Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Psychology’ Category

Why Can’t People Agree About Climate Change?

Posted in Climate, Psychology on 04/14/2020|

A new study at Carnegie Mellon University explores why local perceptions often differ on contentious global issues, like climate change.

The internet has brought us closer together, but it has also pushed us farther apart. On issues as far reaching as climate change and vaccinations, disparity is growing between scientific consensus and pockets of local doubt. 

New research at Carnegie Mellon University explores how a local vantage point can muddle how people understand important global issues. Stephen Broomell leverages measurement theory to reveal an incompatibility between local perceptions and actual global events in his study published in the March 25 issue of Cognitive Science. 

“Any large problem that requires consensus can be undermined by random differences between local perspectives,” said Broomell, associate professor in the Department of Social and Decisional Sciences at CMU. “In the presence of random noise, you need global evidence to understand a global issue.” 

(more…)

Read Full Post »

When It’s Story Time, Animated Books Are Better for Learning

Posted in Blinding People with Science, Psychology on 12/20/2019| 1 Comment »

Emilie O’Leary and her son Jack O’Leary reading on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 in the Children’s School

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that digital storybooks that animate upon a child’s vocalization offer beneficial learning opportunities, especially for children with less developed attention regulation. 

“Digital platforms have exploded in popularity, and a huge proportion of the top-selling apps are educational interfaces for children,” said Erik Thiessen, associate professor of Psychology at CMU’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and senior author on the paper. “Many digital interfaces are poorly suited to children’s learning capacities, but if we can make them better, children can learn better.”

The results are available in in the December 19 issue of the journal Developmental Psychology. 

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Study Finds Brains of Girls and Boys Are Similar, Producing Equal Math Ability

Posted in Psychology, tagged , on 11/15/2019|

New research at Carnegie Mellon University indicates that there is no gender disparity in how children learn and perform math skills

In 1992, Teen Talk Barbie was released with the controversial voice fragment, “Math class is hard.” While the toy’s release met with public backlash, this underlying assumption persists, propagating the myth that women do not thrive in science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields due to biological deficiencies in math aptitude.

Jessica Cantlon at Carnegie Mellon University led a research team that comprehensively examined the brain development of young boys and girls. Their research shows no gender difference in brain function or math ability. The results of this research are available online in the November 8 issue of the journal Science of Learning.

(more…)

Read Full Post »