5
votes
What is the evolutionary advantage of being embarrassed?
Marks and Nesse investigated evolutionary causes of anxiety disorders and reported about embarrassment in particular:
Social threats evoke responses that promote group acceptance, for
example, ...
5
votes
Efficiency of multitasking depending on task difficulty
First, it is important to disambiguate between concurrent multitasking and sequential multitasking (Salvucci et al, 2009). In a recent publication I present a short overview on related work of both (...
- 3,522
5
votes
Can you practice and improve physical activities only by thinking?
Yes. In one famous experiment,a college basketball team was divided into three groups.
Group 1 was supposed to show up to practice shooting baskets for a week on a daily basis.
Group 2 was asked to "...
- 612
5
votes
Do ADHD drugs harm the brain?
This section from the Wikipedia page on Neuroplasticity indicates (emphasis mine)
Reviews of MRI studies on individuals with ADHD suggest that the
long-term treatment of attention deficit ...
- 300
4
votes
Does masturbation in men negatively affect cognitive processes?
Masturbation in men or women does not negatively affect cognitive processes
As I pointed out in another question in Health.SE, masturbation was a diagnosable psychological condition until DSM II in ...
- 12.3k
4
votes
Why can't we use 100% of the brain in a certain moment?
Neurons are extraordinarily expensive to make, maintain, and use (Laughlin et al, 1998; Stone 2018). Half of a child's energy budget, and a fifth of an adult's budget, is required just to keep the ...
4
votes
Why can't we use 100% of the brain in a certain moment?
Unlike a computer, where the circuitry is information agnostic (it can represent anything digital), neural networks (both biological and artificial) are not. The organization of neurons (their ...
- 19.8k
4
votes
Do ADHD drugs harm the brain?
If one was to take a 30mg dose once a day for 50+ years, would it damage brain function at all?
You ask a very good question, but I'm going to rephrase it for you: Is the chronic administration of ...
- 1,247
4
votes
Accepted
Can you practice and improve physical activities only by thinking?
My general understanding is that thinking about executing the motor tasks in your mind can improve skill. It's not as good as actually practicing the task. I'm not sure exactly how conclusive the ...
- 30.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Why do I always screw up when people are watching?
There are quite a few studies on this, but a nice recent one is this:
Lee, Taraz G., et al. "Limiting motor skill knowledge via incidental training protects against choking under pressure." ...
- 1,399
3
votes
If 10 words are presented at the same time, is it still considered a 'free recall' test?
Memory recall is generally tested with one of three paradigms: serial, cued, and free. In serial recall the subject must recall the items in a specified order (e.g., forward or backwards). In cued ...
- 2,633
3
votes
If 10 words are presented at the same time, is it still considered a 'free recall' test?
Free recall refers to not being given exemplars during the retrieval task. For example, multiple choice would be called recognition here, not recall. The format of the presentation such as ...
- 1,478
3
votes
Accepted
Why do I perform better at rhythm games after a long period of not playing?
Short answer
Long-term memory formation (consolidation) takes weeks, or even years.
Background
Unfortunately my observations haven't been published yet, but an interesting thing I see with listening ...
- 20.7k
3
votes
Accepted
Does distraction cause us to skip to the next step in a motor plan?
Q: Does distraction cause us to skip to the next step in a motor plan?
A: It depends on the processes in progress, characteristics of the subject and characteristics of the signal to produce ...
- 1,069
2
votes
What is the distribution of performance in academic programming subjects?
According to the research of Elizabeth Patitsas, the distribution is not bimodal. She sampled 778 University of British Columbia CS courses, as well as 5 University of Toronto CS courses and found the ...
- 8,853
2
votes
What is the distribution of performance in academic programming subjects?
(This is a bit brief given the complexity of the question. I'll expand later if I can summarize more of the findings.)
Probably the only thing which is certain is the high-failure rate in CS1-level ...
2
votes
Can intense multitasking improve fluid intelligence/working memory?
In my mind the dual-n-back (aka Jaeggi training) is still controversial. A meta-analysis by Jaeggi and co-authors (2015) found in favor of their original paper, but others have gone on record to ...
2
votes
Can lucid dreaming detract from the recuperative effect of REM sleep?
Lucid dreaming is a half-way state between normal REM sleep and wakefulness. Lucid dreaming probably has less of a recuperative effect than normal REM sleep. On the other hand, there is usually less ...
- 235
2
votes
Accepted
How is "being in a flow" explained cognitively?
There is a six-step breakdown of 'the flow' or 'zone' from it's creator Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
Intense and focused concentration on the present moment
Merging of action and awareness
A loss ...
- 883
2
votes
Pygmalion effect and negative expectations
Overall one can't deny the influence of expectations.
After reading more about the matter, I'd say that Pygmalion effect (or Rosenthal effect) only speaks of positive expectations others might have on ...
- 145
2
votes
Accepted
Which of IQ or personality traits best predict job performance?
You can find a recent updated review in Sackett et al (2022). It provides a range of validity estimates from r = .31 to to r = .36 for cognitive ability tests and r = .19 to r = .22 for ...
- 30.8k
2
votes
Is there a technical term for acting as though you have a belief that you do not genuinely hold?
I think you may be thinking of "conformity".
In the well-known Asch conformity experiments, participants were shown stimuli in a group setting. Unbeknownst to them, the rest of the group ...
- 19.8k
1
vote
Pomodoro Technique vs Flow
Comparing the Pomodoro Technique and flow state is like comparing tomatoes and oranges. They are not two different techniques that you choose between. Pomodoro is a productivity / time management ...
- 248
1
vote
Why do I always screw up when people are watching?
I think the answer is pretty easy: stress. As Wikipedia states it,
When people think the demands being placed on them exceed their ability to cope, they then perceive stress.
The player might ...
- 121
1
vote
Efficiency of multitasking depending on task difficulty
The effects of multitasking are apparent even for the most trivial tasks. For example try walking and eating a sandwich at the same time, you will walk slower and more irregular. The multitasking ...
- 2,187
1
vote
Yerkes-Dodson Law and Drugs
I think in this case, you should look at 2 graphs of optimal performance. So one inverted bell curve (Yerkes-Dodson Law)for the stimulant, and another for the 'downer'. So in this case, each has their ...
- 11
1
vote
For an average adult, in general, if one knows they will wake up in the middle of a cycle--is it better to go to bed later?
As your contacts have already pointed out, there is no research on this specific question. But from what I have observed (both in patients with sleep disorders with whom I have been working as well as ...
- 11
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