MetaFilter posts tagged with science and psychology

Psychological Science?

escabeche — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:14:44 -0800

"Research has shown that numerous psychological interventions are efficacious, effective, and cost-effective. However, these interventions are used infrequently with patients who would benefit from them, in part because clinical psychologists have not made a convincing case for the use of these interventions ... and because clinical psychologists do not themselves use these interventions even when given the opportunity to do so." In Psychological Science in the Public Interest, psychologists Timothy Baker, Richard McFall, and Varda Shoham argue that clinical psychology needs to embrace its status as a science in order to save itself as a profession. If that's too long, Walter Mischel -- yes, the marshmallow guy -- writes an accompanying editorial. : "The disconnect between much of clinical practice and the advances in psychological science is an unconscionable embarrassment..."

Aaron Beck & Cognitive Therapy

Non Prosequitur — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:05:20 -0800

“The psychoanalytic mystique was overwhelming. It was a little bit like the evangelical movement.” How Aaron Beck and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped increase empiricism in psychotherapy.

Wait, wait, I almost have it!

CaptKyle — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:22:45 -0800

Why do we get "tip of the tongue" moments?? We’ve all experienced the tip of the tongue moment where we wanted to say something but just couldn’t remember the word. But what causes this momentary lapses in vocabulary?

Gleaming the Time Cube

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:16:47 -0800

Pascal Boyer explores the field of crackpottery in his article How I found glaring errors in Einstein's calculations. "For some time now, I have been an avid reader and collector of webpages created by crackpot physicists, those marginal self-styled scientists whose foundational, generally revolutionary work is sadly ignored by most established scientists. These are the great heroes, at least in their own eyes, of alternative science." The featured crackpots include: The Physics of Bruce Harvey PERTINENT INFORMATION Grand Unification [T]he really interesting crackpots are the ones trying to really, seriously do science, because their productions and their failures tells us important things about science itself. Most of my “informants” are committed to the standard scientific way of doing things. They accept that their theories should be coherent, clearly expressed, grounded in explicit mathematics, consistent with the evidence, compatible with other established (and empirically grounded) frameworks, etc. They accept that theories should be discussed, tested, and discarded if they are redundant or trivial.

X-Phi

homunculus — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:25:20 -0800

Philosophy’s great experiment. "Philosophers used to combine conceptual reflections with practical experiment. The trendiest new branch of the discipline, known as x-phi, wants to return to those days. Some philosophers don’t like it." [Via]

"Our whole approach is based on the idea that science matters at the FDA"

kliuless — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 08:50:34 -0800

The Economist on Drugs -- Scientists in North America, Europe and Israel are studying the use of MDMA, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, marijuana and other banned psychoactive substances in treating conditions such as anxiety, cluster headaches, addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder. They are supported by private funds from a handful of organisations: the Beckley Foundation in Britain; the Heffter Research Institute and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in America. [related]

Neural Correlates of Hate

homunculus — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:21:20 -0800

Brain's 'Hate Circuit' Identified. "People who view pictures of someone they hate display activity in distinct areas of the brain that, together, may be thought of as a 'hate circuit', according to new research by scientists at UCL (University College London)."

I Contain Multitudes

homunculus — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:00:10 -0800

First Person Plural. "An evolving approach to the science of pleasure suggests that each of us contains multiple selves—all with different desires, and all fighting for control. If this is right, the pursuit of happiness becomes even trickier. Can one self bind another self if the two want different things? Are you always better off when a Good Self wins? And should outsiders, such as employers and policy makers, get into the fray?" [Via]

Lacking Control Increases Magical Thinking

homunculus — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:20:22 -0800

Of Jock Straps and Conspiracy Theories. A new study looks at how lacking control increases the tendency for magical thinking and illusory pattern perception. [Via]

Conservatives are scaredy-cats

XMLicious — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:06:31 -0800

The Politics of Fear: Some Political Views May be Related to Physiology video, audio news stories - BBC, Washington Post, NPR with audio Plus, a 2006 lecture on the heritability of political attitudes by John Hibbing, one of the authors of the above study - flash video or MPEG4 download, starts at around 10:00 and runs for about an hour (during the intro btw he quips "I'm a social scientist pretending to be a scientist...")

I Didn't Know That

netbros — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:11:17 -0800

Science Hack is a unique search engine for science videos focusing on Physics, Chemistry, and Space. For example, things to do with sulfur hexafluoride. Still growing, the editors are presently indexing other scientific fields of study including Geology, Psychology, Robotics and Computers. Ever wonder why things go bang?

Behind Door Number One...

amyms — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:10:14 -0800

The Monty Hall Problem has struck again, and this time it’s not merely embarrassing mathematicians. If the calculations of a Yale economist are correct, there’s a sneaky logical fallacy in some of the most famous experiments in psychology." The NY Times' John Tierney reports on new research into cognitive dissonance as examined through the famous Monty Hall Problem. [A previous MetaFilter thread about the Monty Hall Problem: Let's Make A Deal!]

