60-Second Mind
338 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 9 years ago - ★★★★ - 215 ratingsTune in every Saturday for quick commentary on the latest news in behavior and brain research—it'll just take a minute
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Episodes
America Needs to Study Fractions
June 16, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesRecent research finds that a solid grade school knowledge of fractions and long-form division accurately predicts later success in high school math. Christie Nicholson reports
Testosterone Promotes Aggression Automatically
June 09, 2012 10:00 - 2 minutesNew research suggests that testosterone may make us more aggressive without us consciously feeling any aggression. Christie Nicholson reports
Different Sports Require Different Motivation
June 03, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesPerformance in different kinds of sports benefits from specific types of motivational "self-talk." Christie Nicholson reports
Watching Shot Can Boost Pain
May 26, 2012 05:00 - 2 minutesSubjects who watched a hand being pricked by a needle while they received a gentle electric shock felt more pain than others who watched gentler material. Rose Eveleth reports
Meat-Eating Is Viewed as More of a Man's Game
May 21, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesA recent study finds that we tend to view meat consumption as being more masculine than vegetarianism. Christie Nicholson reports
When Pro-Vaccine Messaging Backfires
May 13, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesA recent study shows that strong pro-vaccine messaging might have an unintended impact. Christie Nicholson reports
Shut Off E-Mail to Ease Work Stress
May 07, 2012 17:34 - 2 minutesWorkers who turned off their e-mail had lower stress and did less multitasking compared with co-workers who left their in-boxes open. Sophie Bushwick reports
Keeping Secrets Weighs You Down, Literally
April 29, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesNew research finds that keeping a secret can make you feel as if you are physically burdened. Christie Nicholson reports
If We Feel Too Busy, It's Probably Due to Having Too Much Free Time
April 22, 2012 10:00 - 2 minutesA forthcoming study finds that keeping busy with selfless tasks greatly expands our perception of how much time we have. Christie Nicholson reports
Men Who Hold a Gun Appear Taller and Stronger
April 14, 2012 14:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that men are perceived to be strong and large if they are carrying a deadly weapon. Christie Nicholson reports
We Tend to Underestimate How Much We Weigh
April 08, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesNew research has found significant discrepancies between how much people think they weigh and how much they actually weigh. Christie Nicholson reports
Ability to Learn Is Affected by the Timing of Sleep
March 24, 2012 12:00 - 2 minutesResearchers find that how soon we sleep after learning new information impacts how well we retain it. Christie Nicholson reports
Mind Wandering Is Linked to Your Working Memory
March 17, 2012 12:00 - 2 minutesA new study has found a strong correlation between how much your mind wanders and your working memory capacity. Christie Nicholson reports
How to Gain Self-Control
March 10, 2012 16:00 - 2 minutesNew research finds a relatively simple method to increase your capacity for self-control. Christie Nicholson reports
Hunger Affects What We See
March 04, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesWhen our body needs something, like food, the brain tends to open a fast track for perceiving that specific thing. Christie Nicholson reports
Dehydration Affects Women's Moods
February 25, 2012 18:00 - 2 minutesTwo recent studies find that dehydration not only affects your body but your mood as well. Christie Nicholson reports
Why Online Dating Doesn't Work
February 18, 2012 11:00 - 2 minutesA team of psychologists reviewed online dating sites and their conclusions are not promising. Christie Nicholson reports
If Time Is Money, Then Free Time Is Frustrating
February 11, 2012 10:00 - 2 minutesIf we think of time as money, we might be undermining our ability to enjoy free time. Christie Nicholson reports
More Than One Blow for a Concussion in Football
February 04, 2012 22:00 - 2 minutesA recent study shows that it's multiple blows to the head that lead to a concussion in football. Christie Nicholson reports
How the Itch Informs the Scratch
January 28, 2012 16:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that where the itch begins says a lot about how bad it is--and how pleasurable the scratch. Christie Nicholson reports
Lack of Sleep Might Make You Feel Hungrier
January 22, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutesExtreme lack of sleep might make one more susceptible to food imagery, making us feel hungrier than we actually are. Christie Nicholson reports
Men Spend the Big Bucks When Women Are Scarce
January 14, 2012 11:00 - 2 minutesA recent study finds that when men perceive that there are few women, they'll spend more money. Christie Nicholson reports
Cognitive Decline Sets in around Age 45
January 08, 2012 10:00 - 2 minutesA new study finds that the inevitable cognitive decline we all face starts earlier than we originally thought. Christie Nicholson reports
The Elderly React Slowly Because They Want to Be Right
December 31, 2011 12:00 - 2 minutesRecent studies have found that the elderly may respond more slowly to specific tasks, but not because their cognitive skills are slower. Christie Nicholson reports
Toddlers Don't Monitor Their Own Speech
December 24, 2011 11:00 - 2 minutesAdults and children hear their own voice and use it as feedback to monitor their speech, but it seems that young toddlers do not. Christie Nicholson reports
A Quirk of Speech May Become a New Vocal Style
