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Your memory is not as powerful as you think
MSNBC: A significant number of Americans believe that memory is more powerful, objective and reliable than it actually is, a new survey finds. Some memory myths are so pervasive that up to 83 percent of people believe them. The survey, published online today (Aug. 3) in the journal PLoS ONE, queried a nationally representative sample of 1,500 Americans about a variety of common beliefs about memory. The survey found that almost two-thirds of Americans believe that memory works like a video camera, accurately recording events for later review.
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Will Pets Give You Good Health and Longevity?
Yahoo Taiwan: （法新社華盛頓3日電） 長期以來，寵物飼主被洗腦認為，比起沒養寵物者，自己更快樂、健康又長壽，但美國最新研究指出，這些飼主可能只是「自我感覺良好」。 西卡羅來納大學（Western Carolina University）心理學教授赫佐格 （Howard Herzog）表示，過去針對飼養寵物能否促進健康和長壽的研究，卻發現「夾雜衝突性結果」。 赫佐格在8月號「心理科學最新指南」（Current Directions in Psychological Science）中指出：「無庸置疑，飼養寵物對部分民眾有益，但『養寵物的人比沒養寵物者還健康、快樂或更長壽』的論述，缺乏充足佐證。」 阅读更多/Read more: Yahoo Taiwan
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A Bias Against Creativity?
Vincent Van Gogh may be the most famous unappreciated artist of all time. Indeed, he was a failed painter, selling only two of his more than 2000 works during his lifetime. Yet his vibrant post-Impressionist style would influence generations of painters to come, and nowadays few would dispute his creative genius. His Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold some years ago for $82.5 million. Van Gogh is in good company. El Greco was scorned by critics, and Johannes Vermeer died in obscurity. Similarly, the writers Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe and Franz Kafka—all innovators—received little in the way of honors or recognition in their own eras. This is a puzzle.
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Getting to The Heart of The Appeal of Videogames
People spend 3 billion hours a week playing videogames but little is known scientifically about why they are actually fun in the first place. The vast majority of research into videogames has concentrated on the possible harmful effects of playing videogames, ignoring the simple question of why people actually want to play them. But new research led by scientists at the University of Essex sheds some light on the appeal of videogames and why millions of people around the world find playing them so much fun. The study investigated the idea that many people enjoy playing videogames because it gives them the chance to “try on” characteristics which they would like to have as their ideal self.
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Under Pressure, Soccer Goalies Tend To Dive Right
NPR: The Japanese women's soccer team stunned the United States a few weeks ago. After a tense match in which Team America seemed to have the upper hand throughout, Japan leveled the game with a late equalizer and then went on to win a penalty shootout. New psychological research suggests that soccer goalkeepers and teams aren't only affected by the high-stakes pressure of a penalty shootout. Without their awareness, goalkeepers also appear to be biased to dive to the right in some situations. The consequences of this bias could potentially affect games ranging from casual pickup matches to world championships.
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Why mirroring an interviewer’s body language and mannerisms can make you seem incompetent
Daily Mail: It might be considered the sincerest form of flattery, but if you take imitation too far in a job interview you could be giving the wrong impression to a potential employer. While subtle forms of mimicking mannerisms and body language can be useful in social situations, it might not have any benefit in the boardroom, research has shown. Scientists have discovered excessive copycatting in a job interview situation leaves an employer thinking you are incompetent, untrustworthy and not very likeable. Read more: Daily Mail
