It has happened to all of us in some form or another. A student comes to our office (or emails, calls, or texts) and says “I studied so hard for your exam and I still only got a __ (insert low grade here). What should I do?” How should you More

There’s no getting around it. In this world, you’re better off  being good-looking. At all ages and in all walks of life, attractive people are judged more favorably, treated better, and cut more slack. Mothers give more affection to attractive babies. Teachers favor more attractive students and judge them as More

APS Members are editing and updating entries on psychological concepts, methods, and people on Wikipedia as part of the APS Wikipedia Initiative (APSWI). I hope you will join those efforts to ensure that such entries are clear, accurate, and accessible. To help make the most of online searches, the search More

As a social psychologist, I have always thought of myself as someone who was acutely aware of the power of the social situation to shape individual behavior. And yes, I admit that I have oftentimes (privately) felt as if I had an advantage over those outside of our field in More

The APS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2011 recipients of the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, in recognition of the significant impact their work is having in the field of psychological science. The award recognizes the creativity and innovative work of promising More

Contributions from Shirley Zhang, Fiona White, Judi Homewood, Jo Milne-Home, Nida Denson,Victor Karandeshev, Sherri McCarthy, Annie Trapp, Steve Provost, Frances Martin, Lucy Zinkiewicz, and Jo Earl Psychological literacy was among the hot topics at the Fourth International Conference on Psychology Education (ICOPE). One hundred twenty attendees from 17 countries, including More

Dahling! As a psychological scientist, you spend all of your time studying the Inner Being. Dare we say even to the point that the Outer You is being neglected? If I see those shiny-at-the-knee corduroys or those too-sensible-to-mention oxfords one more time, I will absolutely positively make a scene that More

“Mike” (not his real name, which is Lamont) has been living with a Fashion Disorder his entire life. He has trouble making the basic everyday choices about clothes people make every day – from matching his belt to his shoes to shaving off his soul-patch. And Mike isn’t alone – More

April Fools! We hope you’ve enjoyed this special Fashion Supplement! While looking good is important, we’ll stick to what we know and love best: Psychological Science More

That little red dress might be giving off more signals than you think. Wearing red might be asking people to associate you with success…if you are playing sports. Trained referees were asked to decide tae kwon do matches between opponents in blue and red. Judges tended to favor the contestant More

It’s that time of year again! Freudian tweed is so last century, and lengthy lab coats are so last semester. Bring on the thick glasses, industrial strength duct tape, pastel bowties and the latest technology in pocket protectors. APS has the inside scoop on what’s hot and what’s not for More

The Proud Shopper Gets the Flashy Blazer It’s been known that happy shopping can be dangerous to your pocketbook – positive feelings can create a “rose-colored glasses effect” that makes products more desirable. But recent research suggests that this is even more complex: Proud customers tend to buy flashy things More

Everyone knows the Annual Convention is more than an opportunity to learn about psychological science. Sure there’s the Presidential Symposium, hundreds of posters and zillions of speakers, but what it all comes down to is lookin’ good for the Presidential Reception. If you want to impress old acquaintances and make More

Experimental Participants Demand Fewer Rights, Insist on Being Called ‘Subjects’ In today’s changing world of experimental psychology, people who participate in research studies are provided with a bounty of privileges. They enjoy the benefits of knowing the details of each experiment before they get involved, and they even receive payment More

APS Past President Elizabeth Loftus is this year’s recipient of the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for her pioneering research on human memory, which has had a profound impact on the administration of justice in the United States and abroad. More

What makes a loser feel better? Thinking about money. An upcoming study in Psychological Science found that people continue to make comparisons until they are happy, but only when they have the cognitive resources to do so. In the first experiment, winners were unaffected by the actual value of the More

APS Fellow and Charter Member Judith Kroll, Director of The Center for Language Science, at Pennsylvania State University, has received a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Kroll, together with Co-PIs Paola Dussias, Ping Li, and Janet van Hell, will lead a team of domestic and More

Winter is just about over, but warm and soothing comfort foods are good all year. Why does comfort food make us feel so much better when we’re down? Research in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science shows that comfort food brings up associations of positive relationships and makes us feel More

In the off-season of 1920, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee dealt an up-and-coming slugger named Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to raise cash for a Broadway play he was backing. The Red Sox had dominated major league baseball for the first two decades of the century, but More