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Our Pupils Adjust as We Imagine Bright and Dark Scenes
Conjuring up a visual image in the mind -- like a sunny day or a night sky -- has a corresponding effect on the size of our pupils, as if we were actually seeing the image, according to new research. These findings, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest that the size of our pupils is not simply a mechanistic response, but one that also adjusts to a subjective sense of brightness. “Visual imagery is a private and subjective experience which is not accompanied by strongly felt or visible physiological changes,” explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Bruno Laeng of the University of Oslo.
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Why Countries Invest Differently In Environmental Issues
NPR: Across the world, countries make very different investments in the environment. We're not just talking about measures to combat global climate change. We're talking about investments in clean water, forests, biodiversity. NPR's social science correspondent Shankar Vedantam joins us regularly to share interesting new research, and he's here to tell us about an unexpected factor that seems to influence environmental stewardships. Shankar, welcome back. SHANKAR VEDANTAM, BYLINE: Hi, David. GREENE: So, what's the unexpected factor that surprises you, here? VEDANTAM: Well, the X factor appears to be the age of the country, David.
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Apathetic Boredom, Fifth Type Of Boredom, Identified By Researchers
The Huffington Post: Not all boredom is the same, according to a new study. A team of researchers from Canada, the United States and Europe have identified a type of boredom, called apathetic boredom, that involves the unpleasant feelings of learned helplessness and bears similarities to depression. Apathetic boredom is now the fifth type of boredom identified by researchers, who had detailed four other types of boredom in past studies. The types of boredom are differentiated both by a person's level of mental arousal -- ranging from fidgety to calm -- and by the positivity or negativity associated with that boredom.
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The Difference Between Republican and Democratic Brains
National Journal: What Democrats and Republicans don't have in common goes far beyond the ballot box. Their personalities, like their core beliefs and policy ideas, are fundamentally different. Liberals are creative and curious, and tend to be more open to new experiences, while conservatives are more anxious, dislike change, and appreciate order in their lives. Scientists don't know if political interests shape temperament, or vice versa, but new research suggests lawmakers' personality traits play an important role in political causes—like forcing a government shutdown—and may even determine if those causes survive.
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Are we really different from animals?
CNN: Thomas Suddendorf is a professor of psychology at the University of Queensland and a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. He is the author of "The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us From Other Animals." We humans tend to think of ourselves as better than, or at least separate from, all other species on this planet. But every species is unique, and in that sense humans are no different. Nevertheless, it seems obvious that there is something extra special about us -- after all, we are the species running the zoos. In "The Gap," I survey what we currently do and do not know about what exactly sets humans apart.
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