Psychology

If 3D Movies Make You Feel Sick, It’s Likely All in Your Mind

The realism of today’s 3D blockbusters can blow audiences away. By using 3D glasses to present different images to the two eyes, stereoscopic 3D technology fools the brain into believing it is viewing a real scene rather than a flat image on a screen. Now 3D televisions enable viewers to experience the effect at home…

Tetris Blocks Flashbacks of Traumatic Events Lodged in the Brain

As computer games go, Tetris is one of the most mesmeric. Now, a team of researchers has found that the visual processing required to play the game can help sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder overcome flashbacks—even after the memory of an event is lodged within their brain. Back in 2009, a team of researchers led…

There Should Be a Dress Code for Doctors

If you live near a hospital, you’ve probably seen the sight: a young physician in loose blue scrubs, standing in line at the grocery store. You can’t help but wonder if the young physician is lost. After all, it appears that he or she belongs in an emergency room – not the dairy section. The…

What You Probably Don’t Know About the Most Famous Case in Neuroscience

In 1845, a meter-long iron rod pierced the skull of Vermont railway worker Phineas Gage. The resulting changes to his personality forever changed our perception of the human brain. But what happened next to Gage is rarely covered in textbooks — a problematic oversight, say psychologists. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could survive something…

At Last We Have a Scientific Explanation for Cat Pictures

And, as neuroscientist Bethany Brookshire put it, “obvious study is obvious.” People appear to be looking at cat pictures on the internet in order to “regulate mood,” or make themselves happier. But sometimes those pictures make us feel bad, too. Though its conclusions may seem like common sense, Brookshire points out that these kinds of…

Are you curious about what makes a person transgender? So are the scientists trying to understand its biological underpinnings and the best way to help people with gender dysphoria. Kate Wheeling pulls together a short list of recent research findings on the subject at Pacific Standard. Contact the author at [email protected].

Facial Discrimination: What It’s Like to Live With Disfigurement

In a world obsessed with beauty, living with a facial disfigurement can be hard. Neil Steinberg explores the past and present to find out what it’s like to look different. “Take your ear off for me, please,” Rosie Seelaus says to Randy James, who is sitting on a black exam chair in a special room…

The Power of Symbols: Why People Still Defend The Confederate Flag

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham joined Governor Nikki Haley Monday in calling for the removal of the state capitol’s Confederate flag. They join the growing throng of voices demanding the flag be taken down in the wake of last week’s killings in Charleston. The cases that these voices have presented are compelling. One is left…

Men Are Pressuring Themselves to Become “Spornosexuals”

Nose jobs. Tummy tucks. Botox. Breast implants. Fad diets. Historically, most of the pressure to look a particular way to be considered beautiful and sexy has been put on women. But according to an article by Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore at Aeon, men are starting to feel the heat, as well. From the article: Images of this…

A Crazy Satisfying Theory About Why You Love Swiping Right

Swipe, swipe, swipe. Hundreds of swipes every day on Tinder. I’m lonely, ok?! It turns out I’m not just desperate for love though. Tinder might be tapping into human psychology. Are we hardwired to swipe right? Do I need to explain what Tinder is? It’s a dating app: When you swipe right, you’re saying “yes”…

What Does Homesickness Mean in the Technological Age?

What does it mean to be homesick in 2015, and does technology help or hinder us when we move to a new place? I’m standing outside a cottage in the Vienna woods. It’s where I used to live and this is the first time I’ve been back since I left ten years ago. The roads…

What Actually Makes a Movie Give You Nightmares?

I’ve watched horror movies and read scary stories since I was a child. Although a few scared me, I didn’t start having nightmares about “movie monsters” until I saw the film It Follows. So what made this movie enter my dreams when others didn’t? [Note: Spoilers for the film It Follows.] It Follows has a…

The Suicide Rate Among Female Veterans Is “Obscenely High”

Male suicides outnumber female in every country on Earth, usually by a lot. In the U.S., men kill themselves around four times as often as women. But results of a newly published study reveal America’s female veterans commit suicide at nearly six times the rate of other women—a rate that approaches that of male veterans.…

The Mysterious Syndrome In Which Healthy People Can’t Recall Their Past

The authors of a recent study published in Neuropsycholgia say they’ve identified a new syndrome characterized by the inability to re-live previous experiences. It sounds a lot like amnesia, but people with this rare condition are otherwise healthy and have no history of brain damage or psychological trauma. Most of us have no difficulty transporting…

Hallucinations And Delusions Are Surprisingly Common

Ever heard a voice inside your head or saw something that wasn’t there? You’re not alone — and it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with you. A study of more than 30,000 people from 18 countries found that about one in 20 of us have experienced a psychotic episode at least once. The long-term…

What These Strange Shapes Can Teach Us About Facial Recognition

We glance at children say they have their father’s nose and their mother’s eyes, or their grandmother’s ears. And perhaps they do. But if we didn’t know which child was related to which parent, we’d have trouble trying pick them out by their noses or their chins alone. The question is, why? Why is it…

Grad Student Accused Of Faking Data In Gay Marriage Study

The lead author of a study claiming that short conversations can dramatically alter a person’s view on same-sex marriage has issued a retraction upon learning his co-author may have forged the data. The study in question, titled “When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality,” was published in Science back…

On a single day in 2011, Anders Breivik killed 77 people, most of them attendees at a youth camp organized by the Norwegian Labour Party. A thoughtful piece in the new New Yorker by Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard takes a look at the mass murderer from the inside out, examining his mind and his…

What Psychological Problems Do You Need To Be An Action Hero?

You’re a cop on the edge, an ex-marine with nothing left to lose, or just an everyday guy who’s too old for this shit. Whatever you are, the one thing you’re not is psychologically healthy. In fact, in order to be an action hero, you basically need to be maladjusted in these very specific ways.…

How To Get To First Base

You met in a coffeeshop, you’ve hung out for a few hours, and you seem to be hitting it off. And now at last, you’re alone together. Is it time to lean in for the kiss? Or is this about to turn seriously awkward? How do you know when someone wants to kiss you? Here’s…