Repressed memories don't exist

Attention all Freudian psychologists: give it up already! Research shows that repressed memories don't exist. Actually, we've know for some time that many of the more famous examples of "repressed memories" - especially those used in court cases - were due entirely to therapists encouraging the memories in their patients.

Exercise to increase cognitive function

I've posted about it before, but here it comes up again: exercise can increase cognitive function over the long term. It seems that consistent exercise is more or less one of the biggest keys in maintaining a good quality of life over the lifespan.

Misdiagnosing childhood disorders

There is most definitely a problem with misdiagnosing children with disorders like ADD or ADHD, but this article points to a rather huge number of misdiagnoses. The current zeitgeist in the world of psychological treatments tends to focus a lot on medication, and the current zeitgeist of our culture tends to be more tolerant if not downright eager to accept a diagnosis like ADD or ADHD. I'm not sure what root causes are (but I have my theories), nor am I sure what the fix is, but I do know that it is becoming more of a problem all the time.

Delayed gratification: the marshmallow test

If you haven't heard about Dr. Zimbardo's famous Marshmallow Test and the subsequent research on delayed gratification and the link to success, then you need to. This article will give you some really good background and some good analysis on the subject.

Ask God for improved hearing or vision!

This article on some research done with people that asked God to improve their vision or hearing is pretty darned good.

Initially the research appears to confirm that, yes, if you ask God it can, in fact, work for you. However, the article goes on to poke some holes in the research method and their findings, and that is the real value of the article. There are ways to find fault with just about every psychological study that has ever been done and certainly it it possible to find fault with the conclusions drawn from nearly every study. That doesn't invalidate every result, it just means that we should be thinking critically all the time. This article demonstrates several good ways of doing that.

The persistence of personality

How consistent are personality traits over the long term? For example, how consistent are personality traits between a child and when that same child is middle aged? Pretty darned consistent apparently!

Daydreaming and memory

Here is a great article on some research that suggests that how we choose to daydream about and how we go about daydreaming can affect how we remember recent events. That is pretty cool. I wonder if it would work for schoolwork?

Brain structure and culture

Do brain structures develop differently in children of different cultures? Here is an interesting article that points to some research on the subject.

Brain-melting personality test

I'm not a huge fan of personality tests. I recognize the research behind them and I also recognize that they have a certain utility. Unfortunately people often use them as a tool to predict future performance, and they just aren't meant for that nor are they even remotely accurate in that application.

All that being said, it is still fun to take them and see what they say. To that end I would like to present the single weirdest personality test I've ever run across:

The Pierley/Redford Dissasociative Affect Diagnostic

Seriously, describing it simply will not do it justice; you need to experience it to believe it. Even then you may not actually believe it. It is truly bizarre and strange in the truest sense of those words.

Just make sure you're not high on something when you take the test.

Your brain on hypnosis

We really understand very little about the mechanisms of hypnotism so it is very interesting that they are trying to do some imaging research on the mechanisms behind hypnotism. And, let's face it, brain imagery is sexy.

Think progress!

There are all kinds of little tricks to help motivate yourself into action, here is one more: the illusion of progress helps light a fire. In other words, you don't have to actually be making progress towards a goal, you just have to think that you are to motivate you to greater action.

I recently read a few people writing about goals in a way I hadn't seen before. Most of the time when you read what "experts" have to say about goals they give you a few criteria that need to be followed. A "good" goal should be one that is attainable (meaning realistically within the realm of your capabilities and situation) and measurable (meaning that you should be able to unequivocally be able to demonstrate progress to yourself or an observer). The new insight came when someone mentioned that sometimes a goal should be unattainable to give you something higher to aim for.

Motivational specialists all over the world just threw up wen I said that. However, I don't necessarily think that it is an unacceptable way to speak of goals. Certainly all of your goals shouldn't fit that mold, but it is an interesting idea to have some overarching goals that are simply something you have to strive for. I like the idea anyway.

Meditation...is there anything it can't do?

Well, quite a lot actually, but it can help increase your attention span. This ought to make all you student's perk right up and pay attention.

Musicians are freaks

Speaking as a musician that statement is absolutely true, but this article about cognitive processes that are enhanced in musicians is pretty cool too if not necessarily "freaky."

Does tech rot your brain?

No. Next question?

For more on the subject Deric Bownds has a little more to say on the subject and also links to the same article written by Steven Pinker.

Steven Pinker may be a media hound and may not have had any true original ideas, but the man knows his stuff and is better at clarifying current issues in psychological science than anyone out there. He is always worth listening to.

Autism is complex

I know, right? Duh. However, this article on new genetic studies of autism is quite good as it explains both why a genetic understanding helps us and also why the complexity is such a problem. 

I am always heartened by the leaps in understanding we are making in the study of autism, but as it becomes more clear that this is a genetic condition I fear we may discover just how intractable the condition is. I hope I'm wrong.

Shout it out loud!

Well, shouting isn't required, but you should say it out lout to improve your memory. The article is excellent as it also describes the mechanism through which this practice works (always something I appreciate). You should totally give this a shot. My sister and I used to study together by doing "dramatic reading" to each other of some of the more difficult text we had to learn and we were always amazed by how much it helped us process what we were reading. Also, it was a total hoot.

Learning strategies

This is probably only an article that I would geek out on, but just in case you were wondering, different strategies for learning have distinct neural signatures. Not that this has any practical application for students right now, but, hey, it's cool.

Don't stress out man!

Stress isn't what you think it is and there are many misconceptions about stress. Understanding the source of stress and the effects can help you combat it more effectively.

Is your intelligence fixed or flexible?

Nice article referencing an even better article by Carol Dweck about how performance can be correlated with a belief in the flexibility of our intelligence. There are a number of very good studies that have shown this effect, it is more-or-less a truism in motivational research.

