Archive

Learning styles: Why they don't exist but still persist

It is a common myth that for optimal learning, individual learning styles should be identified and specifically supported. This might include identifying someone as a visual learner and designing the learning environment based on this. Yet, scientific findings clearly show that aligning learning environments with learning styles has no beneficial effects. Why does this myth persist and what can we do about it?

There is a German version of this article available

Nuances of Sexual Consent: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

People keep talking about sexual consent, but what is it? Let’s dive into some recent research and discover that there is more to sexual consent than you might think.

Sexual consent is nuanced. Internal consent feelings and external consent communication vary from person to person and context to context. This article breaks down several recent findings to demonstrate how there is more to sexual consent than people often acknowledge. I complement these findings...

When I Get That Boring Feeling: Sex as Escape from Boredom

Everyone gets bored from time to time. What do you do when you have these everyday feelings of boredom? In some cases, psychologists found that during such bouts, people sometimes watch porn, masturbate, or become preoccupied with thoughts about sex to deal with the adverse nature of boredom. What is less commonly known, however, is that an everyday experience like boredom can also threaten people’s sense of meaning in life. ... / more

Are Victim or Eyewitness Statements Credible? Several Ways to Check Them

In 2014, two teachers and six janitors were accused of child sexual abuse at Indonesia's Jakarta International School (JIS). Three preschool children reported that they had been repeatedly sexually abused by them. The statements of the alleged victims became one of the most important pieces of evidence to convict the suspects. These testimonies were such important evidence because corroborative evidence was absent to support the children's claims of...

How Much Does the Menstrual Cycle Affect Emotional Life?

Around 1.6 billion women of fertile age currently have an ongoing menstrual cycle, and a larger group of women will experience or have already experienced this. Everyone probably knows a fertile woman in some way. Despite this, general knowledge about how the menstrual cycle affects women emotionally is scarce. At the same time, there are beliefs and misconceptions about the menstrual cycle’s effect on women. This article will unravel whether emotional premenstrual symptoms are a biological, psychological or sociocultural phenomenon.... / more

From Derogation to Reclamation: How Does Language Change?

Derogatory labels are offensive words that can be reclaimed by a stigmatized group; however, the process of reclaiming can carry risks.
 

In 2020, Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests took place around the world, reminding us about social inequalities and racism. Through these protests, we became particularly attentive to the language and labels we use. On July 29^th, BBC News aired a news report where the N-word was...

A Primer on Porn and Relationships

The ease of access to pornography via the Internet has sparked a renewed interest in the effects of porn on consumers, with much of the public debate on the topic highlighting potential harms. We see everyone from the media (1), to high-profile academics, to politicians weighing-in on the issue. One accusation that’s frequently levied against porn is that it harms romantic relationships. For example, notable social psychologist, Phillip...

Why a New Popular Press Psychology Book Refrains from Giving Advice

During this pandemic winter, many of us will be away from the people we love most. The absence of the physical presence of loved ones deprives us of hugs, physical touch, and feelings of physical and psychological warmth that no amount of Skype or Zoom ever seems to fully replace.

In his forthcoming book, Heartwarming, one of the authors of this editorial (Rocha IJzerman) explores the science of why this is, a...

How to bring the gezelligheid this pandemic winter into your home

One of the things we will miss possibly the most this pandemic winter in the Northern Hemisphere is gezelligheid [ɣəˈzɛləxɛit]. No real English equivalent of gezelligheid exists; the closest word in the English vernacular - coziness - still doesn’t capture the same feeling of intimacy and belonging. What does communicate a similar sentiment and is more familiar to US ears is the Danish concept hygge [hʊɡə] and the Swedish concept of lagom. ... / more

The Sex Tips You Won’t See In Magazines: Science-backed ways to stay sexually satisfied in long-term relationships

Women should insert jade eggs into their vaginas to increase the chance of orgasm(1).

Don’t believe in sexual soulmates(2).

For a happier life, have sex once a week(3).

Which of these tips are click bait, and which are grounded in empirical research? I am trained in this area of study and sometimes cannot tell the difference! (Okay we...