Encephalon

homunculus — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:25:21 -0800

Encephalon: Briefing the Next US President on 24 Neuroscience and Psychology Issues. Encephalon, the neuroscience blog carnival has returned after a brief hiatus and is being hosted at Sharp Brains. [Via Mind Hacks, which will host the next edition.]

Pop Psychology: Type A / Type B Personalities

kdern — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:36:19 -0800

Are you a Type A personality or Type B personality? There are lots of tests online to find out. Type A and B personality descriptions always remind me of the supposed left brain / right brain differences, but according to the Wiki, the differences between right and left brain are not so simple.

A Theory of Humor | Why something is funny, why it sometimes is not, and when it crosses a line.

iamkimiam — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:48:27 -0800

Theory of Humor. A scientific paper, written by Tom Veatch, describes his Theory of Humor. When is something funny? When is it not funny? When does it cross the line? Why are puns generally shitty? And the mysterious and magical powers elephant jokes have on children, revealed! A great data set to use for practice in applying the theories presented in the paper can be found here.

People who play gnomes are more likely to be annoying in real life.

mek — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:57:49 -0800

Nick Yee's Daedalus Project (touched on previously) is dedicated to the study of human behaviour in MMOs. His recent dissertation names "The Proteus Effect": a correlation between MMO characters' appearances, and their players' behaviors. "In the final study (pdf), I showed that the Proteus Effect persists outside of the virtual environment. Placing someone in a taller avatar changes how they consequently negotiate in a face-to-face setting." His archives cover a lot of ground, and current MMO players can help by taking the survey. For a little lighter reading, refer to his critique of Internet Addiction Disorder, a "condition" that started as a joke, but almost made it into the DSM-V.

The Art of Psychiatry

Gyan — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 11:48:48 -0800

Dictionary of Disorder - shaping the DSM

This just in: Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance

y2karl — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 00:11:06 -0800

...Objectives This double-blind study evaluated the acute and longer-term psychological effects of a high dose of psilocybin relative to a comparison compound administered under comfortable, supportive conditions...

Results Psilocybin produced a range of acute perceptual changes, subjective experiences, and labile moods including anxiety. Psilocybin also increased measures of mystical experience. At 2 months, the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior consistent with changes rated by community observers.

Conclusions When administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences. The ability to occasion such experiences prospectively will allow rigorous scientific investigations of their causes and consequences.

Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance

Coming soon to a cinema near you

Gyan — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 12:40:34 -0800

The Human Speechome Project - "A baby is to be monitored by a network of microphones and video cameras for 14 hours a day, 365 days a year, in an effort to unravel the seemingly miraculous process by which children acquire language.". Selected video clips. Paper (PDF, 750KB). To test hypotheses of how children learn, Prof Deb Roy's team at MIT will develop machine learning systems that “step into the shoes” of his son by processing the sights and sounds of three years of life at home. Total storage required: 1.4 petabytes.

Burying Freud

mediareport — Mon, 15 May 2006 09:16:58 -0800

Burying Freud. A collection of essays and responses by and about Freud's harshest critics, including "Confessions of a Freud-Basher" by anti-Freud point man Frederick Crews, interviewed at length here.

"well, it breaks the ice, doesn't it"

funambulist — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 10:19:18 -0800

Having sweated over the origins of the universe and split the atom, academics have finally tackled the question that has perplexed mankind since the dawn of time: what are the best chat-up lines? A study from psychologists at the University of Edinburgh tested 205 people for reactions to 40 vignettes of a woman approached by a man using "verbal signals of genetic quality" in different categories, and found the best rated approaches to be those revealing character qualities, wealth and culture, although the puzzling winning line proved a flop in real life tests. Unsurprisingly, a direct request for sex received a low score. Previous findings by the Japanese proved equally dubious. But there's still hope, as the code seems to have been cracked in Dublin, where since last year "there is definitely more pulling". The secret? A smoking ban, a lot of crowded pubs, and "smirting", an unexpected side effect of the health measure.

Metafilter: Best of the Web??

Gyan — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 06:16:11 -0800

Research by dumb, ignorant Yankees on national stereotypes.

The Vagaries of Religious Experience

pmbuko — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:07:48 -0800

Is God nothing more than an attempt to explain order and good fortune by those who do not understand the mathematics of chance, the principles of self-organizing systems, or the psychology of the human mind? Daniel Gilbert, a professor of Psychology and head of the Social Cognition and Emotion Laboratory at Harvard, discusses his latest research and soon to be published study about the vagaries of religious experience.

Not getting symbolism

Tlogmer — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:23:13 -0800

"Almost half the children committed one or more of these mistakes. They attempted with apparent seriousness to perform the same actions with the miniature items that they had with the large ones. Some sat down on the little chair: they walked up to it, turned around, bent their knees and lowered themselves onto it. Some simply perched on top, others sat down so hard that the chair skittered out from under them. Some children sat on the miniature slide and tried to ride down it, usually falling off in the process; others attempted to climb the steps, causing the slide to tip over. (With the chair and slide made of sturdy plastic and only about five inches tall, the toddlers faced no danger of hurting themselves.)"

You have evolved to like this interview.

daksya — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 07:49:51 -0800

The fitness of evolutionary psychology