A new cognitive psychology article nearly every day
Cognitive Daily reports nearly every day on fascinating peer-reviewed developments in cognition from the most respected scientists in the field.
Greta Munger is Professor of Psychology at Davidson College whose works include The History of Psychology: Fundamental Questions. Dave Munger is co-founder and president of ResearchBlogging.org and a writer whose works include Researching Online. And yes, he is married to Greta.
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April 30, 2007
Category: Casual Fridays
Context. It can make all the difference in the world. The word "suck" can describe the action of a vacuum cleaner or a sex act that was illegal in the state of North Carolina until 2003. Following our analysis of...
Posted by Dave Munger at 1:52 PM • 14 Comments
Category: General / Site news
The post on showing only part of the RSS feeds has attracted quite a lot of attention, including some rather strident comments, such as this one from "Aurora": How lazy are some people? What kind of society do we live...
Posted by Dave Munger at 10:59 AM • 15 Comments
Category: Fun and games
I know, I know, I promised more analysis of the results from last Friday's curse word study, but I haven't gotten to it yet. Busy, busy, busy. In the meantime, you can head over to Word Munger and read about...
Posted by Dave Munger at 7:25 AM • 0 Comments
April 27, 2007
Category: Casual Fridays
Which curse words are most offensive? Who uses which words the most often? The awful truth is revealed...
Posted by Dave Munger at 5:02 PM • 13 Comments
Category: News
Very young children learn better from photos. When they are read to from a picture book describing how to make a rattle, 18-months-old do better at trying to make the rattle when the book had realistic photos compared to line...
Posted by Dave Munger at 8:55 AM • 1 Comments
April 26, 2007
Category: Face perception • Language • Movement and exercise • Research • Social • Video Games / Technology
There is a considerable body of research showing that eye contact is a key component of social interaction. Not only are people more aroused when they are looked at directly, but if you consistently look at the person you speak...
Posted by Dave Munger at 2:45 PM • 21 Comments
Category: Analysis
When Shelley Batts wrote up a report on an article about antioxidants in fruits, she never expected to get contacted by the copyright police, but that's exactly what happened. She had reproduced a table and a figure from the article,...
Posted by Dave Munger at 8:19 AM • 8 Comments
April 25, 2007
Category: Casual Fridays
Last week's Casual Fridays study filled up so quickly that many of those who wanted to participate weren't able to. This was due to our survey provider's limits on the number of responses. After a preliminary look at the data,...
Posted by Dave Munger at 7:40 AM • 14 Comments
April 24, 2007
Category: Attention • Perception • Research
The Beck effect is difficult to replicate online, because it involves testing reaction times. However, I think I've figured out a way to approximate the effect. This movie (Quicktime required) will show you how it works. Just follow the directions...
Posted by Dave Munger at 2:45 PM • 28 Comments
Category: News
Penalty kicks are nearly universally reviled among soccer fans, yet they remain an important part of the game. The sport is so exhausting that extending it beyond 30 minutes of extra time in a playoff game could be dangerous for...
Posted by Dave Munger at 9:11 AM • 13 Comments
April 23, 2007
Category: General / Site news
One of the most hated practices on the Internet is the breaking of articles into pages. Jason Kottke swearingly rants against it here, and Mike Davidson denounces the practice here. I don't much like the practice either, especially when a...
Posted by Dave Munger at 2:13 PM • 32 Comments
April 20, 2007
Category: Casual Fridays
Update: New version of the study is up here! #@*& it if I couldn't come up with a shorter Casual Friday study this week. When we started doing Casual Fridays a year and a half ago, the goal was to...
Posted by Dave Munger at 6:00 AM • 24 Comments
April 19, 2007
Category: News
While the debate over guns and gun control has taken center stage on ScienceBlogs, ultimately there's a human pulling the trigger. The New York Times has an interesting article about the problems getting troubled students to seek help before they...
Posted by Dave Munger at 7:59 AM • 21 Comments
April 18, 2007
Category: Perception • Research • Taste
One "trick" dieters often use is to put their food on a smaller plate. The idea is to fool yourself into thinking you're eating more food than you really are. But doesn't our stomach tell us how full we are?...
Posted by Dave Munger at 2:00 PM • 7 Comments
Category: News
Madam Fathom has an excellent discussion of nicotine's effect on the brain and cognitive function. First off, I've rarely seen a clearer explanation of how neurons actually work: Neurons are functionally integrated in expansive neural networks, with each neuron receiving...
Posted by Dave Munger at 8:32 AM • 6 Comments
April 17, 2007
Category: Analysis
Earlier today I wrote a post about optical illusions. I was hoping it would distract me from thinking about the Virginia Tech shootings. It didn't. I began to see connections between the illusions and the tragedy: That sinking feeling that...
Posted by Dave Munger at 12:11 PM • 10 Comments
