People, Places, and Things

It is officially Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. All of us living north of the Equator can expect to see more and more of the sun, as our day lit hours become longer and brighter. Read More

The color red has been linked to romance and Valentine's Day for a really long time. Should it be? Should you repaint, or at least buy a new shirt featuring this hue, before Valentine's Day? The research evidence is clear about how you should get your world red-dy for February 14. Read More

Thinking of booking a vacation? Moving to a new home? If either question has crossed your mind recently, you've probably wondered if it's worth it to shell out extra money for rooms with views. Read More

As the year-end holidays approach, people scheduling holiday events often face a dilemma -- should they do things the way they always have or try something different? Should they serve the same homemade soup on a holiday eve that they have for the last decade or so? What about the tried-and-true holiday decorations -- should they be retired? Read More

Humans are social animals, and we communicate. All the time. Even when we're not speaking words we're sending messages to each other. Read More

As the seasons change, debates in homes and offices turn to where to set the thermostat. These heated discussions continue indefinitely.

From a psychological perspective, what should the temperature be inside a building? Read More

For millennium, philosophers have been pondering the nature of reality. In the video clip available at the web address, below quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger (professor, University of Vienna) presents findings from the double-slit experiment that seem to indicate that we change reality just by observing it. Read More

Few experiences figure as prominently in summer memories as naps in hammocks. Nearly everyone has a story of a summer snooze in a hammock that was a singularly refreshing rest. Recent research shows that those good sleeps have a physiological basis. Read More

Previous posts have talked about the cognitive benefits of hiking - walking in nature does a lot more for you than simply burn off calories.  When you're walking at your own pace your working memory is better than when you're standing still and that working memory is important for reasoning and learning, for example.  Being in daylight also boosts your mood and that makes it more like Read More

Imagine this: You're standing in the furniture store staring at a pair of sofas, both of which are demanding to come home with you. One is curvier than the other--its legs are bowed a little bit, its stuffing is a little plumper, and its armrests curvaceously cuddle your forearms. Read More

Lucky charms really do improve our performance - so don't toss out that shamrock at midnight on March 17. Damisch, Stoberock, and Mussweiler published a study examining how superstitions influence us in a 2010 edition of Psychological Science ("Keep Your Fingers Crossed! How Superstition Improves Performance," vol. 21, no. 7). Read More

Just in time for the Oscars, Hoeckner, Wyatt, Decety, and Nusbaum have completed a study showing just how significantly a movie's musical score influences the viewing experience ("Film Music Influences How Viewers Relate to Movie Characters," Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press). Read More

Although plants are plentiful in workplaces, are they worth the time and effort required to keep them green and healthy? Just as snow has blanketed much of North America and outside vegetation is buried under the white stuff, researchers from Norway and Cornell have released a study indicating that in-office plants are indeed a good investment. Read More

When you venture out with your significant other to select a Christmas tree this year - or a new couch to replace the one that was mortally wounded at your holiday party - bring a tape measure. It will be useful for settling disagreements about whether a tree or couch will fit into the available space. Read More