60-Second Mind artwork

60-Second Mind

338 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 9 years ago - ★★★★ - 215 ratings

Tune in every Saturday for quick commentary on the latest news in behavior and brain research—it'll just take a minute

Science Technology science technology minute brain behavior psychology psychiatry neuroscience scientific american 60-second
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Episodes

America Needs to Study Fractions

June 16, 2012 00:00 - 2 minutes

Recent 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 minutes

New 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 minutes

Performance 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 minutes

Subjects 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Workers 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 minutes

New 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

New 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 minutes

Researchers 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

New 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 minutes

When 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 minutes

Two 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

If 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

Extreme 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Recent 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 minutes

Adults 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 minutes

What 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Researchers 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

Glucose 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

Halloween 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Recent 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Singing 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 minutes

Scientists 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 minutes

A 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

An 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 minutes

Children 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 minutes

Research 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 minutes

The 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 minutes

Panic 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 minutes

Compulsive 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 minutes

Recent 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 minutes

Recent 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 minutes

A 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