The workings of our brains and visual perception is truly remarkable. Optical illusions happen when information is missing from our field of vision, our brains will struggle to make them seem whole. Continue reading Optical Illusions
Psychology shows that power creates a paradox. Research finds that in business and other institutions in Western societies, people happily lift up leaders who are well-liked. The issue is that the qualities that made them popular tend to disasppear once their power is established.
Continue reading “Power Paradox”
While these societal images focus on fear, punishment and crime, social science research shows that young boys of colour are deep critical thinkers and capable of profound emotion.
Continue reading “Emotional Depth of Young Men of Colour”
Jacob Morgan, author of “The Collaborative Organisation,” says that positive social impact is central to teamwork.
Continue reading “Social Science Quote of the Week: Principle of Collaboration”
Your Social Science Quote of the Week is about looking beyond gender narratives. Writing for Slate, psychology PhD student Jane Hu called out poor media reporting of social science research. She shows that it can adversely affect girls and women, including everything from gender equality at work to patterns of domestic violence:
Continue reading “Quote of the Week: Look Beyond Gender Stereotypes”
Child psychologist, Tim Murphy, tells USA Today:
Continue reading ““Mental Health is a Separate but Unequal System””“The federal government has set so many barriers to getting care, which they have done with no other type of illness, and it is wrong. There is no other area of medicine where the government is the source of the stigma.”
Psychologists Markus Appel and Susanne Jodbauer reviewed a large body of literature examining the link between violence in the media and how this shapes aggression.
Continue reading “No Neat Cause and Effect Between Violence and Media”
“I think that metaphor really is a key to explaining thought and language. The human mind comes equipped with an ability to penetrate the cladding of sensory appearance and discern the abstract construction underneath – not always on demand, and … Continue reading Metaphorically Speaking, We Change The World
Developmental psychologist, Alison Gopnik, shows the value of social science in improving early education programs:
Continue reading “Enriching Early Learning”
I’m one of the moderators for Science on Google+. I curate the social science stream. Our community is co-hosting a discussion on autism research live on air, in around an hour’s time (2pm Australian time or 10pm USA EST or 3am UTC/GMT). Our co-host partner is Autism Brainstorm, a research-led community of practice that puts families in touch with experts and resources of support.