23
votes
Accepted
Is it true that acting can affect one's behavior?
This is true. Mot et al. (1994) published scientific research about it. Also there are a lot of actors that claim they feel that their personality has changed since they played a role.
Also a ...
- 451
20
votes
Accepted
Why did Karl Popper criticize Freud's theories?
I will go about this by answering two questions. First, what is Popper's general approach when attempting to distinguish science from pseudo-science? Second, what specifically did he dislike about ...
- 2,414
16
votes
Accepted
Why don't people listen to smart people?
David Dunning and Justin Kruger have observed that, related to skill competency, individuals which are incompetent in a certain skill can exhibit a cognitive bias, called the Dunning-Kruger effect, ...
- 276
14
votes
Is post-traumatic stress disorder preventable?
Beta blockers (β1-Blockers) lower norepinephrine release (Berg, 2014), however it seems that the jury is still out on whether there is an effective and ethical way to prevent Post-Traumatic Stress ...
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12
votes
Accepted
Is there a mental condition that makes people unconditionally gullible?
Some neurodegenerative diseases cause extreme gullibility, in particular Alzheimer
Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the scientists were able to determine which parts of the brain govern a ...
- 10.2k
11
votes
Is there a mental condition that makes people unconditionally gullible?
Worldbuilding may have beaten you to this: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/99881/15591
Williams Syndrome is not, strictly-speaking a purely mental condition. It is "caused by a genetic ...
- 211
11
votes
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Is Jordan Peterson correct when he states that "as societies become more egalitarian, personality differences across genders maximize"?
Searching the first three pages of "personality gender egalitarianism" on Google Scholar, I found five studies on this topic. All of them support the view finding of increased gender ...
- 368
10
votes
Accepted
Is there any good evidence that sadness causes chest pain ("heart ache")?
There is a fairly recently recognized medical condition called stress-induced cardiomyopathy, associated with chest pain and physical damage to the left ventricle:
Because this weakening can be ...
- 19.4k
9
votes
Why don't people listen to smart people?
I would add that there's a series of recent studies of what the authors called the 'equality bias'. I don't think they provide a mechanism, jut point to a rather suboptimal way of social decision ...
- 441
8
votes
Accepted
What does "dimensionality of power distance" mean?
Hofstede has developed a cultural dimensions theory to compare countries, which uses factor analysis to assign values across 6 dimensions of culture.
These dimensions are:
Power Distance Index
...
- 169
8
votes
What is the motivation model behind StackExchange?
The short answer is that anyone who gives you a short answer should be treated with suspicion. ;-p
The StackExchange was founded in 2008, and has seen a lot of changes since that time. That has ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Body Language: Why do we give each other the grumpy/frowning fake smile?
Since this (excellent) question has been around for a while without any answer, I thought I'd give my two cents.
I think we do this as a gesture of respect to the other person. We may fear that if ...
- 302
7
votes
What are the effects of hebephilia on victims?
I thought I would edit to add a bit of information. First of all for those who don't know, (I didn't until I looked it up when I saw this question for the first time), the term hebephilia has been ...
- 12.1k
7
votes
On what basis do professionals who recognize gender dysphoria support risky and permanent medical intervention for those seeking gender re-assignment?
TL;DR: Multiple approaches have been tried over many years. Current medical evidence strongly supports an "affirming approach" to alleviate gender dysphoria. "Corrective approaches" are considered ...
7
votes
Accepted
Emotional energy exchange between bodies?
I would not consider David Hawkins to be a credible source. His PhD was from a degree mill that was shut down by court order. He has been flagged by the Cult Education Institute and Quackwatch.
...
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7
votes
Does denying climate change work similar to believing the earth is flat?
There is serious work on this, despite it being a political minefield. You're probably looking for Lewandowsky, et al. (2015).
If you want to get some distance from the issues of the day (and ...
- 1,379
7
votes
Is there a neutral term for people who tend to avoid face-to-face or video/audio communication?
I agree with @AlwaysConfused that this sounds very like someone with Asperger's.
However, if you want a more "neutral" term, would Introvert help?
Such a person - an ...
- 171
6
votes
What are the meanings of the word 'gender'?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics the following is stated:
Sex is a biological construct, what is real:
Attributes that characterize biological maleness and femaleness including:
...
- 251
6
votes
What is the psychological term for disregarding correct but unwanted information?
The term I would use is "cognitive dissonance." That is, there is "dissonance" between the result of one's cognitive processes, and the actual truth. According to psychologist Leon Festinger, people ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Is the brain inherently social?
The "social brain" concept likely originated with Robin Dunbar's Social Brain Hypothesis, proposed in 1998. However, Dunbar was not suggesting that the brain has dedicated "social modules". Rather, ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Denial of evidence and reason
Confirmation bias:
Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is
the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information
in a way that confirms one's beliefs ...
- 19.4k
6
votes
Do ALL decisions arouse cognitive dissonance?
Short answer: This is mostly a question about statistical significance.
Cognitive dissonance theory encompasses several different research paradigms. I believe this question is about the "free-...
- 19.4k
6
votes
Accepted
How do you call a study in which subjects were deceived about the real purpose?
The relevant section 8.03 in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct does not employ a proper term. In the literature, »deception/deceptive study/experiment/method(s)« are ...
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6
votes
Accepted
Why are people insecure?
Short answer
Hypothesis (1)
Background
The question is quite broad, as exemplified by the statement: They may be insecure about their looks, their (odd) behavior, or may question whether they belong ...
- 20.5k
6
votes
Accepted
What is the effect called whereby people don't offer help when in a crowd because they assume someone else will help?
It's called the bystander effect:
The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological
phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any
means of help to a ...
- 19.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there research to prove that humans achieve more when challenging ourselves or when we challenge others?
Generally, being observed raises performance on simple tasks and can hinder performance on complex tasks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_facilitation
For trivia, notice that the experiment ...
- 1,498
6
votes
Accepted
People who climb the social hierarchy
I think you want the term Life Course Social Mobility. Try searching for it and the outcomes of interest, e.g., life expectancy:
Climbing the social mobility ladder: where does health fit in? on "The ...
- 1,498
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