Brain Candy

Taking notes during class? Topic-focused study? A consistent learning environment? All are exactly opposite the best strategies for learning. Read More

Imagine you're navigating a three-dimensional maze. Believe it or not, in this situation, both men and women think. Only, women think with the distinctly human right prefrontal cortex, while men use the rat-brain navigational instincts of their left hippocampus (according to fMRI studies). Read More

Are you traumatized by terror flicks? Maybe more than you know. Scary movies actually create a light version of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is what causes bad dreams and irrational fears of kids riding Big Wheels in hotel hallways (and, perhaps more rationally, of Jack Nicholson peeking through axe holes into your bathroom). Read More

How To Lose A Man In 12 Days versus Fast and Furius VI has ended many a good relationship. Has a couple ever agreed 100% on a movie choice? I've never heard of it. Or are you and your sig other having trouble choosing between something like the opera and a football game? (If needed, replace these bland stereotypes with specifics from your own relationship). Read More

Okay, in the past two days we've seen that our memories are malleable. We can easily be made to misremember, and easily be made to adopt memories of things that never happened. But what actually goes on in our brains as we code bad information? Can we see misinformation taking hold?

Researchers Yoko Okado and Craig Stark can. Read More

When we store events in our memories, we tag them with keywords. Was the rollercoaster ride exciting, or scary? Was the dip in the pool cold, or invigorating? Read More

The websites you read say a lot about your personality. So it's possible to write a very precise horoscope based on the personality type common to users of PsychologyToday.com. Read More

STOP! Don't read this until you've read the Robin Hood Morality Quiz post and ranked Robin, Maid Marion, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Little John. Then come back, find the order you ranked the characters, and read what your choices say about your personality. Read More

You know the feeling: you step off the airport walkway and your body seems to be faling forward over your toes. Or you get off the treadmill and the drinking fountain seems to rush toward you. Or the classic visual illusion: after looking at a waterfall for 30 seconds a stationary boulder seems to drift skywards. Why? Read More

When you woke up this morning were you an expert water measurer? No? Well, you will be after reading this article. But that might not be a good thing: experts are sometimes worse off than regular Janes and Joes. To see why, first we need to wire your brain for expertise--read on. Read More

In a classic experiment known as the Ultimatum Game, person A is given 10 coins to split between himself and person B. If person B accepts the distribution, they both keep the coins; if not, no one gets paid. Read More

So you still haven't won that argument? Perhaps you need to take your powers of confusion to the next level! After reading this post, your confusion-meter will go to eleven, allowing you to squish the logic circuits of your poor spouse until he/she caves to your evil will. (If you're into that sorta thing. If not, I hope these final secrets of illogic are worth at least a chuckle or two.) Read More

Today is Sunday and that means Kristi has her sights set on three-dollar bagels from the farmers' market. I, on the other hand, would prefer to spend this money on important things like our children's education and/or beer. In other words, we have a marital conundrum. Read More