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50, 100, 1000 words for snow: Does the language we speak affect how we think?
Kate Bush, a British singer-songwriter, released a new album this past Monday, titled 50 Words for Snow. The inspiration for this album title comes from the popular belief that the Eskimo language had many, many words for snow because the Eskimo people differentiated all the different types of snow they experienced. On this album, Kate…
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Need to remember something? Try forgetting it!
A friend recently asked me why our lab is called the “Learning and Forgetting Lab.” He pointed out, “I know learning is important, but why would you study forgetting?” That is an excellent question. Most people think of forgetting as a negative occurrence to prevent rather than an adaptive, beneficial function. In fact, forgetting something…
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Know When to Put on Rose-Colored Lenses: When Bias is Useful
The idea of “positive illusions” is one that has been popular in social psychology since Taylor and Brown published their 1988 paper, “Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health.” Simply put, positive illusions are biased perceptions of reality that are thought to be good for mental health. For instance, studies have shown…
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Flashbulb Memories: Traumatic Events and the Details We Remember
This past weekend, many of us took some time to remember the events of September 11, 2001. Between all of the news specials, memorial openings, and documentaries, many of you probably also thought about your personal experience of the day. Where were you when you found out? What were you doing? Who was with you?…
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Music Cognition
One of the most fascinating and quickly growing subareas of psychology and the cognitive sciences is music cognition, the interdisciplinary study of how the brain processes and perceives music. Music cognition is driven primarily by the perception of tempo and pitch, as well as the important concept of expectation.
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Synesthesia: When Ordinary Activities Trigger Extraordinary Sensations
Many of us have had the experience of unusual associations between our senses and our memories. Perhaps a certain smell unexpectedly reminds you of a grandparent, or certain foods evoke memories of old friends. Associations between memories and sensory experience are normal, but about 4% of the population experiences a condition called synesthesia in which…