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Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > News Topics > Culture & Living >
Psychology
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Showing Psychology Stories 1 through 10 of 79.
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Ring-nesia
Cell phone ringtones can pose major distraction, impair recall
May 28,
2009 --
A flurry of recent research has documented that talking on a cell phone poses a dangerous distraction for drivers and others whose attention should be focused elsewhere. Now, a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology finds that just the ring of a cell phone may be equally distracting, especially when it comes in a classroom setting or includes a familiar song as a ringtone.
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Imagine this
Study suggests power of imagination is more than just a metaphor
April 14,
2009 -- We've heard it before: "Imagine yourself passing the exam or scoring a goal and it will happen." We may roll our eyes and think that's easier said than done, but a new study from psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis suggests imagination may be more effective than we think in helping us reach our goals. "The imagination has the extraordinary capacity to shape reality," say co-authors of a study suggesting that merely imagining something close to our hands will cause us to pay more attention to it.
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Businesses increase innovation spending in recession
Downturn presents opportunity for successful innovation, says expert
April 9,
2009 --
Even as the United States faces the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, businesses are spending more money on innovation, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Keith Sawyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of education and psychology in Arts & Sciences and one of the country's leading experts on the science of creativity, says that investing in innovation is one of the best ways to beat the recession.
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The reading mind
Readers build vivid mental simulations of narrative situations, brain scans suggest
Jan. 26,
2009 --
A new brain-imaging study is shedding light on what it means to "get lost" in a good book — suggesting that readers create vivid mental simulations of the sounds, sights, tastes and movements described in a textual narrative while simultaneously activating brain regions used to process similar experiences in real life.
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Classroom cognition
McDonnell Foundation grant harnesses cognitive science to improve student learning
Dec. 2,
2008 -- Using what cognitive psychologists are discovering in the laboratory to improve learning in the classroom is the goal of a $6.47 million collaborative activity grant to Washington University from the James S. McDonnell Foundation.
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Holiday tipping
Holiday giving season complicated by shifting norms on gratuities, psychologist suggests
July 17,
2008 --
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| Photo by Mary Butkus / WUSTL Photo |
| Study finds that the larger the bill, the smaller the tip percentage. |
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As Americans are stuggling to make ends meet with rising gas and food costs, they are grappling more than ever with what's appropriate when it comes to rewarding service providers with tips, gifts and other token gratuities, suggests Leonard Green, Ph.D., a psychology professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis who studies tipping behavior. Video available.
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Winter break
Helping college students deal with stress
July 17,
2008 -- For college students, the winter break can be a welcome time off. Classes are over, finals are finished and it's a time to spend with family and friends. But, says a practicing psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis, the break between semesters can also be a very stressful time for students.
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Hands-free bonus
Keeping hands where you can see 'em alters perception, study finds
July 9,
2008 --
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| Image courtesy of Richard Abrams |
| To see objects better, take matters into your own hands. |
WUSTL psychologists have shown that to see objects better, you should take the matter into your own hands. Humans are compelled to closely analyze objects near our hands, they suggest, because we have a non-conscious, almost reflexive need to figure out how to handle nearby items or to provide protection against them. Recognizing that the location of your hands influences what you see is a new insight into the wiring of the brain, one that may even offer scientific support for California's new ban on driving with hand-held cell phones.
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May is Mental Health Month
Research offers clues for dealing with anxiety, childhood depression, schizophrenia
May 28,
2008 -- Research is shedding new light on what happens in the brains of children and adults affected by clinical depression, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, according to Washington University in St. Louis studies presented at a recent mental health symposium. The findings, which come as America celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, point to new treatment options for preschool-aged children with significant clinical depression and for severely depressed adults who don't respond to standard treatments, such as antidepressants and psychotherapy.
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WUSTL professor awarded Howard Crosby Warren Medal
Roediger wins Warren Medal for contributions to experimental psychology
April 25,
2008 -- Citing his creative experimental investigations of false memory and underlying processes that have led to a new understanding of human memory, the Society of Experimental Psychologists has awarded its highest honor to WUSTL psychology professor Henry L. "Roddy" Roediger III.
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