Creativity and mental health

History seems full of people that are linked with their creative output due to being linked with either a tortured mind or various types of mental disorders like bi-polarism, schizophrenia, various flavors of autism or other similar cognitive disorders, there is also good research that says they may be correct.

This isn't to say that you need to have a cognitive disorder in order to be creative, or that all creative people have cognitive disorders, the study merely says that there are similarities in neurotransmitter profiles between creativity and mental disorders.

Make colors disappear!

Check out this incredible illusion: make colors disappear and merge right before your eyes.

I have a few unusual vision problems so it only partially worked for me (the colors faded and partially disappeared), although with good concentration I was able to get the full effect for about a half second or so when the color completely disappeared.

Liars know a liar

Here is a fun tidbit: you can make it easier to identify when someone is lying if you know the most effective techniques for lying. So....it takes one to know one?

Divorce is bad for kids

There are more studies than you could possibly link to in a short space that enumerate the various types of difficulties that children go through when their parents are involved in a divorce. Here is another study that shows that those children of divorce lag behind their peers in math and social skills.

Unfortunately, divorce is a reality that we must live with in our culture, so the key isn't just recognizing that the difficulties occur, but finding ways to mitigate the problems. That research is ongoing, but is much more difficult than identifying the problems.

Fire up your babies brain

Great article on how newborn babies are instinctively attuned to their mothers voice. Newborn and infant research is some of the coolest stuff out there. The more we learn about new brains, the more we discover just how complex and capable our brains are - even before we are born.

All you need is love....or not....

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as love (according to science)

This is the result when you get a crossover between something that everyone feels on what could best be described as a metaphysical level, and the need for science to quantify any phenomenon that they think can be measured; and that result is very unsatisfying.

I like the science and I find it completely fascinating and cool to see how they have drilled down into the biology of it all, but it just feels that there is still something missing. But, that is what you get for siding on the "mysterianism" side of things.

Summary of the Free Will debate

I know that I post a lot about this subject, but it is just so fascinating to me to see the interplay of experimentation, theory, philosophy and culture all crashing together in one spectacular mess.

This article is one of the best summaries of the whole subject I've seen in a while.

The article tends to side with the "you don't have free will" side, or at least prefers the experimental evidence for that side to the mere criticism of the opposite view. But that's kind of the whole point - you can generate experimental evidence that can defined very narrowly, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they apply broadly. But to get experimental evidence on the broad scale you introduce too many variables and it becomes a nightmare for analysis. 

I have had discussions with people who have criticized me for making larger inferences based on similar states. For example, I have been harshly criticized for suggesting that there might be mechanisms in the brain that can create an addiction to pornography which might be similar to the addiction mechanisms identified for substance abuse. Their beef with me was something along the lines of "science doesn't work through supposition - only experimentation." My counter argument was that I wasn't suggesting it was a fact, merely asking the question so that it could be subjected to experimentation. But apparently I am an idiot for suggesting that people could be addicted to pornography. 

This is the same argument in reverse in regards to free will. People are seeing suggestions via data and applying it to a much broader field (cognition). I don't see how you can refuse to go from specific to general in one area, but then do the exact opposite for another area. I'm not saying that it can't possibly be true (that we don't have free will) - I'm just saying that the evidence has been gathered from far too narrow of a slice of the cognitive picture to really make any broad conclusions.

Online education for free - and for credit!

I have been fairly up-front in the past that I in no way predict an e-learning revolution or even the death of the "brick-and-mortar" class. Our infrastructure is simply too embedded and there is too much investment both physically and culturally in our physical institutions. However, as e-learning matures it will become a more prevalent and accepted part of our education panorama.

Universities to offer free courses for credit

I think people forget sometimes just how new the internet is. There are a number of industries that are still trying to find their way through the maze of electronic delivery. Online shopping is probably the most mature of the current models, but even that isn't really up to speed yet. You still get a lot of people that will go and "shop" at a store and try things on, then go order it for cheaper online. This is an unsustainable model in the long run, but enough people are still invested in the physical act of shopping that it is still a viable model. Another example is modern media such as television and newsprint. They are both trying really hard to figure out how to use the technology to create good content while still generating profit. Some of their ideas have worked well, others have not. Education is no different. Some efforts work pretty well, others haven't. As with the other industries, predicting the "death" of an industry or a "revolution" is really more of a "call to arms" for the enthusiasts to keep pushing the envelope. Traditional services feel threatened by the new opponents and they circle the wagons and try to defend their position. Eventually the two sides learn how to play along, but it takes years and the eventual form of the system is far different from what you could have predicted early on. 

This is the template for all of human change.

Mind over Perception

I recently posted about how perception may be influenced by culture, well, how about an article on how you may be able to override your physical limitations and see better by believing you can?

This is a serious thing, by the way. There are even websites devoted to re-training your brain so that you don't need glasses or contacts. There is some empirical evidence to suggest that it works quite well for some people.

I wish I was one of them.

Body motion and memory

If you don't doodle, then how about dancing? Learning through self-directed interpretive dance would probably work pretty darned well come to think of it. Anyway, body motion can affect memory and emotions as well.

Atheists are a smug bunch

Okay, get ready to read some serious baloney: Why atheists are more intelligent than the religious.

He's got a great graph there, but I'd be very interested to see how the sample was selected, the specific ages of those tested and what the IQ rate was once the individuals reached adulthood. There is also the question of what measure of IQ they used and how it was administered. That is a pretty serious gap that needs to be accounted for.

One other thing, the author bases all of his reasoning on evolutionary psychology - you couldn't think of any other mechanism for why the gap exists? And are you really correlating "not religious at all" with atheism? Not exactly the same thing.