Monthly Archives: March 2011

iPads vs. Adventures: Negative Stereotypes of Materialism

Suppose you’re sitting around one night and log in to Facebook.  You scan through your friends’ status updates, and notice one person excitedly trumpeting the arrival of their new iPad 2, chattering about all the cool features.  Maybe you’re not … Continue reading

Posted in Consumer Psychology, Social Psychology | 4 Comments

Who’s Problem? Screening for Interpersonal Violence in ERs

A pregnant woman comes into an emergency room on a weekend evening. She reports that she fell on her stomach and is worried about her unborn child. The woman also has some minor bruising around her wrists and arms not … Continue reading

Posted in Community Psychology | 1 Comment

Does your Wii know you’re lying?

Your mother always told you not to lie: it’s easier to tell the truth. She wasn’t pulling your leg: Duran, Dale, and McNamara (2010) recently showed that lying can physically pull you in two directions. And they did it with a … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

We won. They lost.

Let’s start off this post with an exercise in imagination. Imagine that we happen to be big fans of the same team. First, imagine that our favorite team is the underdog in a major sports competition – say, the NCAA … Continue reading

Posted in Social Psychology | 2 Comments

Are you smarter than a 6-month-old? Evidence from an iconic memory capacity test

Imagine several colored stars appear in front of you for 1 second, how many stars can you remember and tell its color based on that one glance? Do you know if you can perform better than a 6-month-old infant in … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology | 1 Comment

Going to child care: a “popular” path?

What kind of children would you guess to be popular at school? You may intuitively assume children’s popularity is related to their being stylish, good looking, athletic, funny, or wealthy. One factor that you probably won’t think of is how … Continue reading

Posted in Developmental Psychology, Educational psychology | 3 Comments

Eyes on the back of your head

When you’re sitting in a public place, do you ever “feel someone looking at you” — and then turn around to find out it’s true? In the scientific community, people have investigated whether it’s possible to sense when a person … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Visual clutter: It’s worse than you think

Take a look at your desk—is it full of junk?  If so, you may be thinking that, while it’s not an ideal situation, your messy desk isn’t so bad.  Sure, it takes you a little longer to find stuff, but … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Basketball: It’s A Pretty ‘Touchy’ Subject.

Some basketball players really like touching their teammates. Of course, when I say ‘touch,’ I mean gestures like high fives and half hugs. No matter how macho they may seem, basketball players touch their teammates in all sorts of ways … Continue reading

Posted in Sensation & Perception, Social Psychology | 2 Comments

Memory and the Media

You may have seen commercials for Limitless, a movie opening this weekend.  The trailers show a disheveled Bradley Cooper taking a pill that will allow him to use 100% of his brain instead of the 20% that everyone else putters … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments