-
Who Gets Power — And Why It Can Corrupt Even The Best Of Us
If you've ever visited the palm-lined neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, you've probably noticed that the rich and famous aren't the only ones drawn there. Stargazers also flock to this exclusive enclave, seeking a chance to peer into — and fantasize about — the lives of movie stars and film directors. Call it adulation, adoration, idolization: we humans are fascinated by glamour and power. But this turns out to be only one side of our psychology. We also feel envious — even resentful of the rich and powerful — and that ambivalence is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history.
-
The Despondent Mind: Are Our Brains Wired for Doom and Gloom?
If it seems the state of the world is on an endless downward trajectory these days, take heart. Things might not be quite as bad as you think. New research, published on June 29 in Science, suggests that as social problems such as extreme poverty or violence become less prevalent, people may be prone to perceive that they linger—and are perhaps even getting worse. Led by psychologist Daniel Gilbert at Harvard University, the researchers found people readily and unconsciously change how they define certain concepts—ranging from specific colors to unethical behavior—based on how frequently they run into them. “On almost every dimension, the world is getting better.
-
Can Crows Make Mental Pictures of Tools?
New Caledonian crows are known for their toolmaking, but Alex Taylor and his colleagues wanted to understand just how advanced they could be. Crows from New Caledonia, an island in the South Pacific, can break off pieces of a branch to form a hook, using it to pull a grub out of a log, for instance. Once, in captivity, when a New Caledonian male crow had taken all the available hooks, its mate Betty took a straight piece of wire and bent it to make one. “They are head and shoulders above almost every other avian subjects” at toolmaking, said Irene Pepperberg, an avian cognition expert and research associate in Harvard University’s department of psychology. “These crows are just amazing.”
-
Grad Students & Early Career Scientists: Apply for NAS Mirzayan Fellowship by Sept. 7
If you’re a graduate student or early-career researcher and interested in learning about science and technology policy in Washington, DC, consider applying for the Mirzayan Science & Technology Graduate Fellowship Program at the National Academies by September 7, 2018.
-
Can Scientific Rigor and Creativity Coexist?
Will heightened standards for rigor and transparency quash the kind of inventive theories and predictions that have driven psychological science in the first place?
-
Holdren Emphasizes Behavioral Science in AAPSS Lecture
In an invited address to the American Academy of Political & Social Science, Former President’s Science Advisor John Holdren spoke on the prominent role behavioral and social science played in the Obama White House, stressing how science advice is critical to the functioning of the US executive branch.
