Animate objects, such as animals and humans, hold a special sway over humans’ attention. For example, when presented with two scenes (one containing an animal and one not), people will preferentially orient to the one containing the animal. People are also faster and more accurate at detecting change in animate More
The degree to which other people divert your attention may depend on your social class, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research shows that people who categorize themselves as being in a relatively high social class spend less time looking More
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Pupillary Contagion in Infancy: Evidence for Spontaneous Transfer of Arousal Christine Fawcett, Victoria Wesevich, and Gustaf Gredebäck Pupillary contagion — when an individual’s pupil size influences the pupil size of an observer — is thought to be an automatic mechanism that facilitates More
Digital ads use bright lights, rotating images, and flashy content to get your attention, but do they take your eyes (and your mind) off the road long enough to create a hazard? Digital billboards — dynamic, electronically illuminated, light emitting diode (LED) advertisements — are a rapidly growing section of More
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Infections and Elections: Did an Ebola Outbreak Influence the 2014 U.S. Federal Elections (and if so, How)? Alec T. Beall, Marlise K. Hofer, and Mark Schaller Did the Ebola outbreak influence the 2014 U.S. federal elections? In the second of three studies More
The Globe and Mail: Ever notice that when a big deadline looms, life’s little distractions always seem to get in the way? Maybe your colleague has a shrill voice that can be heard over the otherwise comforting din of other people’s fingers tapping away on keyboards. You try working from More
