Under the Cortex

Constellations Across Cultures: How Our Visual Systems Pick Out Patterns in the Night Sky

There are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, though only about 5,000 are visible to the naked eye. Under ideal conditions and far from city lights, you can see about half of them on any given night. Cultures the world over see similar shapes in the night sky--the Big Dipper, Orion, and the Pleiades are just a few. New research, as discussed by Charles Kemp and published in the journal Psychological Science, reveals that our visual processing system may explain the striking commonality of constellations across cultures. Read the transcript here. 

Image credit: Milky Way from the Atacama Desert by Derek Demeter 

Freedom vs Security: Can We Find the Right Balance?

During the pandemic and when other natural disasters strike, governments may curtail certain liberties in an effort to save lives. These compromises also happen in everyday life, from seatbelt laws to food-safety regulations. A paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, however, suggests that restricting freedoms may have other unintended negative consequences for behavior and health. One of the authors, Nathan Cheek with Princeton University, explains how there may be a balance that can be achieved and how psychological science could help policymakers promote public health, safety, and well-being in times of crisis.

 

To read the transcript, see here. 

Debunking Four Common Myths of Psychological Science

You hear them so often they must be true! Or are they? Popular myths about the human brain include old chestnuts like people only use 10% of their brains, too much sugar sends kids into hyperdrive, and there are left-brain and right-brain personalities. 

How did these beliefs get started and why are they so widespread? Charles Blue and Ludmila Nunes take a skeptical deep dive to explore some the most common myths about psychological science and the brain.  

These are just some of the facts and debunking you'll find on the Association for Psychological Science's Myths and Misinformation Research Topic page. 

The Grieving Brain

Loss of a loved one is something everyone experiences, but we have had little scientific perspective on this universal experience. Renowned grief expert, neuroscientist, and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor shares groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding love, loss, and learning. In this interview she also discusses her upcoming book,  "The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss."

The Top 10 of 2021: Psychological Science in the News

Looking back on the year that was, APS's Charles Blue and Ludmila Nunes discuss the top stories from the world of psychological science in 2021. 

Better Behavior With Virtual Reality

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This well-known saying is known as the “Golden Rule. Simply put, it means to treat others the way you want to be treated. The moral principle behind the Golden Rule is admirable, but it’s not always how things happen in the real world. It if were, there would be less crime and fewer conflicts. But what if you were visiting a virtual world? Might it be possible to experience the harmful actions you take from the perspective of the victim? Could these VR experiences help us live by the Golden Rule?

Mel Slater, a researcher with the University of Barcelona and author on a paper published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, explains how we might foster prosocial behavior with virtual reality.

Recipe for Success: Entrepreneurship and Psychological Science

What does it take to be an entrepreneur and succeed in business, apart from time, money, and a winning business plan?

It turns out there are a few necessary behaviors entrepreneurs and start-up teams need if they want to build and maintain a thriving business. Though there is no guaranteed formula for success, psychological science can shed light on the personal and team-based elements that offer the greatest chance of becoming a captain of industry. 

In this episode of Under the Cortex, we look the crossroads of business acumen and psychological science with the help of Nikki Blacksmith and Mo McCusker of Blackhawke Behavior Science, the winners of the 2021 APS Entrepreneurship Poster Awards. 

 

Toys, Tots, and Gender

With the holidays nearly upon us, parents are thinking more seriously about Yuletide gifts for their children. From shopping malls to online retailers, marketing and product placements often fall along clearly defined lines: certain toys for boys and certain toys for girls. To tell us what this means for children and childhood development, we have Campbell Leaper with UC Santa Cruz, a developmental and social psychologist who investigates gender and sexism during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Ask the Witness Only Once

When an eyewitness stands up in court and identifies the person they say committed a crime, the impact can be powerful and effective. This dramatic testimony can be sincere and honest. It can also be wrong and tragically lead to wrongful convictions, lifelong incarcerations, and even the death penalty. But how can this happen? The witness is telling the court what they truly believe and remember. And therein lies the problem: memory, the often fuzzy and malleable recollections of events in the past.

In the latest edition of Psychological Science in the Public Interest, researchers look at the problems with eyewitness misidentifications in the courtroom and explain why prosecutors and law enforcement should test a witness’s memory of a suspect only once. Joining us is John Wixted, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego and first author on this article. 

Science Rewind: Revisiting Three of Our Favorite Early Stories

As Under the Cortex enters its second year, we decided to comb through the archive and revisit three exciting stories from our early days. 

Our first story explores why groups can look on the “good old days” as a guide for curing the woes of today.

Next we discuss why we’re drawn to villains, monstrous characters from fiction, especially if they remind us of ourselves in some way.

And finally on this look back, we “resurrect” our creepy look at haunted houses and why they’re so fun!