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Mind-reading, lie-detection and telekinesis with fMRI and EEG – Science fact and fiction
In the last few years, fMRI and EEG have made it into the popular press as tools for reading minds (here, here, here, here and here for a sample), lie-detection (here, here and here), and telekinesis – controlling/ moving objects with our thoughts – (here, here, here, and here). I think there was even a…
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Ovulation Studies Under Attack?
A recent article published by the online magazine Slate.com criticized “ovulation studies,” or psychological research that examines how females’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior change when they are at the most fertile point in their menstrual cycle. The article claims to point out “the many weaknesses of ovulation studies,” but centers around one recent study that…
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Why do we dream?
Why do we dream? Theory 1: Dreams express inner wishes and desires (Freud’s idea). But what about nightmares? Those can’t be wishes. Theory 2: Dreams provide solutions to problems. But then why can we only recall 1% of dreams? Dreams aren’t helpful in providing solutions if we can’t remember them. Often anecdotes about people who…
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Remembering how we learned about forgetting
Perhaps the most influential and important leader in the burgeoning field of psychology was the German psychologist/philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus. Ebbinghaus was without the status and resources to conduct his experiments on memory using a large pool of random subjects. This is much different than the current system where even undergraduate researchers have access to the…
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Those That can not do…Education, teachers and Psychology
I have to admit that before I became an academic, I believed this phrase was true “Those that can not do, teach.” This despite coming from a family of academics. Of course, now that I am on this path, I see that there are many passionate, smart, committed people who could do many other things…
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How do 3D movies work?
You might have heard that Avatar is responsible for a whole new kind of movie technology and that thousands of theaters had to be built or upgraded just to show these movies. What exactly are these technological miracles and if they’re so great, why do we still have to wear those silly glasses? First of…
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Frontline’s Digital Nation – what’s the answer?
Frontline recently aired a documentary called Digital Nation which took a look at all the different ways we use media. And at recent research in the field. One of the scientists they interviewed is Dr Gary Small at UCLA. He looked at people’s brains while they read a book, and other people’s brain while they used Google;…
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Maybe its not all about friends: Parents, drinking, and race
contributing author: Gacia Tachejian Have you ever asked yourself where it is that kids learn about drug use? Parents have long been known to protect their young ones from “bad” influences from outside, but a recent study at Yale shows that a major source influence still exists within the home. Interestingly, the researchers, headed by…
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Media 24/7 in kid’s lives
A new study came out from Kaiser that talks about the astonishing amount of time that children spend with media today. Media is defined as tv, music, video games, print, computer and movies. Today’s kids 8-18 spend 7 1/2 hours using media, almost as long as an adult work day! Before parents stress too much,…
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Sound asleep – Learning while sleeping may indeed be a reality
Okay, so this recent study from Northwestern isn’t saying you can learn anything you want by simply playing it while you’re asleep. Still, it seems to give hope that some learning enhancement can occur while we’re napping.