By: Megan E. Birney 2011 marks 10 years since the mixed-race category was added to the U.K.’s annual censes.  To commemorate this event, BBC Two has been running a series of programmes documenting the mixed-race experience both in Britain and ……
- 17 Oct 11, 9:23pm -

- 6 Oct 11, 10:26pm -

Social and Personality Psychology Compass © Blackwell Publishing Ltd Volume 5, Issue 10 Pages 694 – 823, October 2011 The latest issue of Social and Personality Psychology Compass is available on Wiley Online Library   Emotion Motivation Affiliat…
- 5 Oct 11, 7:52am -

By Kevin R. Betts Netflix witnessed a storm of customer outrage and tumbling stock prices this month as they dramatically increased their price for subscription to the service. Early this morning, CEO Reed Hastings reacted with an email to customers.…
- 19 Sep 11, 5:47pm -

Navy videographer at Ground Zero In the 10 years since the events of September 2001 a vast amount of scholarly research has been written on the impact of 9/11. Wiley-Blackwell is pleased to share with you this collection of free book and … Contin…
- 2 Sep 11, 10:21am -

- 7 Aug 11, 1:13pm -

By Kevin R. Betts I started reading a book this weekend titled, “The Perfect Swarm: The Science of Complexity in Everyday Life.” Author Len Fisher’s central idea is that understanding swarm intelligence can help us make better decisions. Swarm…
- 1 Aug 11, 2:00am -

By Erica Zaiser I came across this cartoon recently from Funnymos.com: Obviously it is meant to be humorous but it also made me wonder:  Does having a trait like glasses change people’s initial impressions of you? And has there been … Continue r…
- 26 Jul 11, 1:43pm -

By: Megan Birney We all want to be happy.  It’s something we’ve learned to strive for and likely the primary motivator for trying to land that perfect job, find your soul mate, start a family, get that promotion or buy … Continue reading →
- 24 Jul 11, 10:03pm -

By, Adam K. Fetterman Making appeals to religion is nothing new for American politics. Nearly every candidate makes statements such as “God bless America” or claims that their candidacy is a calling from God. However, on the other end of … Cont…
- 12 Jul 11, 5:50pm -

The Moral Domain: Conceptual Issues in Moral Psychology9-11 October 2014, Vilnius UniversityConfirmed keynote speakers:Prof. Edouard Machery (Pittsburgh) Dr. Katinka Quintelier (Amsterdam) Dr. Paulo Sousa (Queen’s) Prof. Dan Sperber (CEU / In…
- 2 days ago, 6 Mar 14, 11:37am -

A new, important article by David Pietraszewski, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby: The Content of Our Cooperation, Not the Color of Our Skin: An Alliance Detection System Regulates Categorization by Coalition and Race, but Not Sex. (PLoS ONE, 2012, 9(2…
- 5 days ago, 2 Mar 14, 8:01pm -

Nick Enfield -- ethnolinguist at the Max Planck institute for psycholinguistics (and contributor to ICCI) -- has published a new book, Relationship Thinking.Here's the blurb from Oxford University Press:In Relationship Thinking, N. J. Enfield outl…
- 37 days ago, 30 Jan 14, 10:58am -

The new The Edge annual question, and the answers, are now online.The question was: "What scientific idea is ready for retirement?"Here are some answers that could be relevant to the ICCI crowd:Oliver Scott Curry AssociationismN.J. Enfield A Science…
- 51 days ago, 16 Jan 14, 3:35pm -

A new Doctoral programme in the cognitive the science of religion has been established by Aarhus University (Graduate School of Arts/Religion, Cognition and Culture Research Unit--see http://www.rcc.au.dk/) and Queen’s University, Belfast (School…
- 58 days ago, 9 Jan 14, 2:28pm -

The CEU Summer University announces the course: “Morality: Evolutionary Origins and Cognitive Mechanisms”, June 23-30, 2014, Budapest, Hungary . Application deadline: February 14, 2014.What makes humans moral beings? This question can be unders…
- 59 days ago, 7 Jan 14, 4:27pm -

A conference on "Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Moral Psychology" sponsored by Korea University and the Rutgers University Research Group on Evolution & Cognition will take place at the Korea University, Seoul, South Korea / 20th-22nd March 2014.Pos…
- 60 days ago, 7 Jan 14, 3:37pm -

(This post concludes our "book club" webinar discussing Ara Norenzayan's latest book with its author. This précis introduced the discussion.)In what follows I’ll make some general concluding comments, and also address four remaining posts by Nico…
- 80 days ago, 17 Dec 13, 9:52pm -

I like Ara’s way of studying scientific problems very much, weaving together various disciplines from evolutionary modelling to experimental psychology or social anthropology, and I also like the way he tries to solve the questions he raises. Howev…
- 85 days ago, 13 Dec 13, 1:20pm -

Unfortunately, I had to read this book more quickly than it would deserve; still, it is an engaging, up-to-date and pleasant synthesis of works from different disciplinary fields. There are, however, several alternative hypotheses that the book does…
- 87 days ago, 10 Dec 13, 6:32pm -

Dr. Carl Meyer (University of Hawaii) and Dr. Katsufumi Sato (University of Tokyo) have teamed up to gather data about shark behavior in a rather interesting way. They flipped the animals upside down, which makes them relax, and strapped on cameras a…
- 2 days ago, 6 Mar 14, 4:58am -

Researchers at Duke University are interested in understanding the metamorphosis of fruit flies from larvae to adult stage in an effort to understand how the insects grow new nerve endings as they undergo this transition. What is interesting is that…
- 7 days ago, 1 Mar 14, 6:31am -

I will be giving a talk in Saint Paul, at the Best Western Kelly Inn, on Evolutionary Psychology. The original plan was to get two people to debate the topic, but it was hard to find two people in town to do that. One idea was to get PZ Myers over he…
- 7 days ago, 28 Feb 14, 5:49pm -

Congratulations to Nicolle Domnik, this year’s winner of the new Dr. Dolittle Travel Award to present her research at the annual Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, CA in April. Nicolle is currently a graduate student in the Department of…
- 10 days ago, 25 Feb 14, 6:41pm -

A paper published in Current Biology describes research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the sound processing regions of brains in humans and dogs (border collies and golden retrievers). The subjects listened to almost 30…
- 14 days ago, 21 Feb 14, 8:00pm -

Morality colors the way we view the world, but how it influences our judgments of others is a controversial debate. One popular view is that morality biases people’s perceptions of others—specifically others’ intentions. I suggest that this vie…
- 19 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 9:27am -

In the first part of this three part series, my colleague Ellie Shockley described how rational thinking may drive political attitudes and voting behavior. In this second part of the series, I describe how emotion may drive political attitudes and vo…
- 7 days ago, 1 Mar 14, 12:50pm -

Does Fifty Shades of Grey make you wonder if BDSM is arousing? If women secretly want to be spanked? This post explains how Fifty Shades readers may develop this belief, how it may affect their behavior, and how it may increase sexual aggression agai…
- 8 days ago, 27 Feb 14, 10:22pm -

Are voters rational? As a part of a three-part series on the subject of voter rationality, my colleagues Matt Motyl, Mark Brandt, and I will discuss some theories and research dealing with voters’ attitudes and behaviors. We hope you will stay a pa…
- 11 days ago, 24 Feb 14, 5:55pm -

In this blog post, I will discuss new research in political psychology that is changing our understanding of what prejudice is, and who is prejudiced.
- 16 days ago, 20 Feb 14, 12:25pm -

Dorset Viking Age Mass Burial Publication
- 3 days ago, 5 Mar 14, 6:00am -

Archaeo News Podcast 241
- 3 days ago, 5 Mar 14, 6:00am -

Humans Evolved 'Game Face' As Plea for Help, Study Suggests
- 3 days ago, 5 Mar 14, 6:00am -

Vikings at the British Museum: Great Ship But Where's the Story?
- 4 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 6:00am -

Cultural World Heritage Threatened by Climate Change
- 4 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 6:00am -

Researchers studying 3,000-year-old skeletons from the oldest known cemetery in the Pacific Islands are casting new light on the diet and lives of the enigmatic Lapita people, the likely ancestors of Polynesians. Their results—obtained from analysi…
- 2 days ago, 6 Mar 14, 12:15am -

Some of the world's most recognizable and important landmarks could be lost to rising sea-levels if current global warming trends are maintained over the next two millennia. This is according to a new study that has calculated the temperature increas…
- 3 days ago, 5 Mar 14, 2:56am -

A new article shows that several Jurassic sites are linked together by shared species and can be recognized as representing a single fossil fauna and flora, containing superbly preserved specimens of a diverse group of amphibian, mammal, and reptile…
- 3 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 7:17pm -

In a new book, a paleoanthropologist incorporates his research with a synthesis of a vast amount of research from other scientists who study primate evolution and behavior. The book explains how apes and humans evolved in relation to one another, and…
- 3 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 5:54pm -

New evidence establishes for the first time that Cahokia, a sprawling, pre-Columbian city situated at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, hosted a sizable population of immigrants. Cahokia was an early experiment in urban life, res…
- 4 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 2:50pm -

