To explore how the mind processes the objects mimes seem to interact with, researchers brought the art of miming into the lab, concluding that invisible, implied surfaces are represented rapidly and automatically. The work appears in the journal Psychological Science. “Most of the time, we know which objects are around us More
When you watch a mime pull an invisible rope or run into an invisible wall you as the viewer are tricked into visualizing something that isn’t there. But is it all in the mime? Or does the mind play a role? Chaz Firestone, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences More
In a guest column, renowned architecture critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen applauds psychological science for fostering new understanding about the links between our surroundings and our health, well-being, and development. More
Why is an organ as powerful as the human brain so bad at multitasking? APS William James Fellow Jonathan D. Cohen is generating new answers to that question. More
Are we born to be physically lazy? A sophisticated if disconcerting new neurological study suggests that we probably are. It finds that even when people know that exercise is desirable and plan to work out, certain electrical signals within their brains may be nudging them toward being sedentary. The study’s More
Giving up a kidney to a stranger requires a certain sense of selflessness, what’s come to be known in social science as extraordinary altruism. University of Pennsylvania psychologist Kristin Brethel-Haurwitz wanted to understand the connection between this trait and empathy, specifically empathy for distress emotions. Using fMRI scans, Brethel-Haurwitz and More
