Category Archives: Cognitive Psychology

Where do our relationship expectations come from?

Imagine you’re walking through the mall and see a mom with her son. As you get closer to them, you notice that the little boy is upset and crying. How would you expect the mom to respond to her crying … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology | Leave a comment

Memory distortions: Not just for long-term memories

Consider the following list of words: Spring Egg Basket Jellybean April Hunt Ham Sunday Chocolate Peeps Bonnet If you had to memorize this list for a test, you’d actually do a pretty good job.  Why?  Well, you wouldn’t have to … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology, Sensation & Perception | 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

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

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

Should a disaster occur, do you know how your children would perceive it?

The escalating chaos in the Middle East is shocking as well as heartbreaking. As media technology advances, we gain more access to world news about all kinds of disasters – human, natural or technical disasters. We also become more concerned … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Community Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational psychology | 1 Comment

Exercise Your Body, Exercise Your Brain

It’s all downhill after 20.  Not only do workouts leave you feeling more sore than they used to, but memory, creative thinking, and mental speed all start to decrease around the time most people finish college.  Not surprisingly, the brain … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology | 4 Comments

Shots, Ski Trips, and the Power of Anticipation

You’re sitting in a doctor’s office.  The nurse comes in to tell you that you have to get three shots, but you’ll need to wait a half an hour before someone can come administer them.  He leaves the room, and … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology | 1 Comment

Can babies read your mind?

Mind reading is sometimes considered as a mysterious, all-mighty powerful and supernatural ability, glorified by the Hollywood movies, televisions and people’s fantasy. Here I am not talking about that kind of mind reading. I am focusing on the day-to-day mind-reading … Continue reading

Posted in Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology | 1 Comment

Out of my mind: the tendency to ruminate about the past may have upside

Think about a time when you did something that you really regretted… Now try to stop.  When we think about something that happened to us in the past, the emotions that were originally elicited by that event come rushing back.  … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology | 4 Comments