The ruins of Sardis have been a rich source of knowledge about classical antiquity since the 7th century B.C., when the city was the capital of Lydia. Now, Sardis has given up another treasure in the form of two enigmatic ritual deposits, which are p…
- 4 days ago, 3 Mar 14, 7:32pm -

We humans like to think of ourselves as unique for many reasons, not least of which being our ability to communicate with words. But ground-breaking research shows that our 'misunderstood cousins,' the Neanderthals, may well have spoken in languages…
- 5 days ago, 2 Mar 14, 11:52pm -

A team of French investigators has discovered viruses containing genes for antibiotic resistance in a fossilized fecal sample from 14th century Belgium, long before antibiotics were used in medicine.
- 8 days ago, 27 Feb 14, 9:45pm -

Genetic and environmental evidence indicates that after the ancestors of Native Americans left Asia, they spent 10,000 years on a land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska. Archaeological evidence is lacking because it drowned when sea levels r…
- 8 days ago, 27 Feb 14, 7:18pm -

The history of medieval navigation on the Iberian peninsula is a great mystery. In the 1970s, a recreational diver found a bronze candelabra in Ibiza. It is a unique piece from the 10th century which could provide clues on sea routes in the period.
- 10 days ago, 26 Feb 14, 12:49pm -

Last month I wrote about how the revival in the popularity of beards was hurting razor sales, causing companies like Proctor & Gamble to ramp up advertising encouraging “manscaping” below the neck.  Here’s another response to the trend: hair p…
- 9 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 7:13pm -

Let’s imagine that a woman — we’ll call her “you,” like they do in relationship advice land — is trying to calculate the odds that a man will call back after sex. Everyone tells you that if you sleep with a guy on the first date he is l…
- 3 days ago, 5 Mar 14, 2:00pm -

Happy Fat Tuesday to all our friends in New Orleans! Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do! If you’re not in the middle of the revelry, enjoy these Mardi Gras posts from previous years: The Order of Myths: Race and Mardi Gras in Mobile Where Mardi G…
- 4 days ago, 4 Mar 14, 1:00pm -

Prostitutes have often been at the forefront of challenges to gender conventions. Already at the fringes of “respectable society,” by choice or circumstance, these women often have less to lose than others. The Mardi Gras Baby Dolls are an excell…
- 5 days ago, 3 Mar 14, 1:00pm -

In 1979 the New Orleans police department went on strike, using the powerful leverage of Mardi Gras to push for an improvement in their working conditions.  The city held fast and the celebration was cancelled.  Ish.  Some parades moved just out o…
- 6 days ago, 2 Mar 14, 2:00pm -

- 7 days ago, 1 Mar 14, 1:00pm -

SocImages News: At the end of January we had the pleasure of introducing the world to 7 year old Charlotte’s letter to Lego asking for more female minifigs and adventures for girls. It struck a nerve and was covered this month at The Independent, A…
- 8 days ago, 28 Feb 14, 2:00pm -

Sociologists who study inequality distinguish between individual bias, negative beliefs about a group held by individual persons, and systemic inequality, unequal outcomes built into our institutions that will produce inequality even in the absence o…
- 9 days ago, 27 Feb 14, 2:00pm -

The term secularization is typically used to describe the process by which something becomes increasingly distant from, irrelevant to, or uninfluenced by religion.  But what about religions themselves?  Can religions undergo secularization? Sociolo…
- 10 days ago, 26 Feb 14, 2:00pm -

Haley Morris-Cafiero is an artist, a photographer, and a scorned body.  Aware that her appearance attracts disgust and mockery from some, she decided to try to document people’s public disdain.  The result is a series of photographs exposing the…
- 11 days ago, 25 Feb 14, 2:00pm -

FDA-approved anti-psychotic drugs possess tumor-killing activity against the most aggressive form of primary brain cancer, glioblastoma, new research indicates. "The anti-glioblastoma effects of these drugs are completely unexpected and were only unc…
- 9 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 7:30pm -

Happiness is more than just a feeling; it is something we can all practice on a daily basis. But people are better at some 'happy habits' than others. In fact, the one habit that corresponds most closely with us being satisfied with our lives overall…
- 12 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 4:10pm -

The progression of Alzheimer's may slow once symptoms appear and do significant damage, according to a study investigating an inherited form of the disease. Through an international study, researchers have found rapid neuronal damage begins 10 to 20…
- 13 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 3:02pm -

New research demonstrates that even before infants begin to talk in sentences, they are paying careful attention to the way a new word is used in conversations, and they learn new words from this information in sentences. 
- 13 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 3:02pm -

