Psychology

New Personality Test: Which Robot Companion You Choose Tells A Lot About You

The type of robot chosen as a personal companion by participants at the University of Hertfordshire Science and Technology Research Institute’s (STRI) Showcase next week will very much depend on their personality type. This is a recent finding from Profess ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2008 - 8:20pm

The Development Of Risk Aversion- Why Kids Fear Snakes

Some of the oldest tales and wisest mythology allude to the snake as a mischievous seducer, dangerous foe or powerful iconoclast; however, the legend surrounding this proverbial predator may not be based solely on fantasy. As scientists from the University ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 27 2008 - 1:14pm

Why Are Games Powerful? (part 1)

Drug addiction, sure. The first pleasurable drugs were probably discovered hundreds of thousands of years ago, if not much earlier. All cultures use drugs. Drugs physically reach the brain. But video game addiction? Video games are a millisecond old, comp ...

Article - Seth Roberts - Mar 2 2008 - 3:32pm

Why Are Games Powerful? (part 2)

After I saw that flaxseed oil probably affected my circle-game performance, I wondered how to make its effect clearer. One possibility was to change the input device. I was using the trackpoint on my Thinkpad to move the cursor; what about the touchpad? M ...

Article - Seth Roberts - Mar 5 2008 - 10:57am

Researchers: Testosterone Link Says Eating Disorders Not Just Social

Testosterone appears to protect people against eating disorders, providing further evidence that biological factors – and not just social influences – are linked to anorexia and bulimia, according to new research findings at Michigan State University. An o ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 3 2008 - 9:40pm

Why Are Games Powerful? (part 3)

My observations: 1. The first task I used to measure my mental function at frequent intervals (e.g., every 30 minutes) resembled an typical cognitive psych task. It wasn’t fun and I had to push myself to do it. 2. I made another test to do the same thing ...

Article - Seth Roberts - Mar 4 2008 - 11:26am

Placebo Effect Doesn't Apply To Placebos- Expensive Ones Really Are Better

A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, according to a provocative study by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University. "Physicians want to think it's the medicine and not t ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 10:42am

Study: Negative Mother-Daughter Relationships, Low Serotonin Lead To Destructive Behavior In Girls

A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting thems ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 5 2008 - 1:03pm

Meanings Versus Events And The Accuracy Of Adult Memory Versus Children's

The U.S. legal system has long assumed that all testimony is not equally credible, that some witnesses are more reliable than others. In tough cases with child witnesses, it assumes adult witnesses to be more reliable. But what if the legal system had it w ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 7 2008 - 1:50am

Scientists Create 'Mixed Reality" Existence Where The Boundaries Are Unclear

Using a virtual pendulum and its real-world counterpart, scientists at the University of Illinois have created the first mixed reality state in a physical system. Through bi-directional instantaneous coupling, each pendulum “sensed” the other, their motion ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 10 2008 - 11:19am