Some psychologists say that people see more in the color red than just the color. This study follows in the tradition of seeing things this way: “Extending Color Psychology to the Personality Realm: Interpersonal Hostility Varies by Red Preferences and Perceptual Biases,” Adam K. Fetterman [pictured here], Tianwei Liu, Michael D. Robinson, Journal of Personality, […]
3 Unexpected By-Products of (both real and fake) Luwak Coffee
The cost and caché of “the world’s most expensive coffee” — kopi luwak — has created at least three related industries. BACKGROUND: Long-time readers might recall that Kopi Luwak is made from coffee beans that have been partially digested by the Asian Palm-Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus); an animal that cherry picks only certain fruits (some say, […]
Dour President Calvin Coolidge and the sex life of a rat
Richard Stephens, who is both a psychology professor at Keele University and an Ig Nobel Peace Prize winner (for his study “Swearing as a Response to Pain,”), explains the famous Coolidge Effect. Stephens writes, in his blog: The Coolidge Effect and the sex life of a rat John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was the 30th United States president, […]
‘Shoe-smell’ to control epilepsy – myth or reality?
Dr. Harinder Jaseja, who is Associate Professor of Physiology at the Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior, India, has undertaken one of the very few studies investigating the efficacy (or otherwise) of ‘shoe smell’ to control epileptic attacks. Out of a group of 32 epilepsy sufferers, 3 were given the opportunity to use the smelling shoe-smell […]