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Crossing the Line: What Constitutes Torture?

By Guest PostApril 16, 2011Generalbush administration’s, interrogation techniques, loewenstein, psychological science, psychologically untenable, rarified situation, room-temperature water, torture, waterboarding

Torture. The United Nations defines it as the “infliction of severe physical or mental pain or suffering.” But how severe is severe? That judgment determines whether or not the law classifies an interrogation practice as torture.

Now, a study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, condemns this method of classification as essentially flawed. The reason: The people estimating the severity of pain aren’t experiencing that pain—so they underestimate it.

As a result, many acts of torture are not classified—or prohibited—as torture, say authors, Loran F. Nordgren of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Mary-Hunter Morris of Harvard Law School, and George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University. (more…)

Actions and Personality, East and West

By Guest PostApril 12, 2011Cultureasian_americans, caucasian and asian backgrounds, cautious or neurotic, cultural differences, european_american, immediate response, psychological science, social factors

People in different cultures make different assumptions about the people around them, according to an upcoming study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers studied the brain waves of people with Caucasian and Asian backgrounds and found that cultural differences in how we think about other people are embedded deep in our minds. Cultural differences are evident very deep in the brain, challenging a commonsense notion that culture is skin deep. (more…)

Watch Your Language! of Course–But How Do We Actually Do That?

By Guest PostApril 3, 2011Sciencecares about context, elisah dhooge, irrelevant words, neutral word, offensive word, psychological science, radio, relationship, robert hartsuiker, self monitor, speech, stringent, taboo words, verbal self monitor, words

Nothing seems more automatic than speech. We produce an estimated 150 words a minute, and make a mistake only about once every 1,000 words. We stay on track, saying what we intend to, even when other words distract us—from the radio, say, or a road sign we pass while driving.

An upcoming study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows for the first time why we so rarely speak those irrelevant words: We have a “verbal self-monitor” between the mental production of speech and the actual uttering of words that catches any irrelevant items coming from outside of the speaker. (more…)

Brooding Russians: Less distressed than Americans

By Guest PostJuly 16, 20101 commentCultureamericans, brooding, daniel katz dissertation fellowship, dostoyevsky, ethan kross, ethnographers, igor grossmann, isr, psychological science, psychology, russians, social research, tolstoy, ukraine, university of michigan, westerners

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy portrayed Russians as a brooding, complicated people, and ethnographers have confirmed that Russians tend to focus on dark feelings and memories more than Westerners do.

But a new University of Michigan study finds that even though Russians tend to brood, they are less likely than Americans to feel as depressed as a result.

(more…)

Tag Archives: psychological science

Crossing the Line: What Constitutes Torture?

Actions and Personality, East and West

Watch Your Language! of Course–But How Do We Actually Do That?

Brooding Russians: Less distressed than Americans