It's A Full Moon!

Hi Everyone!

Do you believe a full moon makes people behave abnormally? A short article from February's issue of Scientific American Mind called "Luancy and the Full Moon" by Scott O. Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz state some research which found 45% of college students do believe this. In the article they also discuss how this idea got started and what the research actually has found. Take a look, there was just a full moon on the 11th! :-)

Choked!

Hi Everyone!

Have you ever choked under pressure? Maybe it was the speech you had to make? Perhaps finishing up that term paper? Perhaps making the game winning goal/point? Maybe asking that girl out? ;-) Why does this happen? The February edition of Scientific American Mind has an article entitled, "How To Avoid Choking Under Pressure" by Elizabeth Svoboda. The article discusses how thoughts an behaviors you think will help under stressful situations may actually be causing you to choke. Hopefully if you change these thoughts & behaviors you will choke less in the future.

Stressed Out Babies

Hi Everyone!

This short article entitled, "Is Baby's Stress Inherited from the Parents?" by Emily Anthes in February's Scientific American Mind explains how some babies are born with different form of a gene which influences how they handle stressful events. The article also goes on to state parenting style can also influence their future stress responses.

Playing Lately?

Hi Everyone!


How much did you play as a child? Not just board games, but free imaginative play, like the picture of this boy with the blocks? When is the last time you played like this? The January edition of Scientific American Mind has an very interesting article by Melinda Wenner called "The Serious Need for Play." The article suggests there are serious consequences in adulthood for those who do not engage in imaginative play during childhood. These consequnences occur neurologically, emotionally and socially. So get those pots & pans out again & get playing!

Signs of Intelligence

In Intro Psych we watch "Inside the Animal Mind: Are Animals Intelligent?" In this video they discuss many examples of animals being intelligent, including chimpanzees performing arithmetic, Jane Goodall's finding of tool making and Kohler's experiment on Insight. Take a look at this recent piece in Scientific American entitled "Planning of the Apes: Zoo Chimp Plots Rock Attacks on Visitors." It explains the recent story of a chimpanzee in a Sweden zoo who demonstrated intelligence by collecting & throwing rocks at them. This behavior requires planning for the future. They also explain the link between testosterone and aggression and some other examples of intelligence.

Older Fathers

Hi Everyone!

For quite some time now a mother's age has been associated with disorders such as Down's Syndrome but the age of the father has not really been a concern. The Feb/Mar issue of Scientific American Mind reports some new research on how the age when a man becomes a father increases the odds of their child developing mental illness, in particular Schizophrenia, Autism & Bi Polar Disorder. Check out "The Father Factor" by Pau Raeburn for more details.