Posted 16 Jan 2017 / 0
This morning NPR dropped a truly eerie and not-so-subtly cautionary piece on how an understanding of chimpanzee behavior towards dominant individuals can shed light on how we regard both celebrities and our political leaders. Using some nice audio from anthropologist Christopher Boehm, the piece establishes that we humans are not alone in our love-hate relationship with Read More
A Minor Post, Behavior, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Evolution, Primatology, Psychology, Radio & Podcasts, Social Norms
Posted 24 Jun 2016 / 0
Mars landscape image courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory via Wikimedia Commons Scientific American “Home Sweet Habitat: Students Help NASA Design Mars Spacecraft Living Quarters” Anyone who has regularly read my posts on the subject knows that I am a space exploration grump, particularly regarding the idea that humans ought to try to venture out Read More
A Minor Post, Architecture, Evolutionary Psychology, Human limits, Industrial Design, Mismatch theory, Pratt Institute, Psychology, Space Travel, Web
Posted 19 Apr 2016 / 0
Researchers from Pratt Institute and Brooklyn College discuss the results of their study Today I spent my lunchtime listening to an intriguing talk given by three Brooklyn College psychology researchers and a member of Pratt’s Foundation Art department. Aaron Kozbelt, Jennifer Drake, and Rebecca Chamberlain teamed up to describe their study of Pratt Foundation Art Read More
A Major Post, Art & Design, Pratt Institute, Psychology, Talks & Seminars, Uncategorized, Visual Perception
Posted 15 Feb 2016 / 0
Today I have had to work on a really tedious, mindless task for hours on end, so I have tried to take advantage of this time by catching up on some podcasts. I am a big fan of Dan Ariely, both of his science and his efforts to make that science accessible to the public, Read More
A Minor Post, Altruism, Behavior, Cognitive Bias, Communication, Ethics, Human Uniqueness, Partner Choice, Psychological Adaptation, Psychology, Public Outreach, Radio & Podcasts, Reciprocity, Social Norms
Posted 29 Jan 2016 / 0
As I have been working on my book-in-progress (Breeders, Propagators, & Creators), I have encountered a difficult-to-answer question of road-block proportions: how do we quantify cultural transmission? The focus of my book is the tradeoff humans face between making babies, spreading existing culture, and inventing new ideas. If such a tradeoff exists, we need to be able Read More
A Major Post, Behavior, Belief, Books, Breeders, Propagators, & Creators, Communication, Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Evolution, Emotion, Gene-Culture Coevolution, Memetic Fitness, Parenting, Psychology, Religion, Sexual Conflict, Sociology
Posted 15 Jan 2016 / 0
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Science “Conservatives report, but liberals display, greater happiness” This paper was published back in March, but I just discovered it. I am somewhat fascinated by psychological studies of happiness, because happiness is so hard to pin down. What is happiness, and can we rely on people to accurately report how Read More
A Minor Post, Articles, Behavior, Belief, Data Limitation, Emotion, Happiness, Psychology, Uncategorized
Posted 07 Jan 2016 / 0
“exercise is good in principle, but it’s almost never the case that it’s the best thing you could do right now.” -Dan Ariely There’s a really interesting experiment being conducted by behavioral economist Dan Ariely and the new WNYC program Only Human. Called “Stick to It!“, the experiment allows listeners to the show to volunteer to download Read More
A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Cultural Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Nature, Mismatch theory, Psychology, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Sustainable Transportation, Sustainable Urban Design
Posted 30 Nov 2015 / 0
At Paris, two equally-nihilistic cultures clash, but where do the people get a seat at the table? Today crucial climate talks are under way in Paris, France amid massive police presence and an atmosphere of social repression. The message is to “stay off the streets” as the leaders of world (and a few monarchs and businesspeople) meet Read More
A Major Post, Activism, Anthropogenic Change, Belief, Climate Change, Cooperation, Cultural Evolution, Environmental Justice, History, Memetic Fitness, Political Science, Psychology, Public Policy, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy
Posted 06 Nov 2015 / 0
Image courtesy of Jeffrey Pang via Wikimedia Commons Neuron “The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity” (Kidd & Hayden 2015) This is a fantastic review of what is known about curiosity and what needs to be learned about curiosity in the near future. I was glad to see the “four questions” approach to curiosity here. Tinbergen’s questions Read More
A Minor Post, Behavior, Cognitive Ability, MSCI-261, The Evolution of Play, Neuroscience, Play, Psychological Adaptation, Psychology, Teaching
Posted 16 Oct 2015 / 0
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Receipt of reward leads to altered estimation of effort” This is an interesting study because it suggests that we can make rational but distorted assessments of their own efforts based on what reward they bring. What’s interesting is that we tend to belittle our own efforts when they Read More
A Minor Post, Articles, Behavior, Cognitive Ability, Consciousness, Psychology
