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The Experience of Awe in Nature Leads to Religious Beliefs
Big Think: It has been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. The fear of death will make even the most hardened skeptic a believer. According to a new study published in the journal Psychological Science, the experience of awe — in the form of mountains, canyons and outer space — makes one more apt to believe that the universe was constructed "according to God’s or some other nonhuman entity’s plan." Read the whole story: Big Think
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When Superstition Works
The Wall Street Journal: It starts when people try something different—Pepsi instead of Coca-Cola, a blue tie instead of the old red one—and find that something good happens. Soon, without realizing it, someone who wouldn't think twice about, say, walking under a ladder or traveling on Friday the 13th begins to associate their new behavior with good luck—and starts reaching for the Pepsi again and again. Such "conditioned superstitions" can develop when people believe there is something they can do to control a situation, despite there being no rational reason to think so, says Gita Johar, a professor of business at Columbia University who recently co-wrote a paper on the phenomenon.
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The Ways of Lust
The New York Times: HOW does lust affect the way we think about people? In 1780, Immanuel Kant wrote that “sexual love makes of the loved person an Object of appetite.” And after that appetite is sated? The loved one, Kant explained, “is cast aside as one casts away a lemon which has been sucked dry.” Many contemporary feminists agree that sexual desire, particularly when elicited by pornographic images, can lead to “objectification.” The objectifier (typically a man) thinks of the target of his desire (typically a woman) as a mere thing, lacking autonomy, individuality and subjective experience. ...
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Psychologists strike a blow for reproducibility
Nature: A large international group set up to test the reliability of psychology experiments has successfully reproduced the results of 10 out of 13 past experiments. The consortium also found that two effects could not be reproduced. Psychology has been buffeted in recent years by mounting concern over the reliability of its results, after repeated failures to replicate classic studies. A failure to replicate could mean that the original study was flawed, the new experiment was poorly done or the effect under scrutiny varies between settings or groups of people. ... Ten of the effects were consistently replicated across different samples.
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Dozens of Labs Respond to Call to Bolster Reliability of Psychology Research
Scientific American: A large international group set up to test the reliability of psychology experiments has successfully reproduced the results of 10 out of 13 past experiments. The consortium also found that two effects could not be reproduced. Psychology has been buffeted in recent years by mounting concern over the reliability of its results, after repeated failures to replicate classic studies. A failure to replicate could mean that the original study was flawed, the new experiment was poorly done or the effect under scrutiny varies between settings or groups of people. ... Ten of the effects were consistently replicated across different samples.
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Q&A: Christopher Chabris, psychology professor, on everyday illusions
SmartPlanet: When a politician tells a personal story that turns out to be false, does that make him a liar? When an employee exudes confidence, does that make her the smartest person in the room? Depite our intuition about the way our minds work, the answers might turn out to be no, according to Christopher Chabris, a psychology professor at Union College.
