Cognition

According to Gardner’s theory, there are eight different intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Each of these intelligences represents a unique way of processing information and solving problems. While conventional views of human intelligence focus on an individual’s intellectual potential, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests that intelligence is more than …

Forgetting is a memory problem that plagues us all. Little wonder then why researchers have devoted so much time and energy to understanding why we forget and the cognitive process behind memory failures. Researchers have explored a number of different theories and explanations for why people forget things. Sometimes the information is never properly stored …

For each and every thing you do during any given day, you can guarantee that memory plays a role. This is why memory problems can be so troublesome. After all, who would you be without your unique memories of events, people, and experiences? The fact is that memory plays such a pervasive and pivotal role …

Trying to learn something new? Have a big exam tomorrow? New research suggests that sleep plays a pivotal role in your brain’s ability to learn new information. So the next time you have a test, try studying first before getting a good night’s sleep instead of staying up all night cramming. Because sleep improves learning, …

We all know that regular exercise is good for your body, but there is a growing body of evidence that physical activity is also good for your brain. In recent years, a number of studies with both animal and human participants have demonstrated that exercise improves the ability to remember and learn. But does exercise …

The bias blind spot is a cognitive bias that involves not being able to recognize your own biases. You probably realize that there are subtle cognitive biases that influence your perceptions and decisions. Yet, if you are like most people, you also tend to notice those biases more in other people than in yourself. This …

All of us make bad decisions from time to time. The judgments and choices you make each day, no matter how big or how small, are all influenced by a wide variety of biases, prejudices, emotions, errors, mental short-cuts, and oversimplifications. With so many factors, it is important to learn how to make better decisions. …

Intrinsic motivation involves a driving force behind behavior that emerges from within rather than as a result of external reward. In other words, it is a type of motivation that involves doing things because you find them naturally satisfying, or doing things for their own sake because you find them enjoyable. Intrinsic motivation is usually contrasted …

A mindset is a set of beliefs about yourself that shape how you interpret and interact with the world around you. These belief systems not only impact your behavior, they also influence your ability to reach your goals. These results support the previous findings of psychologist Carol Dweck. Dweck’s work suggests that praising children for …

Cognitive psychology is the area of psychology that focuses on internal mental processes. Such processes include thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, language, attention, and memory. This field is often considered part of the larger field of cognitive science. This branch of psychology is also related to several other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. The core focus …

IQ has been a hot topic in psychology, with experts debating everything from how intelligence should be measured to the very nature of intelligence itself. The question of whether or not you can increase your IQ has also become a major point of interest. Despite the various conversations and controversies, IQ tests have become one …

Psychology research often yields surprising insights into how the mind works. Why is it that people do the things they do? This question has fascinated people for thousands of years. Thanks to modern psychology research, scientists have gained a great deal of insight into how people think and the way that they behave. In some …

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory of human motivation suggesting that behaviors are driven by increasingly complex needs. The hierarchy is usually depicted as a pyramid. The most basic needs make up the base, and complex needs are found at the peak. The five levels of the hierarchy of needs are: The purpose of …

The projection bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves overestimating the degree to which other people agree with us. People tend to assume that others think, feel, believe, and behave much like they do. They assume that their way of thinking about something or doing things is typical, and therefore other normal people …

The serial position effect refers to the tendency to be able to better recall the first and last items on a list than the middle items. Psychology Hermann Ebbinghaus noted during his research that his ability to remember the items on a list depended on the position of the item on the list. How It …