The Effect of Acute Stress on Memory: How It Helps and How It Hurts
The Effect of Acute Stress on Memory: How It Helps and How It Hurts
Although we often perceive the effect of stress negatively, research suggests that stress effects are not always detrimental. This review paper examines the impact that acute stress has on memory formation and retrieval by highlighting the ways that stress can help improve memory, but also the ways in which it typically harms memory. This paper focuses on the neurobiology behind the stress response, the ways in which researchers typically examine...
/ moreCall for Blogs and Bloggers
Call for Blogs and Bloggers
Call for Blogs and Bloggers: In-Mind Magazine
We invite you to submit a blog (1,000 words or less) for In-Mind Magazine, the flagship online journal of the In-Mind Foundation. In-Mind Magazine is a peer-reviewed online journal that publishes short reviews of topics in all fields of psychology. Our outlet is unique—articles are written for a broad audience, and intended to inform the general public about psychological trends and research.Our blog section at In-Mind complements our...
/ moreRemembering what never occurred? Children’s false memories for repeated experiences
keywords:
false memories / repeated events / implantation paradigm / children / McMartin preschool
Remembering what never occurred? Children’s false memories for repeated experiences
“Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us.”
“Yes, but it usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn't possibly have happened.”
─ Miss Prism and Cecily conversing about Cecily’s diary in Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, from 1895.
In 2016 a thirteen-year-old girl identified as Autumn approached the police in Keighley, England, with a...
/ moreThe Hope Circuit, Reviewed by Joe Smith
The Hope Circuit, Reviewed by Joe Smith
The Hope Circuit by Martin Seligman
Review by Joe Smith
Introduction
Martin Seligman is one of the best-known and most influential psychologists in the world. He is also something of a celebrity, central to the development of popular psychology and its incursion into the self-help publishing genre. Seligman is most famous today for fathering positive psychology, which celebrates 20 years of...
/ moreDoing ill for ‘the greater good’: Understanding what really went on in the Stanford Prison Experiment
Doing ill for ‘the greater good’: Understanding what really went on in the Stanford Prison Experiment
Just about every highschool and college psychology textbook offers extensive coverage of Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE). The meaning of the SPE seemed obvious — that when given roles with power, people naturally become brutal tyrants. This message has had lasting influence, not only in psychology but in the world at large. However, after researchers have recently gained access to the SPE archives, it has come to light that much of what we thought we knew about the study is inaccurate. We asked three experts to weigh in on these recent events, and the resulting discussion is one... / more
Wait, What?! The Stanford Prison Experiment was pre-tested?
Wait, What?! The Stanford Prison Experiment was pre-tested?
With the recent news regarding the questionable nature of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, we thought it was purdent to republish one of our earlier blog articles drawing attention to the issue. The piece below appeared on our blog in 2012.
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/ moreThe Violence We Have Committed
keywords:
immigration / politics / child psychology / current events
The Violence We Have Committed
Circle of Willis is a podcast series from Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist Dr. James Coan. The podcast features interviews with many of today's top social scientists, journalists, authors, and more. In a recent special episode of Circle of Willis, Dr. Coan speaks with five developmental scientists about what may be happening to the children who are currently being separated from their parents as part of a policy to deter immigration and asylum seekers at the southern border to the United States. Dr. Coan... / more
Origins of Common Fears: A Review
keywords:
classical conditioning / cognitive vulnerability / common fears / etiology of fears / evolutionary psychology / learning theories / cognitive theories / personality theories
Origins of Common Fears: A Review
Whether you cower while looking down from great heights or fear looking up to the stormy skies, whether you fear the bite of a fat venomous snake or fear the bite-sized fattening snacks, your fears must have had an origin, they must have come from somewhere. But where? Join me as I lead a tour of our collective psyches to discover the origins of our common fears in the major psychological theories of the last century.
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/ moreWhite lies and black lies: What they have in common and how they differ
keywords:
Affiliation / Exploitation / Deception / Lying
White lies and black lies: What they have in common and how they differ
Black lies, or telling a lie to gain a personal benefit, are universally condemned. In contrast, white lies, or telling a lie to please another person, are seen as an innocent part of everyday interactions. Does that mean that white lies have no negative consequences? We discuss the origins and consequences of black lies and white lies, and point out the potentially ugly side of white lies.
Chemical or Financial Imbalances? Mental Health, Income Inequality & American Culture
Chemical or Financial Imbalances? Mental Health, Income Inequality & American Culture
As societies become more unequal, the prevalence of all forms of mental illness increase—in part—due to the perception of extreme differences in status. The rise of mood disorders is caused by our social immersion in a digital culture—built and shaped via individualistic values—which is the financial machine for perpetuating income inequality.
Psychiatry is reliant on a...
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