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All It Takes is a Smile (For Some Guys)…
Does she or doesn’t she . . .? Sexual cues are ambiguous, and confounding. We—especially men—often read them wrong. A new study hypothesizes that the men who get it wrong might be the ones that evolution has favored. “There are tons of studies showing that men think women are interested when they’re not,” says Williams College psychologist Carin Perilloux, who conducted the research with Judith A. Easton and David M. Buss of University of Texas at Austin. “Ours is the first to systematically examine individual differences.” The findings will appear in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science.
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Funding Opportunity 2012 NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards
Letters of Intent due by December 30, 2011 Announcing a funding opportunity for the NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards: For junior investigators wishing to “skip the post-doc” and immediately begin independent research Eligible candidates must be within one year of receipt of terminal research degree or completion of clinical residency Only up to two applications per institution (as defined by unique DUNS number) permitted All areas of research relevant to the mission of NIH welcome Budgets may be up to $250,000 in direct costs per year for up to five years The deadline for submitting Early Independence Award applications is January 30, 2012 with Letters of Intent due by December 30, 2…
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OppNet Request for Applications for Three-year Research Projects: Basic Research on Decision Making(R01)
OppNet, NIH’s Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network, released a new RFA for three-year research projects: Basic research on decision making: Cognitive, affective, and developmental perspectives (R01). Basic research on decision making: Cognitive, affective, and developmental perspectives (R01) Deadlines Letter of intent: December 18, 2011 Application: January 18, 2012 This OppNet Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research grant applications that propose to increase understanding of the basic cognitive, affective, motivational, and social processes that underlie decision making across the lifespan.
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Robert Sapolsky: The uniqueness of humans
Humans enjoy having a laugh at the seemingly silly things other animals do, oblivious to the fact that they offer up plenty of humorous fodder to the rest of Mother Nature in kind. Thanks to his extensive work with baboons, Robert Sapolsky looks at his fellow men and women through an intriguing (and hilarious) biological lens. Although they share plenty of parallels with other mammals, people certainly pull it off in their own unique, strange way. Watch the Ted Talk here
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Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms
Ken Robinson's observations of intersections between education and psychology come delivered through some delightful animations. He peers into three of the most disconcerting elements of the school system — an increase in ADD and ADHD diagnoses, escalating drop-out rates and poorly-funded art programs — and discusses the sociological and psychological principles at play here. In spite of some concerns about economics and resources, there are viable solutions that nurture creativity and produce healthy, productive children. Watch the Ted Talk here
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Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see
Even those with only a tangential understanding of psychology know how important perception is in understanding human behavior. And Beau Lotto points out how important optical illusions are to understanding human perception. Through demonstrations, he illustrates the evolution of eye and brain alike in order to underscore how such things keep people from fully realizing the world around them. Watch the Ted Talk here
