Larry Barsalou is definitively the person who has influenced my scientific activity most deeply. Everything started when I was a graduate student in Psychology at the University of Bologna and went to the University of Chicago as a visiting scholar. I had read all of Larry’s papers, had the chance to go abroad during the […]
Every scientific field has its stars, and one of the joys—or, for the more competitive among us, frustrations—of academic life is frequently being gobsmacked by how brilliant they are as they advance through their amazing careers. For many decades now, one of the brightest luminaries in cognitive psychology has been Larry Barsalou, and I’m delighted […]
Have you ever been inside an MRI scanner? I recently got in one and it was quite the experience. After a short introduction to the process, including a question about whether I was claustrophobic, they gave me earplugs – because it’s NOISY inside the machine, yes, in capitals – and then they proceeded to slide […]
Have you ever visited a foreign country or region and found your own speech being influenced by the accent of the native people? Or perhaps you live far from home, and when you go back, your speech shifts back to the local accent? This happens to me every time I visit my family in Baltimore, […]
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go to “outsmart” a system – whether it is homework, a test, an insurance claim, a speeding ticket, a secure file, or a survey. Because humans engage in “sub-optimal” behavior (aka careless, insufficient effort, or deception), survey research is especially vulnerable and must guard against […]
As a cognitive psychologist who leads a higher educational institution, I contemplate the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on equity and justice every day. This technological era highlights the importance of bridging our knowledge of human cognition and behaviors with the design and execution of codes through machine learning. By understanding cognitive processes such as […]
Many of us have collected things at some point in our lives, whether it’s coins, records, CDs, or stuffed animals. You might be surprised by the range of weird and wonderful things that people like to collect. Some examples I’ve seen around the internet include sugar packets, traffic cones, and umbrella covers. Visually, collections are […]
Describe your current level of pain using the scale below. Use the scale below to indicate your current level of happiness. Rate your degree of agreement for the following statement using either a 4-, 6-, or 11-point scale of your choosing from strongly disagree to strongly agree. “I lead a purposeful and meaningful life.” From […]
Have you ever had a moment where a word was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn’t quite remember it? For a bit of fun, here are two questions that might generate this feeling for you: What is the traditional, long, wooden, Aboriginal wind instrument most associated with the Indigenous peoples in Australia? […]
The Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” (2016) introduces a society where people constantly rate their interactions with each other through their smartphones. Those ratings deeply influence outcomes in their everyday life, including high-stakes situations such as access to housing and freedom of transit. Leaving aside the dystopian aspects, people in that society managed to solve an […]