The Learning Machine: Applying Classical Conditioning to the Human Experience
Pavlov's work was important because it demonstrated that the processes of learning could be studied scientifically, and that the principles of conditioning were applicable to humans as well. One of the primary ways people learn fears is when somethi...
In the Driver's Seat: Need to Belong, The
The need for acceptance-the need to bond with friends and family-is a not unique to humans, as experiments have shown. People cannot survive or thrive without other people. If you procreate but do not caregive, your genes will not make it into the g...
Stressed to the Limit: Cognitive Buffers Against Stress
Several cognitive factors appear to immunize people against the damaging effects of stressful events. If your environment is predictable, or you have some degree of control over it, fewer negative psychological responses tend to occur. Social suppor...
Stressed to the Limit: Stress and Susceptibility to Disease
Certain physiological reactions to stress can increase our vulnerability to infections diseases like colds or flu. A number of researchers did a series of studies to determine why. One factor seems to be that lymphocytes which serve an immune functi...
Thinking and Language: Case of Wrongful Termination?, A
A shadow jury listens carefully to opposing attorneys characterize the events that led a quality control manager, Elena Gonzales, to file a lawsuit against her former employer. Is this a case of wrongful termination? What arguments will these mock j...
Emotions: What is Emotion?
Emotions chart the landscape of life. People know the words and the facial expressions that are distinctive to feelings like happiness, sadness, fear, anger. When we become emotional, our brain notices and our body reacts. A new view of emotion trea...
Different Strokes: Differences that Define and Separate People
As humans we share a common heritage and face common problems. Yet the differences that help define who we are-our culture, our gender, our race-often separate us in ways that are both cognitive and social. Humans are cognitive misers who distil...
The Magic of the Mind: Introduction of Scientific Tools and Approaches
The introduction of tools like fMRI and PET allows psychologists to determine the contribution of biology to psychology. Further advancements will someday reveal how the brain achieves its understanding of the world, and how we are able to inter...
People to People: How Attitudes Can Affect Our Judgment
Attitudes-- feelings based on beliefs-- predispose our reactions to objects, people, and events. The very thing that makes us intelligent beings is also that which allows us to fall prey to biases or mistaken perceptions. When we stereotype people w...
Codes of Life: Evolutionary Psychology and Adaptation
Genetic predispositions help explain both our shared human nature as well as our individual differences. Evolutionary psychology takes a broader view, over a longer period of time, to determine the strategies that are useful for preserving the spe...