Most humans have only vestigal muscles that could help them prick up their ears like this cute pooch. Photo: Mary Swift/Shutterstock The adorable dog in the photo is paying attention. "Lifting the ears up straight is, in almost every species, a clue that the animal is putting some work into it. They're paying close attention, …
Continue reading Prick up your ears! (Oh, I forgot…you can’t!)
How did the researchers manipulate the IV in this study? Photo credit: mansong suttakarn/Shutterstock Cannabis is considered a performance-enhancing drug in the Olympic Games and other competitions, but it's also (stereotypically) associated with being too chill to work out. In the past, psychologists could not easily test the relationship of marijuana and exercise because the …
Seeing different size models on TikTok videos affected people's body esteem. Photo: AlessandroBiascioli/Shutterstock Have you ever watched dance challenge videos on TikTok? If so, you probably noticed the skill and appearance of the dance model. Some psychologists have started to study how TikTok dance models affect viewers. A set of three studies asked, can the …
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The study focused on therapy dogs' effect on perceptions of pain in emergency room patients. Photo: monkeybusiness/Deposit Photos Adults and children alike can benefit from petting a therapy dog (a friendly pet who makes rounds with a trainer, perhaps to a clinic, pediatric unit, or even on campus during finals week). In this study, covered …
The successful intervention for obesity combined lessons about eating and exercise, family dynamics, and peer acceptance. Photo credit: Eviart/Shutterstock Here's another example of a research summary from The Conversation, which invites researchers to produce accessibly-written summaries of their own research. This one concerns a study that conducted a randomized controlled trial of interventions for kids …
What do the studies suggest about why people procrastinate? Photo credit: Timothy Hodgkinson/Shutterstock The BBC magazine, Science Focus, collected a set of studies on procrastination that might help students at the beginning of a new school year. The journalist opens with a couple of simple frequency claims. [If you procrastinate,] you’re not alone: an estimated …
Pancetta the cat sitting in Kanizsa square. Photo and research by Gabriella Smith, M.A. I've shared several examples of research on pet dogs on this blog, so it's about time I present an example of research on pet cats. If you own a cat yourself, you've probably noticed that they enjoy climbing into 3-dimensional boxes, …
Senders of gratitude letters benefit from writing them, and recipients "feel great" when receiving them. Photo credit: Rawpixel/Deposit Photos This example comes from the subfield of positive psychology, and the study of gratitude. One technique studied by positive psychologists is the practice of writing a gratitude letter to a person who has influenced you. According …
The coded stereotypicality of the drawing was a dependent variable in one of the studies. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Jin Goh. Citation: Goh, J. X., Bandt-Law, B., Cheek, N. N., Sinclair, S., & Kaiser, C. R. (2021). Narrow prototypes and neglected victims: Understanding perceptions of sexual harassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online …
Continue reading People believe claims of sexual harassment more when women are attractive
The study asked all volunteers to go on a daily walk, but randomly assigned only some of them to seek out experiences of awe. Credit: Studio Grand Web/Shutterstock A recent headline reads, "An 'awe walk' might do wonders for your well-being." Here is the journalist's summary of an empirical journal article. The journalist starts by …
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