads them to believe there are fewer desirable partners available, even when the numbers are equal. This 'value heuristic' affects judgmental decisions in everyday life and can sometimes lead to unrealistic assumptions about reality
Research on online dating site HOTorNOT.com reveals that people tend to date those who match their level of physical attractiveness. More attractive individuals prioritize physical attraction in potential dates, while less attractive individuals place greater emphasis on other qualities.
Researchers found that people feeling sad spend more money to acquire the same commodities as those in a neutral emotional state. This is because sadness and self-focus cause one to devalue possessions and increase willingness to pay for new material goods to enhance sense of self.
Researchers found that cognitive disfluency can be caused by both psychological and physical distance, leading to more abstract perceptions of the city. The study used italicized fonts and game Balderdash to demonstrate this phenomenon.
A recent study by Kathleen Vohs and Jonathan Schooler found that individuals who believe in their own free will are less likely to cheat and steal money compared to those with weakened convictions. The researchers used a priming method to manipulate participants' beliefs about free will, leading to significant results.
Researchers Rick Dale and Michael Spivey discovered a cognitive bias where people tend to favor true statements, even in the face of ambiguity. Arm movement data showed participants' bodies moved more towards 'no' responses, indicating a general bias toward assuming statements are true.
The human brain can quickly perceive visual and auditory changes, but a recent study found that this ability is impaired when there's a brief time gap between the change and our perception. The researchers discovered that the brain uses more efficient mechanisms for auditory memory than visual memory.
Researchers found no significant increase in narcissism among college students from 1996 to 2007 compared to previous generations. High school seniors also showed no prominent increase on a related measure of self-enhancement. The study challenges previous reports suggesting a rise in narcissism among Gen Z.
A recent study by Gerald Haeffel and colleagues found that genetic and environmental factors interact to increase the risk of depression in adolescents. The researchers discovered that boys with rejecting mothers and a specific form of the dopamine transporter gene were at higher risk for major depression and suicidal ideation.
A recent study found that college students could accurately distinguish between successful and unsuccessful CEOs based on their facial features, which were rated for competence, dominance, likeability, maturity, and trustworthiness. The study suggests that first impressions can be a reliable indicator of leadership abilities.
A study found that older adults with declining imagination are less able to recall detailed memories, hindering their ability to create imagined future events. Researchers discovered a link between episodic memory and the constructive-episodic-simulation process.
Cotton-top tamarins display grasps consistent with end-state comfort in experiments, suggesting sophisticated motor planning. The results challenge previous attributions of nonhuman species' cognitive abilities.
Researchers found that learning different names for things makes it easier to place them into the correct categories. In a series of experiments, participants learned labels for aliens on a computer screen and categorized them into two types, demonstrating that redundant labels facilitate learning of novel categories.
Research suggests glucose powers self-control, which wanes when exercised. Replenishing blood sugar through sugary drinks can improve subsequent self-control efforts.
A study found that liking one's own name can sabotage success for people whose initials match negative performance labels. Researchers analyzed Major League Baseball players' performance and found batters with names starting with 'K' struck out more often. Similarly, in academia, students with initials 'C' or 'D' earned lower GPAs.
Researchers found that when individuals contemplate death, their unconscious mind actively seeks out and activates pleasant memories to cope with the threat. This 'terror management theory' suggests that the brain protects itself from paralyzing fear by involuntarily searching for positive associations.
Oxytocin levels in pregnant women predict the formation of an exclusive bond with their infants. Mothers with higher oxytocin levels report more bonding behaviors and are preoccupied with thoughts of their infant's well-being.
A new study from UC Berkeley found that people with low self-esteem respond more strongly to rejection themes, but those with better attention control skills can tone down their reactions. Researchers suggest training the mind to focus and behavioral therapy may help improve attention control and reduce negative effects of rejection.
A recent study by Michael Inzlicht and Jennifer N. Gutsell found that people who suppress their emotions experience a depletion of resources for self-control, leading to poor performance on tasks requiring self-regulation. This depletion can last even after the initial emotional suppression has ceased.
Researchers found that quail males who learned to associate a stimulus with access to a female were more likely to fertilize eggs, increasing their reproductive success. The findings suggest that learning plays a significant role in reproductive fitness and evolution.
A study by Mary Murphy found that women experience identity threat when outnumbered in MSE settings, leading to decreased performance expectations and actual performance. The study suggests that situational cues can contribute to the performance gap between men and women in these fields.
Research suggests that disengaging from impossible goals can lower bodily inflammation levels, a potential risk factor for diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Setting new goals after giving up on an important one can also improve mental health by increasing purpose and mastery.
A recent study on joint attention reveals its crucial role in understanding autism, suggesting impaired social skills and communication difficulties. The 'attention-systems model' proposes that joint attention is the result of two basic forms of attention interacting throughout development.