December 17, 2011 12:00 - 2 minutesWhat used to be thought of as a symptom of a speech disorder might now be a hot trend in vocal style among rock stars and young women. Christie Nicholson reports
Individuals Are Removed from Blame When in Groups
December 11, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesA recent study has found that we do not tend to hold individual members of a group responsible for their individual actions. Christie Nicholson reports
Killing 1 Person to Save 5
December 03, 2011 14:00 - 2 minutesResearchers test a famous ethical dilemma called the "trolley problem" in a very real setting. Christie Nicholson reports
Dreams Help Soothe Your Bad Memories
November 28, 2011 18:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that dreams may help consolidate and soothe troubled memories and experiences. Christie Nicholson reports
Protein Might Ward Off Afternoon Snooze
November 19, 2011 11:39 - 2 minutesGlucose can block brain cell secretion of orexin, which keeps us alert. But amino acids can stop that block. Christie Nicholson reports
How We View Half-Naked Men and Women
November 13, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that scantily-clad women and men are judged in similar ways. Christie Nicholson reports
Brains Built to Cooperate
November 06, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds support for the theory that brains excel when we cooperate. At least in duet-singing wrens. Christie Nicholson reports
Be Afraid, but Not Too Afraid
October 31, 2011 11:00 - 2 minutesHalloween reminds us that we love to be scared. But too much of anything is not good. Christie Nicholson reports
Are Men Funnier Than Women?
October 24, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesA new study finds that the humor gap between the sexes is more stereotype than reality. Christie Nicholson reports
Body Language Improves Our Communication
October 19, 2011 16:00 - 2 minutesRecent research finds that body language significantly improves how well we are understood by our audience. Christie Nicholson reports
Young Children Think Differently about Ownership
October 09, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesResearch shows that young children tend to think that naturally occurring objects like pinecones or rocks cannot be owned. Christie Nicholson reports
Clothing Reveals Racial Stereotypes
October 01, 2011 11:00 - 2 minutesA study in the journal Public Library of Science ONE finds that many judge race based on types of clothing. Christie Nicholson reports
Speech Disorders May Be Helped Using Rhythm and Familiar Words
September 29, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesSinging therapy is often used to restore fluency to sufferers of speech disorders due to stroke. Recent research found, however, it may not be the singing itself that helps. Christie Nicholson reports
Scientists Find a New Way to Measure Pain
September 20, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesScientists have been searching for an accurate way to measure pain beyond a patient's self-report, but to no avail. A recent study might have found one possible solution. Christie Nicholson reports
Musicians Maintain Hearing Better
September 13, 2011 20:14 - 2 minutesA hearing study of experienced musicians found they had a better chance than non-musicians of avoiding the hearing loss associated with aging. Christie Nicholson reports
Overeating Depends on Context
September 03, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesResearch has found that ritual and context influences us to eat too much with no regard for quality. Christie Nicholson reports
Global Survey Links Religion and Happiness
September 01, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesAn analysis of the Gallop World Poll finds that there is an association with religion and increased happiness, but only in societies that lack adequate social support. Christie Nicholson reports
Ability for Mathematics May Be Inborn
August 21, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesChildren who have a good sense of numbers also tend to have a talent for arithmetic, even before formal training. Christie Nicholson reports
Spoiling the Ending Makes for a Better Story
August 14, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesResearch has found that giving away the best part of a story at the beginning actually makes it more enjoyable. Christie Nicholson reports
More Football Players Found to Suffer from Degenerative Disease
August 07, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesThe Canadian Sports Concussion Project announced the results from brain autopsies of four CFL football players. Two of the players suffered from the degenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Christie Nicholson reports
Panic Attack Sufferers Are Unaware of Symptoms
July 30, 2011 11:00 - 2 minutesPanic attacks seem to come out of nowhere, but research finds symptoms appear up to one hour before the sufferer is aware of the attack. Christie Nicholson reports
Compulsive Gamblers Combine Impulsiveness with Irrationality
July 17, 2011 13:33 - 2 minutesCompulsive gamblers seeking treatment were more impulsive and more likely to be superstitious than were non-gamblers. Steve Mirsky reports
Hot Baths May Cure Loneliness
July 02, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesRecent research finds that taking a hot bath can cure loneliness. Christie Nicholson reports
Paying in Cash Keeps Us Healthy
June 25, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesRecent research finds that our vices can be held back when we use cash instead of credit cards at the grocery store. Christie Nicholson reports
Small Study: Young Gang Members Want Dogs Mostly for Companionship
June 18, 2011 04:00 - 2 minutesA study of 25 young gang and group members in South Wales found that they wanted dogs less as weapons or protection and mostly for companionship and socialization. Steve Mirsky reports