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OppNet Request for Applications: Basic Sociobehavioral Research on Stigma
OppNet's 2nd FY2013 RFA: Basic Sociobehavioral Research on Mechanisms of Stigma Application due: August 2, 2013, by 5:00 p.m. local time of applicant organization Letter of intent due: July 2, 2013 Although not required or binding, an intent letter allows NIH review staff to estimate the number and themes associated with planning this RFA’s peer review process. The purpose of this NIH Opportunity Network (OppNet) request for applications is to support projects that elucidate mechanisms underlying stigma that are relevant across health conditions or stigmatized statuses.
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Gazzaniga Book Signing at APS Convention
Few scientists know the brain as well as APS Past President Michael Gazzaniga does. A pioneer in cognitive neuroscience, Gazzaniga was the first researcher to study patients in whom the right and left hemispheres of the brain had been split to treat epilepsy. This research contributed greatly to scientists’ understanding of lateralized cognitive function within the brain and communication between the two brain hemispheres. More recently, Gazznniga has been asking whether advances in neuroscience should change our beliefs about personal responsibility.
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Mirror Neurons Help Us Identify Emotion in Faces
Madeleine L. Werhane won an APSSC Student Research Award for her work examining mirror neurons’ role in the identification of facial emotions. She received the award in May 2012 at the 24th APS Annual Convention. Mirror neurons are unique in that they engage not only when we perform specific actions, but also when we see others performing specific actions. The same neurons that control hand and mouth actions in monkeys, for instance, are activated when one monkey sees another monkey pick up a piece of food. Mirror neurons allow humans to learn through observation and communication.
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Intel Science Talent Search: Social Roles Seen Through Eye Movements
The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), the nation's most prestigious pre-college science competition, recognizes and rewards 300 student semifinalists and their schools each year. The 40 finalists are then invited to Washington, DC, where they display their work in public, meet with notable scientists, and compete for a $100,000 prize. Representing the field of psychological science in this year’s contest was Michael Zhang of Smithtown High School East in New York, who investigated how visual behavior reflects the self-perception of human subjects playing one of four distinctive roles. Zhang assigned each participant the role of thief, security guard, cleaning person, or tourist.
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Write to be Read
Today many scientists struggle to get the public interested in psychological research. To help social psychologists reach larger audiences, In-Mind Magazine will organize a May 23 workshop, "Writing and Communicating with the General Public," in conjunction with the APS 25th Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. This workshop aims to support psychological scientists by offering a vital skill: the power to enchant a broad audience. How can you communicate important scientific findings to the media? Or, how do you turn your award-winning ideas into successful grant proposals?
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Language That Reinforces Inequality
Men solve problems differently than women. Women solve problems differently than men. At first glance, both sentences communicate the same information. But according to a 2012 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, one of these sentences — but not the other — probably reinforces inequality between men and women. Susanne Bruckmüller, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and her coauthors were interested in how the language used to compare people and groups can affect the way those people and groups are perceived.
