Viktor Frankl coined the term “tragic optimism” to describe the human ability to move forward with a positive attitude even when encountering hardship or challenges. Tragic optimism underpins personal resilience; for example, it has been identified as a predictor of well-being and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that the Psychonomic Society can look towards […]
The 65th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society in New York City concluded just in time for our American members to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families. Packed with thought-provoking presentations, networking, and the latest cognitive research, this year’s meeting was a resounding success. The meeting started with Nelson Cowan’s keynote address delivered to a packed […]
The Psychonomic Society’s 65th Annual Meeting is just around the corner, and we’re heading to New York City this year. With an exciting lineup of talks, posters, workshops, and social events, this year’s meeting promises to be unforgettable. A Stellar Kick-off: Nelson Cowan’s Keynote We’re delighted to start the meeting with a keynote address by Nelson […]
How do we build true novelty? We have new experiences all the time (maybe reading a blog post about a scientific article is one, and if it is, welcome!), but studying how we learn about new items and new categories poses significant challenges. I mean, we could spend a lot of time trying to learn […]
Picking someone out of a lineup can be tough. Bias in eyewitness testimony is a complicated factor that can influence judicial proceedings. When eyewitnesses identify a criminal, they need to recognize a person’s face, and they need to place them at the scene of the crime. That’s a difficult task for most passersby. We might […]
Last week, I was eating dinner with some friends. One friend shared his dream, in which he was taking a high school exam and was just so nervous about thinking how he didn’t study and hence wouldn’t pass. That gave us all a good chuckle – we are all adults way beyond our high school […]
Carrying out a sequence of actions is something we do every day without thinking much about it—like when we cook. We first gather ingredients, then clean, chop, and arrange them so they are ready for cooking. Each step follows the previous one, requiring cognitive control to stay on track. But for people with mental health […]
For the last week and a half, I have traveled by plane, by car, by ferry, by kayak, by boat, and by foot, visiting many beautiful locations within the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Whether it is due to my middle-aged brain or the fact that there have just been so many places, I […]
In this All Things Cognition podcast, I interview Matt Evans and Nicolas Davidenko about their recent paper on the pitch of earworms. Let’s get right into it! Interview Transcript Lai: You’re listening to All Things Cognition, a Psychonomic Society podcast. Now here’s your host, Laura Mickes. Mickes: Having a song stuck in your head is […]
“But when does lack of ‘simplicity’ in the protective belt of theoretical adjustments reach the point at which the theory must be abandoned?” – Lakatos, 1976 What does it take to falsify a psychological theory? This question sounds straightforward: if you find data that are inconsistent with the theory, you reject the theory. But in […]