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Lamb Wins G. Stanley Hall Award
Michael Lamb, University of Cambridge
APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Michael E. Lamb, University of Cambridge, has won the 2014 G. Stanley Hall Award for Distinguished Contribution to Developmental Psychology and the 2013 Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology and Law, from the American Psychology-Law Society.
Lamb, whose research focuses on developmental psychology as well as forensic interviewing and factors affecting children’s adjustment, is head of the Applied Developmental Psychology Research Group at Cambridge University, and Editor of the journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law.
He and his colleagues have shown how developmentally sensitive interviewing improves…
Tags: Child Development, Developmental Psychology, eyewitness testimony, Law, Memory, Personality/Social, Supreme Court | No Comments »
Stop and See Milgram’s ‘Shock Box’
It’s been more than 50 years since Yale psychology professor Stanley Milgram began his groundbreaking experiments on obedience to authority when ordered to harm others. His infamous “shock box” embodies one of the most famous, controversial and, important series of experiments of the 20th century. Attendees at the 25th APS Annual Convention, to be held May 23-25 in Washington, D.C., can see the “shock box” up close.
Milgram’s Simulated Shock Generator is making the trip from the Center for the History of Psychology at The University of Akron down to Washington, DC and will be on display in the Exhibit Hall in booths 302 and 304. Make plans to snap a photo next to the shock box and share on Facebook, or on Twitter…
Tags: 25th APS Annual Convention, History of Psychology, Personality/Social, Social Behavior, Social Groups, Social Interaction | No Comments »
Can Happiness Lead to Thievery?
Though the modern conception of a thief is of someone who is disgruntled, angry, and frustrated, this stereotype may not capture the whole truth.
A new study suggests that happiness may actually lead people to steal, particularly because happy people have an easier time justifying their own immoral behavior.
Researcher Lynne Vincent of Cornell University and colleagues hypothesized that people experiencing positive affect — feeling a sense of well-being and happiness — and low-self-awareness would be likely to take more money than they had earned during a task that involved monetary rewards.
To manipulate participants’ self-awareness, the researchers had the participants sit in a room with or without a mirror. The participants then watched a video intended to induce positive or neutral affect.
Vincent and colleagues found that one…
Tags: Cognitive Psychology, Decision Making, Emotions, Happiness, Judgment, Morality, Psychological Science, Well-Being | No Comments »
Student Events at Convention
Here is a quick day-by-day rundown of student-related events that you don’t want to miss at the 25th APS Annual Convention, May 23-36 in Washington, DC. Make sure to follow APS on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #aps2013dc.
Thursday, May 239:00 PM – 12:00 AM
APSSC Convention Kickoff and Student Social at Uptown Tap House
Want to meet other students? This event gives the APS Student Caucus an opportunity to welcome student affiliates and provide information about all of the great student events at the convention. Students will be able to relax in a casual environment and meet other students who share the same interests. The event will be held at Uptown Tap House, which is located at 3412 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008.
Please remember to bring appropriate ID, as…
Tags: 25th APS Annual Convention, APS Awards, APS Student Caucus, Champions of Psychological Science, General, Students | No Comments »
Weighing the Risks
No one can know everything; in our daily lives, we make do with the best information we can get. Psychological scientists are working to understand how people choose to learn facts about the world when the options available to them are limited. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Cognitive Psychology, a team of researchers led by Toshihiro Wakebe of the University of Tokyo investigated the role of risk aversion in information-gathering behavior.
Wakebe and his coauthors noted that, according to the information gain model, when presented with alternatives, people tend to choose the course of action that produces the largest expected information gain, as demonstrated by a mathematical model that calculates the extent to which pursuing each alternative reduces uncertainty. However, they suspected that risk aversion — a factor…
Tags: Cognitive Psychology, Decision Making, International, Learning, Risk Taking | No Comments »
