On being a black rain cloud: Looking and thinking outside the box
Where should we focus our attention while we try to solve problems? Recent research investigated the relationship between attentional deployment and problem solving by tracking eye movements and other indicators of attention. It appears that the best place to focus attention during problem solving is inward, away from external stimuli. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - October 8, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Smart phone, dumb driver: Cell-phone use diminishes awareness of driving safety
Using your cell phone while driving is dangerous. Recent research shows it is not just dangerous, it also impairs drivers' ability to recognize their own errors. You may think you are safe when you are not. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - October 7, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
The view from the 26th Floor: Welcome to Steven Weisberg, new Digital Associate Editor
The Psychonomic Society is welcoming its new Digital Associate Editors, Steven Weisberg, whose first post will run tomorrow. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - October 6, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
President’s Executive Order Outlines Crucial Role for Psychology and Allied Sciences in Serving Society: Get Involved Today!
For the first time, a President has directed government to take advantage of behavioral science research to inform policies and practices. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - October 3, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Mental effort is contagious
People, like most beings, are inherently social. Our performance is affected by the presence of others. But does it matter what those others are doing? Recent research examines the effects of others' performance on our own performance. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - October 1, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Trumping Bonferroni to keep your ANOVAs honest
Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) are the prime tool of choice for the analysis of psychological experiments. Recent research sheds a cautionary light on their use for exploratory purposes. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 29, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Exploring the interface theory of perception: Reply to more commentaries
One of the hallmarks of a scientific theory is falsifiability, and among the strengths of science are its vigorous attempts to test and possibly falsify theories. Of course, it is human nature to prefer to falsify someone else’s theory; we are less inclined to be as vigorous in trying to falsify our own theories. The comments on our work in print and all this week on Featured Content have contributed to this endeavor. Here we offer our reply to the comments. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 25, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Is Interface Theory a Special Case of Q-morphs or Full-blown Solipsism?
The Interface Theory's claim that evolution shapes perception is undoubtedly true. But neither is it particularly novel. Because Interface Theory follows this claim to its logical extreme, it ends in solipsism--that is, the philosophical position claiming that nothing but the existence of one’s own mind can be known. While ultimately correct, such a position is unproductive; and in the case of the authors’ thesis, it also proves self-contradictory. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 24, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
#interfacetheory: True enough
Are our perceptions really always false? Does fitness determine everything? That may be true enough. But perhaps our perceptual system is true enough as well. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 23, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Mind that Epistemic Gap! Perceptions Reside Within, not Outside of, Reality
Hoffman and colleagues propose the Interface Theory of Perception (ITP), which asserts that perceptions evolved to render organisms sensitive to the objective world in terms of payoffs, or fitness functions, not truth. But ITP is nonetheless a correspondence theory of perception--and therein lies the problem. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 22, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
The Interface Theory of Perception: The Future of the Science of the Mind?
This introductory post points to all articles in the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review that introduce and discuss the Interface Theory of Perception proposed by Donald Hoffman, Manish Singh, and Chetan Prakash. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 21, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
#interfacetheory: Our species-specific desktop
Getting ready for next week's digital event. The overview and the video. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 20, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Objects here, objects there, objects everywhere.
Recognizing objects is deceptively quick and effortless. But is a complex process. Recent research shows that the visual system performs a surprising amount of computation before higher-level representations are engaged. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 16, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
SLAM dunk for aphasia: Explaining speech production
We take speech for granted. We can talk effortlessly all day, but the seeming ease of speech production is actually the result of some complex interactive processes that involve multiple representations in the brain. A recent model sheds light on the processes underlying aphasia, that is the condition when speech (at least partially) fails. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 15, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
Simon says: Keep your hands in your lap (sometimes)
Objects that are close to our hands acquire a special status: We process things more attentively when they are close to our hands, probably in anticipation of an action involving that object. Recent research examines the interplay between different types of processes in this phenomenon. (Source: Psychonomic Society News)
Source: Psychonomic Society News - September 9, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news
