Under the Cortex

What Makes a Champion? Diversification Early in Life May Be the Key to Success

What explains exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? Researchers investigated this question in sports and found that even when young competitors show tremendous promise in swimming, skateboarding, karate, or any other specialized sport, they’re likely to emerge better adult athletes if they take a more multidisciplinary approach, practicing a variety of sports and even engaging in friendly pickup games. To explore this more fully, Charles Blue interviews Arne Güllich with the Kaiserslautern University of Technology about his study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science. 

Parents Fine-Tune Their Speech to Children’s Vocabulary Knowledge

Young children learn language at a pace far faster than teenagers or adults. One explanation for this learning advantage comes not from differences between children and adults, but from the differences in the way that people talk to children and adults.

Researchers have developed a method to experimentally evaluate how parents use what they know about their children's language when they talk to them. They found that parents have extremely precise models of their children's language knowledge and use these models to tune the language they use when speaking to them. Charles Blue speaks with the study's author, Daniel Yurovsky with Carnegie Mellon University. The results are published in Psychological Science.

Gesturing Reduces Effect of a Classic Optical Illusion, Study Finds

Sometimes our eyes can deceive us, as shown by a perception-bending optical illusion involving a pair of lines, or sticks, of equal length. One stick, framed by open fins at each end, appears longer to our eyes than an equally long stick framed by closed fins. Even when we use our hands to estimate the lengths of the sticks, we are susceptible to the illusion. Previous research has shown that the illusion collapses when we prepare to grasp the stick with our hands. New research adds to these findings by showing that the illusion also collapses when we use our hands to describe such an action.

Susan Goldin-Meadow explains how a new study published in the journal Psychological Science reveals that, under certain conditions, gesturing may enhance our ability to estimate the dimensions of objects even when our eyes deceive us. Read the entire news release here. 

 

Handwriting Beats Typing and Watching Videos for Learning to Read

There is something intrinsically satisfying about crafting a handwritten thank-you letter or jotting down a thoughtful note to a friend or loved one. With the advent of electronic correspondence, handheld texting, and voice-recognition software, handwriting skills are becoming less commonplace and even old fashion.

Apart from a seemingly less-personal approach to communications, does abandoning pen and paper have any negative impacts on how we learn languages?

New research published in the journal Psychological Science finds that handwriting helps people learn certain skills surprisingly faster and significantly better than learning the same material through typing or watching videos. Charles Blue talks with the authors, Robert Wiley and Brenda Rapp. 

Casual Sex, Self Esteem, and the Prejudices Women Face

Despite increases in gender equality and the normalization of casual sex in many cultures, the belief that women who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem remains widespread. New research examines this entrenched stereotype and finds no significant correlation between a woman’s sexual behavior and her self-esteem. Professor Jaimie Arona Krems discusses these findings. Read more here: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/stereotypes-womens-self-esteem-sex-lives.html 

Midnight Attack of the Earworms! How Stuck Songs Sap Sleep

At one point or another, you have had a song stuck in your head. These intrusive melodies, commonly called earworms, can sometimes provide amusement while other times they can be unrelenting annoyances. New research published in the journal Psychological Science reveals, however, that nighttime earworms can have a real negative impact on our quality of sleep, which can eventually lead to a cascading series of problems, such as lack of concentration, changes in appetite, lower work productive, among many others. 

Michael Scullin from Baylor University talks to us about his research examining this phenomenon of sleep-disturbing earworms and how popular tunes can impact our sleep. 

www.psychologicalscience.org 

Day 2 Preview of the 2021 APS Virtual Convention: The Excitement Continues

APS's Ludmila Nunes and Charles Blue present their second sneak preview of the 2021 APS Virtual Convention. Day 1 was thrilling and Day 2 promises new insights and opportunities to hear from noted experts and researchers from around the world. Join us to learn more about the latest findings from the field of psychological science. Connect to the meeting and all APS content at: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/ 

Day 1 Preview of APS 2021 Virtual Convention

APS's Charles Blue and Ludmila Nunes offer a sneak preview of day one of the 2021 APS Virtual Convention, May 26-27. They discuss engaging plenary talks and panel discussions as well as new offerings like hot topics and flash talks. Registration is still available and much of the content will be "on demand" so virtual attendees can enjoy it at their leisure. Connect to the meeting and all APS content at: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/

From Activism to Radicalization: The Tipping Point of Unfairness

Conflicts driven by nationalism, ideologies, and cultures have become all too common.  What can psychological science tell us about the causes and mental processes that push people from activism to radicalization? To shine some light on this topic, we hear from Kees van den Bos at the University of Utrecht, who is an expert on the study of radicalization. For more information, visit https://www.psychologicalscience.org/ 

Out of the Box and Into the Lab, Mimes Help Us ‘See’ Objects That Don’t Exist

Human brains can do more than simply imagine the presence of nonexistent objects. Our minds can automatically create well-defined representations of objects that are merely implied rather than seen, like the obstacles in a mime’s performance. These findings could aid in the development of artificial intelligence related to vision and navigation by helping understand how humans perceive and navigate their environments. Chaz Firestone (Johns Hopkins University) and Pat Little (New York University) talk with Charles Blue about their Psychological Science paper on mimes and implied surface. 

Read the full news release here.