A new survey has found that people are more willing than ever to disclose their experience of having a mental health problem and receiving treatment. This increase in willingness to disclose, the authors suggest, is most likely due to changing attitu…
- 13 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 3:02pm -

After four years of declining, the rates of teenagers coming into Ontario emergency departments with suicide-related behaviors stopped dropping between 2006 and 2010. "Coming into hospital with a self-inflicted injuries or poisoning is a strong risk…
- 13 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 3:02pm -

A new study by Italian researchers suggests that a person's activity at the time of the quake influences their perception of shaking more than their location. Whether a person is at rest or walking plays a greater role in their perception of ground m…
- 15 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 1:40pm -

The brain processes read and heard language differently. Researchers have been able to determine the affected areas of the brain using speech processing tests with the aid of functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRT).
- 15 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 1:40pm -

Abnormalities in the way the brain experiences pain may be to blame for the chronic pain suffered by osteoarthritis patients, scientists have shown for the first time. As a results, the researchers suggest that new therapies should target brain mecha…
- 15 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 1:40pm -

Middle-class working mothers are leaving work because they are unwilling to behave like men, according to a new research article. Many of the interviewed women found it hard to combine work and motherhood because of the dominant culture of presenteei…
- 15 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 1:38pm -

The news are dominated by the confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is quite a lot of nonsense repeated in the American newspapers over and over again. It’s just another reminder about the care we, social scie…
- 6 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 10:40pm -

In the previous blog I came out very strongly against anarchism. It’s simply wishful thinking to believe that anything good can be achieved by abolishing the state. Yes, people can leave in stateless and elite-less societies (and have done so for t…
- 20 days ago, 15 Feb 14, 10:27pm -

Two weeks ago I was interviewed by BBC for their show Analysis that was aired on Feb. 3. You can listen to it here. A good summary is on the Equality by Lot blog. In the show Jeremy Cliffe examines the philosophy of Russell Brand, an English comedian…
- 23 days ago, 12 Feb 14, 7:58pm -

My two previous blogs discussed the importance of argument in science and the first criticism advanced by Russell Thomas at our article. Today I want to discuss his second general charge, that our model is too simple. More specifically, Thomas wrote…
- 29 days ago, 6 Feb 14, 6:01pm -

In the previous blog I wrote about the importance of controversy for the health of science, and also about the importance of focusing scientific debates on ideas and data, not on the proponents of the ideas, scientists themselves. Too often debates i…
- 37 days ago, 30 Jan 14, 10:07am -

My newest article has been published in Pursuit Magazine on detecting deception during an investigative interview. For this article I asked three world class scholars of deception,  ”how do you catch a liar?” See it at: http://pursuitmag.com/de…
- 95 days ago, 2 Dec 13, 11:32pm -

Hello! OK—so I still have a few dedicated subscribers; this message is for you. 1st I am now a Huffington Post blogger.2nd Pursuit Magazine (a publication for professional investigators) has asked me to become a regular contributor.3rd I’…
- 18 Nov 13, 7:57pm -

Sociologist Elijah Anderson influenced criminology with his descriptive theory of the code of the street. In a nutshell the code contends that social economic conditions isolate poor inner-city neighborhoods giving rise to the code of the street—no…
- 13 Nov 13, 3:09am -

Nope, I haven’t disappeared but my personal blog is no longer a priority. Rather, I’m spending my free-time investigating stories worth telling and writing them well. My latest story is titled The Dark Net: The New Face of Black Markets and Organ…
- 1 Oct 13, 8:52pm -

John Searle is one of my favorite contemporary philosophers. I read his book The Construction of Social Reality as part of a graduate seminar at Indiana University on social metaphysics.In a recent TED conference (posted below) Searle argues for the…
- 11 Aug 13, 2:25am -

Attempts to unmask digital currency guru Satoshi Nakamoto could prove a pivotal moment in the rise of a new economy, says Jacob Aron    
- 10 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 6:06pm -

Fresh evidence hints that most Martian rocks found on Earth could be from the same ancient terrain, but the claim has set off a firestorm among meteorite experts    
- 10 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 6:00pm -

All the latest on newscientist.com: NZ says yes to drugs, massive UK shale gas reserves, rugby brain injuries, perjury detector and more    
- 11 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 5:45pm -

Some unusual materials are being turned into batteries to allow us to increase our reliance on renewable energy    
- 11 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 5:20pm -

Two more US states are widening access to naloxone, a drug that can neutralise a potentially fatal opiate overdose, but broader supply remains contentious    
- 11 hours ago, 7 Mar 14, 4:58pm -