When Burkina Faso does not prevent birds from flying backwards: Output effects in knowledge tests
Recalling one thing can interfere with recall of another. This is known as output interference and is routinely observed in tests of memory. However, to date, it has been unknown whether similar interference effects are observed in knowledge tests. Recent research sheds light on this issue. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - May 7, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
From vipassana to P300: neurocognitive markers of the art of chocolate eating
Well-being is widely believed to involve “living in the present”, an ability also known as mindfulness. Mindfulness can be learned--for example, you can learn to avoid checking your email during a dinner conversation. Among other things, mindfulness can support emotion regulation, which may come in handy to handle the comments of Reviewer 3 more gracefully. Recent research reviews the neuropsychological markers of mindfulness with intriguing results. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - May 5, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Getting the most out of a cat's paw: Wind detection among expert sailors
Expertise comes in may forms, including finely-tuned perception. New research examines how experts can detect the direction and strength of wind with their skin alone. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 29, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
New Service: Online Studies for Members
Members of the Psychonomic Society may use the website for research purposes, for example by crowd-sourcing psychological knowledge. The first such study has gone live. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 28, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
When red is so red you don't mind the blue: Attention as your guard against interference
The famous "Stroop effect" refers to the finding that if people have to name the color ink in which a word is written, then "red" presented in blue ink is much harder to name than if the color and the word are congruent. Recent research identifies the crucial role of attention in this process. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 20, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
You may know more about Egyptian Pharaohs than about your local bus route
Given that you have been waiting for the elevator for 3 minutes, how much longer will you have to wait? And if a Pharaoh has reigned for 10 years already, what will be the total duration of his reign? People are surprisingly adept at such predictions, but they may have more difficulty with their local bus system. Recent research points to possible reasons. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 16, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Green alone does not make a memory: Long-term priming in visual search
When we look for a target among many visual stimuli, we are better at this search when the target is repeated from a previous trial. Memory affects search. But why? Recent research suggests that there is something special to stimuli that require more than a single feature to be identified, such as a red diamond among blue diamonds and red squares. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 15, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Letter from America - via Edinburgh: Words from the Chair of the Governing Board
The Chair of the Governing Board of the Psychonomic Society explains our Society to the wider readership. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 13, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
News from the Cocktail Circuit: Extracting useful information from the din
The party is in full swing and he noise level considerable. But we still hear our name being whispered by a person across the room. Recent research has discovered lots more about the properties of this "cocktail party" effect. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 9, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
If it's not moving it'll hit you: Perceptual biases in 3D motion detection
Is this object moving towards me are away from me? This perception of motion in the depth plane presents a challenge to observers. Recent research reports more about the biases in motion perception. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - April 7, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
What’s your point? Sea lions can use human gestural cues.
Dogs can understand human gestures but apes cannot. Does this mean domestication is key to animals' understanding of human gestures? Sea lions suggest otherwise. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - March 31, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Feeling the bear behind the trees: How our sense of touch fills in the blanks
If you spot a bear behind trees during a stroll in the woods, your visual system "fills in" the parts that are hidden from view. We "see" a complete bear, rather than just the slivers that are visible between the trees. It turns out that your sense of touch can accomplish much the same thing. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - March 26, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
When opposites slow you down but don't collide: Negligible dual-task costs with stimulus incompatibility
Doing two things at once is (often) hard. But why? Answering this question can give us key insights into how the human mind works. Recent research shows that sometimes doing two things together is unexpectedly easy. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - March 24, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Watching your brain wince: Empathic pain and psychopathic traits
It hurts to watch someone else get hurt. Most of us feel this "empathic pain", but there are individual differences and things are different for people with high psychopathic traits. Recent research has addressed which brain regions are implicated in processing of empathic pain. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - March 19, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Highly reliable organizations and your lab
Human beings commit errors. How do you run and manage a lab to minimize the occurrence of errors, catch them early when they occur, and prevent them from having adverse consequences? (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - March 17, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
