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Mental Mishaps

Errors in perceiving, remembering, and thinking.
by Ira Hyman
Ira E. Hyman, Jr. is a Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University. See full bio

Mental Mishaps

December 18, 2009

Hang Up and Drive -- Ban the Use of Cell Phones while Driving

"Are you drunk or just talking on your cell phone?" That's my favorite bumper sticker. One of my sons pointed it out to me recently. He and I spend a lot of time together in our car and we watch for drivers on cell phones weaving their way down the freeway. Read More

December 14, 2009

Breast Cancer Screening Advice that Doesn't Make Sense

A few years ago, my family lost a friend who died from breast cancer at far too young an age. I also know someone who had breast cancer at a young age, but who has thrived with appropriate treatment. Why does one person die and another live? Whenever I think of these two friends, I wonder if the first woman could have been saved if her cancer had been caught sooner. The timing of breast cancer screenings is currently under re-evaluation. Read More

November 9, 2009

Unicycling Clowns, Train Wrecks, and Pilots Forgetting to Land

A woman falls down an open manhole while talking on her cell phone. A train operator misses the signals and causes an accident while texting. Pilots fail to notice signals from their plane for an hour and a half while playing with their computers. When people become oblivious to the world, they make potentially disastrous mistakes. How can people miss manholes, train signals, and airports? Read More

November 6, 2009

Why Did He Do It?

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This week a horrible tragedy occurred at Ft. Hood army base.  According to the news reports, an army major went on a shooting spree.  In the period since the news broke, a consistent focus of discussion has been:  Why did he do it?  These discussions will tell us more about the beliefs of the people talking than the actual motive of Major Hasan.  Read More

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Cognition Basics

brain cognition

Quite simply, cognition refers to thinking. There are the obvious applications of conscious reasoning—doing taxes, playing chess, deconstructing Macbeth—but thought takes many subtler forms, such as interpreting sensory input, guiding physical actions, and empathizing with others. The old metaphor for human cognition was the computer—a logical information-processing machine.

Go to the Cognition Basics page for more on Cognition including:
  • Attention
  • Reasoning and Decision Making
  • Learning and Memory
  • Intelligence and Creativity
  • Social Cognition
  • Embodied Cognition
  • Sensory Perception
  • Language and Communication
Go to Cognition Basics

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