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How a Habit Becomes an Addiction
Research suggests that only 20–30% of drug users actually descend into addiction — defined as the persistent seeking and taking of drugs even in the face of dire personal consequences. Why are some people who use drugs able to do so without turning into addicts, while others continue to abuse, even when the repercussions range from jail time to serious health problems? In a comprehensive review in the European Journal of Neuroscience, Barry Everitt outlines the neural correlates and learning-based processes associated with the transition from drug use, to abuse, to addiction.
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The Psychology of the Shortlist
The Huffington Post: Imagine this scenario: A plum job has opened up, one that you really want and feel well qualified to hold. So you go through the rigorous process of applying. You line up references, write essays, and finally get an interview. The interview goes well and you're feeling confident, and indeed you get a call saying you've been shortlisted for the job. Out of a pool of a hundred applicants, you are among just three who are highly and equally qualified. Would you come back in for another round of interviews? You can almost taste victory now. So you do the interviews, and again all seems to go very well. Then the job goes to someone else.
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Choosing Between Carrots and Cake Is a Snap Decision, Researchers Say
ABC News: Whether you stick to your diet or give into temptation comes down to just milliseconds, a new study suggests. Researchers from Caltech tested this theory by asking 28 volunteers to rate the health virtues of more than 150 foods after fasting for four hours. The subjects were then shown random pairings of foods on a computer screen, one healthier than the other, then invited to choose between two. On average, information about taste begins influencing the decision making process about 200 milliseconds sooner than health information, according to findings published in the latest issue of the journal Psychological Science.
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How Blind People Use Echolocation to Get Around
New York Magazine: Echolocation — sending out a sound wave, hearing how it bounces back at you, and using that information to navigate your environment — is a technique generally associated with animals like bats and dolphins, not people. And yet some visually impaired folks learn to use finger snaps or tongue clicks to help them get around. In a study published in Psychological Science, a team led by Gavin Buckingham of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland tried to learn about how this skill works.
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Using Science to Help Teach Teens Safe Driving Skills
Young drivers have a reputation for being among the most dangerous on the road for good reason; according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen drivers, per mile driven, are nearly three times more likely than drivers older than 20 to be in a fatal crash, particularly in the first few months after receiving their license. This week at the Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., psychological scientists presented innovative research on how we learn to transition from accident-prone novices to safer drivers as we gain experience behind the wheel. “The over representation of novice drivers in road accidents across the world is consistent.
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What Heroin Addiction Tells Us About Changing Bad Habits
NPR: It's a tradition as old as New Year's: making resolutions. We will not smoke, or sojourn with the bucket of mint chocolate chip. In fact, we will resist sweets generally, including the bowl of M&M's that our co-worker has helpfully positioned on the aisle corner of his desk. There will be exercise, and the learning of a new language. It is resolved. So what does science know about translating our resolve into actual changes in behavior? The answer to this question brings us — strangely enough — to a story about heroin use in Vietnam.
