magazine issue 5 2018 / Issue 37

White lies and black lies: What they have in common and how they differ

• written by Janina Steinmetz & Ann-Christin Posten
• edited by Emir Efendic

Black lies, or telling a lie to gain a personal benefit, are universally condemned. In contrast, white lies, or telling a lie to please another person, are seen as an innocent part of everyday interactions. Does that mean that white lies have no negative consequences? We discuss the origins and consequences of black lies and white lies, and point out the potentially ugly side of white lies.     

Origins of Common Fears: A Review

• written by Arash Emamzadeh
• edited by Mitch Brown

Whether you cower while looking down from great heights or fear looking up to the stormy skies, whether you fear the bite of a fat venomous snake or fear the bite-sized fattening snacks, your fears must have had an origin, they must have come from somewhere. But where? Join me as I lead a tour of our collective psyches to discover the origins of our common fears in the major psychological theories of the last century. 

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Remembering what never occurred? Children’s false memories for repeated experiences

• written by Bruna Calado, Henry Otgaar, Timothy J. Luke & Sara Landström
• edited by Lucas Keefer

“Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us.”

“Yes, but it usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn't possibly have happened.”

─ Miss Prism and Cecily conversing about Cecily’s diary in Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, from 1895.

In 2016 a thirteen-year-old girl identified as Autumn approached the police in Keighley, England, with a...