Who exactly are the Scientologists and why have they suddenly come up in the news? Crikey intern Michelle Loh waded into the morass…
Psychology
Why do good boys do bad things?
One of the big questions that underlies all the debates on university colleges, male sports teams and other forms of hooliganism, is: why do some groupings encourage thuggery? Eva Cox explores.
The science of screams: why we love horror films
Horror films — at least the good ones — terrify, shock and repulse us. So why do we keep going back for more? Scientists explain why humans love to have our pants scared off.
Why a high IQ doesn’t mean you’re smart
Why do “smart” people do stupid things? IQ tests are good at measuring things like logic, abstract reasoning, learning ability and working-memory capacity — but they can’t tell if you’re a dumb-ass.
Bush wasn’t dumb, just superficial
A new paper analysing George Dubbya Bush’s psyche says it’s a myth he’s stupid — his IQ is in the top 10% of the population — he’s just “intellectually lazy”, and thus prone to make stupid decisions.
Why good programmers go bad
Why do computer programmers turn to a life of online crime? Poor education, a criminal record and a dislike of authority, according to an undercover investigation by IT researchers — but some are just good people who can’t resist the lure of the dark side.
Torture makes the innocent seem guilty
A new study has found that the more a victim suffers during torture, the guiltier they are perceived to be — even if they don’t confess to anything — as those complicit in the nasty interrogation method try to subconsciously justify their own actions.
Hamilton: How to deal with climate change grief
The science, economics and politics of climate change have been discussed and argued endlessly. But how do we cope psychologically with this challenge to our conception of the future?
237 reasons women have sex
A pair of US psychologists spoke to 1000 women around the world about their sex lives, and have come up with 237 reasons ladies choose to get down and dirty in the bedroom, including weight loss and to boost self esteem. Oh yeah, love features in there somewhere, too.
Facebook makes you smarter, Twitter makes you dumber
Keeping up-to-date with the happenings in your social network on Facebook enhances your “working memory”, says psychologist Dr Tracy Alloway, but the endless stream of information on Twitter weakens it, reducing your attention span and potentially lowering your intelligence.
The psychology of broken dreams
Researchers have found just how strongly people will cling to their unrealistic career dreams, finding it’s not enough just to know you don’t have the skills or qualifications.
Why Palin’s death panels are like Hitler’s testicles
Familiarity breeds belief, explains behavioral scientist Peter Ubel, and much like the myth of Adolf Hitler’s third testicle, the more people who hear Sarah Palin’s claim that the Democrats are advocating “death panels”, the more likely people are to believe it’s true — even if theyr’e told it’s not.
Video of the Day: Notes and neurons: the audience as an instrument
Musician Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale and neural programming at the 2009 World Science Festival.
America: batshit crazy for over 200 years
Birthers, tea-parties, town-hall hecklers and death squads: is America getting crazier? No, says Rick Perlstein, Americans have always been nuts — only now the media are fanning the flames of insanity further.
Money: the paper painkiller
Scientists have found that money weilds more than just economic power: just handling cash can help reduce social discomfort and even physical pain — and our brains may even unconsciously substitute money for love.
Trained for terror: the Taliban’s brainwashed boys
CNN meet a group of Pakistani boys who say they were kidnapped by the Taliban and groomed as suicide bombers. Rescued by the army, a team of psychologists are attempting to bring them back from the brink of brainwashing and repair their shattered lives.
Should BMW sell ketchup?
Researchers have found that consumers will happily embrace luxury brand names on products that have no logical connection with the brand’s core item. Could making their own mayonnaise, wine or dishwashers be a way for high-end brands like BMW and Cartier to weather the GFC storm?
Ink blot secrets leaked online
Want to know the “right” answers to the Rorschach test — the ink blots — so you won’t appear crazy? They’ve been published on Wikipedia, and psychologists are not happy about it.
Does “unconscious plagiarism” really exist?
Do journalists who get caught out plagiarising and blame it on an “unconscious mistake” have a fair case? Russ Juskalian looks at the psychological disorder of cryptomnesia.
Criminalising the imagination
ast month, Christopher Handley, a collector of comic books, pled guilty to federal charges of importing and possessing obscene cartoon drawings of children; he faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
Constant craving: why we overeat
Why are fatty, salty and sugary foods just sooo good we can’t stop eating them, even when we know we should? Dr David Kessler explains why we’re slaves to the snack.
Going down: explaining human behaviour in elevators
Why do humans behave so weirdly in elevators? Monkeys and cave men hold the answer.
Eight weasel ways politicians avoid saying sorry
In years to come, psychologists will be writing doctoral theses on the responses by British MPs to the charges of dishonesty in the great allowances scandal of 2009.
Harnessing peer pressure to turn the world green
Behavioral economics is an unconventional field of research that examines how human nature really works and uses it to shape the choices people make.
The psychology of Perez Hilton
Getting inside the head of Internet gossip-hound Perez Hilton.
