-
The Mind’s Compartments Create Conflicting Beliefs
Scientific American: If you have pondered how intelligent and educated people can, in the face of overwhelming contradictory evidence, believe that evolution is a myth, that global warming is a hoax, that vaccines cause autism and asthma, that 9/11 was orchestrated by the Bush administration, conjecture no more. The explanation is in what I call logic-tight compartments—modules in the brain analogous to watertight compartments in a ship. The concept of compartmentalized brain functions acting either in concert or in conflict has been a core idea of evolutionary psychology since the early 1990s.
-
Too Big, Too Small? Optimal Circle Of Friends Depends On Socioeconomic Conditions, Goldilocks
Science 2.0: Do you prefer to have a few close friends or a larger social circle that is less deep? Social psychologists say your preference reflect your personality but also individual circumstances - like socioeconomic conditions. Social psychologists Shigehiro Oishi of the University of Virginia and Selin Kesebir of the London Business School say that Americans may prefer a large social network, for example, because Americans move around a lot. Thus, it may make sense to spread time and resources across many friends to minimize the loss of any one friend moving away. Economic conditions at a given time are also a factor.
-
‘It’s Just a Dog. Get Over It.’
The Wall Street Journal: Last week, the singer Fiona Apple told her fans that she would be canceling the South American leg of her concert tour in order to be with her dying dog. Ms. Apple's announcement, made in a four-page handwritten letter to fans, has elicited some pushback and—let's face it—some downright snarky commentary, as in: It's just a dog, Fiona. Get. Over. It. What's surprising, though, is that close to 80,000 people have "liked" Ms. Apple's Facebook FB +0.33% posting of her letter, and the vast majority of fans have supported her decision. Such expressions of support are unusual.
-
Society for the Study of Human Development 8th Biennial Meeting
Registration is now open for the 8th Biennial Meeting of the Society for the Study of Human Development to be held Nov. 3–5, 2013 at the Fort Lauderdale Beach and Spa Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Discounted early registration is available until October 15, 2013. This year’s conference theme is: Rethinking Developmental Science across the Life-Span/Life-Course: Theory, Methods, and Applications For program information (including keynote and invited plenary symposia speakers) and to register for the conference and lodging go to: www.sshdonline.org
-
What’s Your Meme? Changing the Climate Change Conversation
The New York Times: Yes we can! Ermahgerd. Occupy. I had a dream. Haters gonna hate. Tear down this wall! Gangnam Style. Drill, baby, drill. We are constantly bombarded by memes in our daily lives. Some spontaneously flare up and then burn out as quickly as they appeared, while others stick around for decades. We hardly consider their presence, much less contemplate their possible influence on our lives. Researchers in the emerging field of meme science are digging deeper, however, investigating how and why these sticky phrases or trends sink into our cultural psyche and subconsciously influence the way we process the world around us.
-
Experiencing Discrimination Increases Risk-Taking, Anger, and Vigilance
Experiencing rejection not only affects how we think and feel -- over the long-term it can also influence our physical and mental health. New research suggests that when rejection comes in the form of discrimination, people respond with a pattern of thoughts, behaviors, and physiological responses that may contribute to overall health disparities. “Psychological factors, like discrimination, have been suggested as part of the causal mechanisms that explain how discrimination gets ‘under the skin’ to affect health,” says psychological scientist and senior researcher Wendy Berry Mendes of the University of California, San Francisco.
