The exploring psychology blog is the place where I highlight and explore the most fascinating and compelling psychology related news and research.
Whether you are new to psychology, currently studying or thinking about studying psychology, or consider yourself an expert in the field, I very much hope that you find the material featured on the exploring psychology blog interesting.
Given the inextricable link between psychology and the human mind, I've just added a human mind page to the main website. From here you will be able to access a range of quality resources, including some outstanding videos.
You can visit the human mind page via the following link.
The latest addition to the psychology journal articles collection was inspired by the exploits of the acclaimed psychological illusionist Derren Brown, who created a real stir last week when he "predicted" the outcome of Britain's National Lottery.
See following link for full details, including a video of the "lottery prediction" live.
Derren Brown put forward the "Wisdom of Crowds" as a possible explantion of how he was able to achieve this apparently incredible feat; and in doing so, he drew explicitly on Vox Populi by Francis Galton.
You can read and download this classic article for free via the following link.
You may have already come across the virtual barber shop online e.g. Youtube. If so, you'll know what to expect and already appreciate what an amazing listening experience it is.
If you haven't listened to the virtual barber shop before, your ears are in for a treat, but before you let Luigi loose on your hair, a word or two to explain what it's all about.
The virtual barber shop is an extremely clever audio clip produced by QSound Labs and represents an example of a binaural recording.
What's So Special About A Binaural Recording?
Well, according to Aaron over at the Binaural Airwaves Blog, "...it is the most perceptually realistic recording technique in the world for humans. By capturing sound the way we hear as humans, our brains can most easily understand the subtle complexity of the sound and make sense of it."
How To Listen to the virtual barber shop For Full Effect
1. It's essential you listen through headphones.
2. Turn the volume up.
3. Close your eyes while you listen.
4. Eliminate all other sound (kids, pets, TV etc).
You can listen to the virtual barber shop via the Youtube video below but for maximum effect I'd recommend downloading the audio file and listening to it through your iPod/MP3 player, which you can do via the following link.
Real World Psychology is the latest section to be added to the All About Psychology Website.
What is Real World Psychology?
Real World psychology, is relevant to people's lives, it makes you think, it challenges your assumptions and makes you curious.
Each topic featured on the Real World Psychology will begin a trigger i.e. something that will hopefully elicit a response along the lines of "Well I never", "I didn't see that coming" "Now there's food for thought" etc.
The psychology behind the topic will then be outlined along with resources that can be accessed for anybody who wants to learn more e.g., full text psychology journal articles.
This classic study in selective perception demonstrates how an Ivy League football game was perceived differently by opposing fans, particularly in relation to their opponents "blatantly unsportsmanlike play". This simply designed psychology classic stimulated additional research into concepts such as social cognition and cognitive bias.
You can read and download this classic psychology journal article for free via the following link.
A leading practitioner in the field of positive psychology, Tal Ben-Shahar currently teaches the most popular course at Harvard University. Influenced by the pioneering work of Dr. Martin Seligman, Tal Ben-Shahar states that his goal in teaching positive psychology "is to create a bridge between the Ivory Tower and Main Street, to bring together the rigor of academia and the accessibility of self-help.
You can find out more about this influential expert in positive psychology via the following link.
The psychology of dogmatism is as relevant today as when Dr. Milton Rokeach began his pioneering work into this enduring topic. The ideas contained within this important paper informed the development of the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and stimulated research into the psychology of human belief systems and dogmatism as a personality trait.
You can read and download this classic psychology journal article for free via the following link.
Forming Impressions of Personality by Solomon Asch is a classic study in the psychology of interpersonal perception. The central tenet of this research is that particular information we have about a person, namely the traits we believe they possess, is the most important factor in establishing our overall impression of that person.
Among other things, this classic psychology journal article introduces the concept of central versus peripheral traits and the "halo effect". You can access Forming Impressions of Personality by Solomon Asch via the following link.
I've just launched The Psychology Journal Articles Collection which provides completely free access to classic full text psychology journal articles, including material from the most eminent and influential psychologists of the 20th century.
See following link for full details on this new addition to the website.
The first article in the collection is The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information by George A Miller; which you can access via the following link.
I've had a passionate interest in psychology for over 20 years. I began studying psychology in 1990, and I've been teaching psychology in some capacity or another since 1998.
I have a first class honors degree in psychology and a Masters in Occupational psychology from the University of Sheffield (UK). For a number of years, I was a lecturer in psychology at the University of Huddersfield (UK).
I have built four websites around my teaching and research interests.