Cognitive Psychology

Working Memory Training Might Help With Regulating Emotions

Working Memory Training Might Help With Regulating Emotions

Working memory is a type of memory that, well, does a lot of work. It’s the type of memory you use when you’re doing a task and you need to keep relevant ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Emotion-Affective Psychology, Memory
Are Bad Memories Useful?

Are Bad Memories Useful?

Our memories about our own lives are one of the primary ways we make sense of who we are and how the world works. As I’ve written about before, there are at ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Positive Psychology
General Language Skills Might Help With Learning Programming Languages

General Language Skills Might Help With Learning Programming Languages

Is learning a programming language like learning any other kind of language? Intuitively, you might expect the answer to be no. Programming languages are made up of different components than natural languages, ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Language, Memory, Performance Psychology
Not Judging Your Own Thoughts as an Element of Happiness

Not Judging Your Own Thoughts as an Element of Happiness

There’s no formula for happiness, but something that apparently helps is not being too judgmental toward your own thoughts and feelings. A recent study from researchers in Spain highlights the role that ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Emotion-Affective Psychology, Happiness, Positive Psychology
Switching Off Your Phone Half an Hour Before Bed Might Improve Sleep, Memory

Switching Off Your Phone Half an Hour Before Bed Might Improve Sleep, Memory

I’m not going to bother telling you not to use your phone before bed. Partly because you’ve probably heard that advice before, and partly because it would be hypocritical of me to ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Health Psychology, Media Psychology & Technology, Memory, Sleep, Social Media, Social Psychology
Friends Cooperate More Efficiently After Exchanging Gifts

Friends Cooperate More Efficiently After Exchanging Gifts

As I’ve written about before, people give gifts for a range of reasons – sometimes simply to do something nice, sometimes because they want to influence others. A new study from researchers ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Friendships, Gratitude, Positive Psychology, Social Psychology
The Psychological Separation Between "Meat" and "Animals"

The Psychological Separation Between “Meat” and “Animals”

People like animals. People also like to eat animals. This presents an obvious problem. It’s challenging to make a convincing case to yourself that you think animals are cute and want to ...
Read More
/ / Animals, Behavioral Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Language, Nutrition
Children Will Imitate Robots

Children Will Imitate Robots

Young children have a range of skills that make them phenomenal learners, and one of these skills appears to be copying the people around them. For better or for worse, children will ...
Read More
/ / Behavioral Psychology, Children, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
Testing Berry Smoothies as a Brain Superfood

Testing Berry Smoothies as a Brain Superfood

Berries commonly star on lists of "brain-boosting" foods. As I’ve talked about before, there’s some evidence for the idea that berries can enhance cognitive functioning, although it’s not an open-and-shut case. The ...
Read More
/ / Cognitive Psychology, Health Psychology, Nutrition
Stress Beliefs Might Matter for Stress Response

Stress Beliefs Might Matter for Stress Response

People seem to have real differences in how we react to the stressful situations we inevitably encounter in everyday life. Given that stress is intertwined with mental and physical health, figuring out ...
Read More
/ / Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Stress & Trauma, Young Adults