Psych in the news

Seriously? There is so much news flying by I'll never catch up. Today's installment is in fast forward with a minimum amount of words, no credits and crammed in every which way.

Calculating very rare events * Do psychologists still use Rorschach tests? * The mental heath of Iraqis after years of war * How ads enhance TV watching * The flexibility of dream interpretation * Does stress cause gray hair? * Older dads linked to lower IQ kids * Single sex classes in public schools * Placebos in teen depression studies * Brain differences between the religious and non-religious (and hear the NPR report) * Psychology and neuroscience on Twitter *

Two longer ones to end on: shark attacks are dropping and the economy's to blame! (Does anyone else use the correlation does not equal causation example of shark attacks and ice cream sales? So now shark attacks and the economy are correlated?)


Finally, a WARNING: this article in the Washington Post magazine on children dying in cars accidentally because they were forgotten by their parents is difficult to read (or at least it was for me -- there are parts I just had to skim through). I add it only because of the questions it raises about memory, inattention, distraction and people being off of their routines which leads to forgetting. There's also a sidebar on ways to prevent these tragedies -- sure, there's some technology, but there are also the simple things like putting something that you need for work (ID badge, briefcase, keys, etc.) in the back with the child. Kids and Cars also has other devices.