psychology

The phrase "intolerance of ambiguity" popped into to my head today. I'm not sure why. I don't even think I was thinking about CT believers at the time. I thought it may have been one of the personality traits of people prone to accept CTs enumerated by some UK university psychologists in a...

Great article in the latest eSkeptic: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-09-01/ The article gives explanations as to why the following are myths: It sounds like a good book. Has anyone read it?

I am not having much luck with my Google “efforts” and wonder if people here could help me with details of psychological experiments that might be of interest to sales people. I know for example there are some classic experiments that show how a feeling of indebtedness even from small "gifts"...

In his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes introduces his controversial theory of Bicameralism, which basically says the brain of early man functioned as two distinct halves - where one side would hallucinate auditory instruction, and the other...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09babies-t.html?hp

What was Dahmer's childhood really like? JREF is all about evidence. And though I have some ideas, I'm no expert in the field of psychology, and I keep bumping into conflicting "facts" about Dahmer's childhood. I am seeking evidence that argues for either side of the Nature vs. Nurture...

For the last few days I have been reading the >10,000 post thread ironically titled "Evidence for why we knew the authors of the NT were telling the truth"*. One of the posters (if you've read it, you know who) has what is commonly refered to as a "god shaped whole in his head" and I have found...

Incongruity theory and its revised version, the incongruity-resolution theory, have long been the leading theories of humor. What it lacks in explanatory power it makes up for in predictability -- a joke with a moderate of degree of incongruity will be perceived as humorous when the incongruity...

Hi all. I am scheduled to attend a leadership academy for women at my workplace. You had to be nominated by supervisors and they made it out to be some big deal but I'm not feeling it. First, I've been to seminars such as this and it ends up being a lot of group exercises, some psychobabble...

Is there any research or data on the psychology of conspiracy theorists? or of conspiratorial thinking?

So I read this article which states that Mozart, Orwell, Einstein, Beethoven and Newton all had autism. Not "may have had", but "had." I had never heard of this before. So I googled "Mozart Orwell Einstein autism" and lots of people seem to be saying it. Most seem to be based on the work...

Didn't actually read the entire post by Cainkane1, (I skimmed it), but this part looked really interesting: Is there any medical benefit to silencing the part that separates self from the larger world? If so, how does one meditate effectively? I've read a few studies in psychology and...

http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf I read this a while ago and I thought the conclusion was a bit strange, and I keep meaning to ask someone about it... The conclusion: Stupid people think they're smarter than they are, and clever people are closer at guessing how clever...

Bad psychology; hopefully the first of many threads about what makes for bad psychology and to educate people about psychology. (And what makes for good psychology.) I have a real bias against almost all psychodynamic or psychotherapeutic approaches. I was schooled at a behavioral school and in...

Recently, I was fortunate to observe a presentation given by two of the investigators involved in the BTK case. Let me preface my actual question for the august forum crowd with an editorial: people, including myself, often complain about the way television and other media sensationalize normal...

After doing a bit of research with good 'ol Google (which I admit should have been done a long time ago) I have discovered that the illustrious Jim Callahan is little more than a professional psychological manipulator. The term he uses is subliminal compliance. Everything he says and does is...

I wasn't sure whether this should go in Science or Social Issues. I've been trying to dig up something on this strictly for information's sake with respect to a research paper, but I haven't found anything that has the specific answers I'm looking for. My two questions: Why was homosexuality...

Just saw a woman on the Oprah Winfrey show named Jill Price, she claims to be able to remember everything that happened to her since she was 14 years old. So give her a date and she can tell you where she was and what day of the week it was, what she was doing and any newsworthy event that...

I wonder if there are any psychologists who would care to read this and comment on it. Of course any comments from anyone are welcome as well. :) SPR Study Day - The Psychology of the Sceptic [This is the text of the talk I gave at the SPR's Study Day on sceptics last week. I'll post a link...

A friend sent me this rather cool educational website on the brain from McGill University: The Brain From Top to Bottom. Complete with learning modules at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, on topics ranging from evolution to language to sleep to mental illness. (apologies if this...

Psychologist and forum luminary Jeff Corey made a number of posts in the "Being skeptical of skepticism" thread about the unconscious. He posits some interesting ideas, like the concept that "the unconscious" is not a ral thing, but just becomes a catch-all for things we don't understand. I...

I'm adding a poll using information provided by another member on the thread entitled "Obsession and Family Harmony". I'm not yet allowed to post links in the forum however if you view the thread, you will find the post by tomwaits and his link to a wikipedia article on delusional disorder...

Hi, I am a new member and I'm here to find out what your opinions are. My relationship with a family member (not my spouse, so no need to go there) is strained because he is obsessed with a conspiracy theory and cannot have a conversation without bringing up holograms, death rays and such. His...

Is this the new phrenology? Linky Really!? Anyone know how you determine an individual's long-term-fidelity? What if they're a complete scoundrel and then meet the right person...? Some people can, but others can't? Is it me, or is that a complete non-statement? I'm not a huge fan of...

Generally, at this site, we debunk things that claim to be sciences that aren't. Still, I want to take a moment to debunk claims that psychology is not a science. ("Psychology is not a science" gets 25,000+ hits on Google, so this is not a straw man.) I occasionally hear the claim that...

http://www.pr.mq.edu.au/macnews/showitem.asp?ItemID=36 So, are you the ignorer or the ignored? Does the above ring any bells for you?

Ok, here's the thing: I faint whenever I start imagining bone fractures. The issue is that I'm getting the feeling that sometimes I don't even have to imagine the actual bone breaking. Sometimes, just the suggestion makes my preassure drop and my stomach turn and I start feeling really dizzy...

Quick question for the psychologists and others with an interest in such things. Why is it that the psychological community seems to place such great faith in the Myers-Briggs test? This is, of course, the test that allegedly is capable of determining someone's "personality type". I have seen...

This is kind of personal to me because of my divorce. During our marriage, I wanted sex far more than my ex-wife did. So that when we divorced, she claimed that I am a "Sex Addict". In the end, it didn't affect the divorce agreement, but it is in the court document. I have to agree that I am...

This article in the TimesOnline caught my interest. It seems that a social psychology study done by researchers from the University of Paris X-Nanterre has come to the conclusion that blondes make men act foolish: So the idea that blondes are dumb is an illusion, guys...it's we that turn...