Psychology

People Believe Their Dreams- And It Affects Their Judgment

While science tries to understand the stuff dreams are made of, humans, from cultures all over the world, continue to believe that dreams contain important hidden truths, according to newly published research.  In six different studies, researchers surveye ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2009 - 12:02am

Hyper-Careful People About Race Need To Loosen Up, Says Study

Self-control is one of our most cherished values; we applaud those with the discipline to regulate their appetites and actions and we try hard to instill this virtue in our children.   But is it possible that willpower can sometimes be an obstacle rather t ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2009 - 2:41pm

Making Dentist Visits Less Scary For Kids

For many children, a trip to the doctor or dentist is a stressful experience. The sensory environment (i.e., the sounds, smells, and lights associated with the clinical setting) can cause a child's anxiety levels to rise. This is especially true in ch ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 20 2009 - 12:36am

Names Matter- Hard To Pronounce Ones Make Products Seem Risky

It looks the Nintendo folks who came up with the name 'Wii' were onto something- apparently if they had named it 'Vaiveahtoishi' it wouldn't have been as successful.   'Whee' is a noise kids make when they're having ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 21 2009 - 12:03pm

Why You Are Addicted To Ebay And May Not Even Know It

Hurry! Don't let [random eBay item here] get away! Increase your max bid before someone else steals away your item. There are a few ways in which the creation of eBay was absolute genius; it played upon the needs and wants of society as a whole, combi ...

Article - Erin Richards - Feb 24 2009 - 12:47pm

Cheaper? If The Left Digit Effect Says So

When shopping, we often find ourselves choosing between lower- and higher-cost items. But most people make a choice based on the first digit they see, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.  "Shoppers pay a disproportionate amou ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 23 2009 - 5:08pm

Women And Minorities Prejudiced Against Themselves, Says Study

If you're in the prejudice business the worst thing that can happen is to have a woman and an African-American fighting it out to be President.   A white guy has a tough time out there these days and that's a good thing for society because it mea ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Sep 10 2012 - 2:45am

Even Racism Is Biased In White People, Says Study- Prejudice Is Distributed Unequally

White people are having a tough 2009.   And it's going to get worse if new research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is accurate.    A series of six studies conducted by University of Washington and Michigan State University psychol ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2009 - 5:24pm

The Difference Between Stock Market And Lottery Players? More Money

You may know of people who ridicule lottery players because the odds are so great and, it would seem, they can't do simple math.    But most people don't ridicule stock market investors even though the same circumstances- a lack of real knowledge ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 26 2009 - 10:55am

Everquest 2, Twitter, Quizilla: Information Cornucopia For Behavioral Science

Internet phenomena has long been used by advertisers to gather data, form hypotheses, and test them in the form of ad serving—science is starting to get smart to the data-gathering possibilities spawned by voluntary internet activity.  The most recent head ...

Article - Stephanie Pulford - Mar 2 2009 - 10:57am