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Why You Like What You Like
Smithsonian Magazine: For most of us, a pickle is a pickle. It is something that rests snugly beside a sandwich, or floats in a jar on a deli counter. It is rarely something that occasions cryptographic analysis. A number of years ago, though, Howard Moskowitz, a Harvard-trained psychophysicist and food industry consultant, was asked by Vlasic Pickles to crack “the pickle code.” Losing market share to Claussen, the Vlasic executives wanted to take a hard look at a question that was, surprisingly, rarely asked: What kind of pickles did people really want?
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How Our Brains Miss the Obvious
Discovery News: In the house of alleged Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, multiple padlocks kept interior doors shut, windows were nailed shut, and guests weren't allowed upstairs or in the basement. In retrospect, some question why visitors didn't notice that something was amiss over the 10 years that three women were allegedly held captive there before their recent escape. But psychologists say few people would: We are so focused on the task on hand that it's easy to miss aberrant details.
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Preserving the History of Psychological Science
Cathy Faye, Assistant Director of the Center for the History of Psychology at the University of Akron in Ohio, has a message for psychological scientists who have made significant contributions to the field: Don’t throw away your notes, correspondence, or lab equipment! Faye spoke on Friday, May 23, at the 25th APS Annual Convention to educate attendees about the Center’s collection of papers, photographs, recordings, moving images, and artifacts documenting the history of psychology — the largest such collection in the world. The collection includes iconic items, such as the shock generator that Stanley Milgram used in his historic studies on obedience to authority.
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Birthday Flash Mob Surprises Convention Attendees
The 25th APS Annual Convention is off to a lively start — some might even call it a flashy start. Last night, APS members who had gathered to watch science superstar Michael Gazzaniga’s Keynote Address on “Unity in a Modular World” were surprised when more than 30 of their fellow attendees broke into a choreographed dance while The Beatles’ “Birthday” blared from the loudspeaker. If you missed the flash mob commemorating APS’s 25th birthday, don’t fret! There will be more opportunities to celebrate during this weekend’s convention, including an ‘80s-themed 25@25 Celebration and Special Concert on Saturday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM in Salon 1.
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The Benefits of Traditional vs. Wikipedia Assignments
Watch Megan John from Concordia College present her poster "The Benefits of Traditional vs. Wikipedia Research Assignments for Introductory Psychology Students" at the APS 25th Annual Convention in Washington DC. This presentation describes how a Wikipedia assignment was integrated into a psychology course to replace the traditional major paper typically assigned in such courses. Thirty-three students worked on significantly expanding and improving eight different Wikipedia articles over a period of 15 weeks. A 30-item survey was administered at the end of the academic semester in order to capture and quantify students’ perceptions of the experience.
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When paying more stops paying off
The Washington Post: Everyone likes money. Ask people who say they don’t care about money if they’ve ever turned down a raise. Wait for the awkward pause. But money is funny, too. However much it can motivate people to work harder and better, it also has curious—and sometimes counterproductive—effects on their performance. A growing body of research shows that, in some cases, paying people more not only fails to change their behavior but actually makes them perform even worse. Money can be a surprisingly poor incentive.
