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
Inattentional Blindness Can Make You Not Perceive Events
June 11, 2011 14:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that a cop who testified that he ran past a beating without seeing it could be telling the truth. Christie Nicholson reports
Math Learning Disability as Common as Dyslexia
June 04, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesResearch has found that dyscalculia, a learning disability focused around number and math concepts, is as common as dyslexia. Christie Nicholson reports
The Blind Use the Visual Cortex to Process Sound
May 28, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesRecent research has confirmed that in blind subjects who use echolocation to navigate, it is the visual part of the brain that processes the auditory echoes. Christie Nicholson reports
Rude People Can Be Perceived as Powerful
May 22, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesPowerful people often bend the rules, so if someone is a rule-breaker could they be perceived as powerful? Christie Nicholson reports
How to Speak Persuasively
May 14, 2011 17:16 - 2 minutesDiscover how to successfully persuade others with these findings from a recent study on speech. Christie Nicholson reports
Know Thyself
May 07, 2011 16:00 - 2 minutesA recent review paper shows that we might not know ourselves as well as we think. Christie Nicholson reports
First Impressions Can Be Quite Accurate
April 30, 2011 12:00 - 2 minutesA study about the perception of neighborhoods reveals that our gut instinct based on the physical features of the neighborhood is highly accurate. Christie Nicholson reports
Reading the Mind to Restore Speech
April 25, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesBy just thinking about, or saying, certain words, people can control a computer cursor. Christie Nicholson reports
Our Uhs and Ums May Help Children Learn Language
April 17, 2011 13:00 - 2 minutesWe think we should remove any ums and uhs when we talk, especially when teaching children language. New research finds that such pauses may be useful. Christie Nicholson reports
Yawns Are Contagious When You're with Friends
April 10, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesResearch with chimpanzees finds that chimps yawn more around other yawning chimps from their own community than with those from a separate community. Christie Nicholson reports
People with Tourette Syndrome Show Strong Cognitive Control
April 02, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesResearch finds that increased brain activity in key areas is tightly linked to an ability to control the tics caused by Tourette syndrome. Christie Nicholson reports
First Sex Alters Body Image
March 27, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesA recent assessment of undergrads reveals a gender difference in how the students see their bodies after their first sexual intercourse. Christie Nicholson reports
Self-Restraint Leads Us to Prefer Aggression
March 20, 2011 10:00 - 2 minutesResearch shows that when we practice self-restraint, we also tend to prefer aggressive messaging and movies. Christie Nicholson reports
Right-Handers Tend to Prefer the Right Side
March 13, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesRecent research in the journal Psychological Science found that righties tend to prefer the right side of anything (spatially speaking) and lefties the left. Christie Nicholson reports
Perception of Our Physical State When Depressed or Anxious
March 06, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesDepression and anxiety have very different influences on how we perceive physical symptoms. Christie Nicholson reports
Social Context Influences Language
February 27, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesA recent study with teenage male songbirds finds that they can suddenly have a surge of tweeting talent when they are placed in the presence of a female bird. Christie Nicholson reports
Early Attachment May Affect Our Ability to Resolve Conflict in Relationships
February 22, 2011 00:00 - 2 minutesRecent research in the journal Psychological Science reveals that infant attachment styles might influence our ability to recover from fights with our romantic partners. Christie Nicholson reports
Look to Lessen Acute Pain
February 14, 2011 12:47 - 2 minutesVolunteers could endure an uncomfortable stimulus longer when they looked at the affected body part, and even longer if the part appeared enlarged
Cannabis May Influence Onset of Psychosis
February 07, 2011 16:01 - 2 minutesResearch to be published this summer finds that the use of cannabis is associated with the early onset of psychosis. Christie Nicholson reports
Babies Think Large Means Dominant
January 30, 2011 12:00 - 2 minutesRecent research shows that even infants have a bias to think that big means alpha. Christie Nicholson reports
Meditation Correlated with Structural Changes in the Brain
January 22, 2011 11:00 - 2 minutesA study published this week finds that an eight-week meditation course leads to structural changes in the brain. Christie Nicholson reports
Play Up That Ugly Trait
January 16, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesData analysis from the popular online dating site OkCupid finds that the women who get the most attention from men are rated by many men as unattractive. Christie Nicholson reports
The Popularity of Predictive Medical Testing
January 08, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesA recent survey performed by the Tufts Medical Center finds that many would take a predictive test for prostate cancer. Christie Nicholson reports
What It Means to Forgive
January 01, 2011 09:00 - 2 minutesThis New Year's as we reflect on our experiences with friends and family we might think about forgiveness, both given and received. Philosopher Charles Griswold provides some guidance. Christie Nicholson reports
The Strongest Predictor for Low Stress
December 25, 2010 11:00 - 2 minutesResearch from wild baboons provides insight into perhaps the best way to combat daily, psychological stress. During this holiday season it might bring some comfort. Christie Nicholson reports
More Money Doesn't Mean More Happiness
December 19, 2010 00:00 - 2 minutesRichard Easterlin wrote a paper back in the 1970s showing that increased income doesn't correlate with increased happiness. Last week he published an update on that paper. Christie Nicholson reports
What Makes an Honest Smile Honest?
December 11, 2010 18:00 - 2 minutesWhat is the telltale clue to a genuine smile? Recent research finds positive correlations with this honest show of emotion. Christie Nicholson reports
Visual Illusions Depend On Visual Cortex Size
December 05, 2010 15:00 - 2 minutesResearch released today in Nature Neuroscience finds that we are are more likely to be tricked by a visual illusion if we have a smaller amount of brain real estate devoted to visual processing. Christie Nicholson reports
Brain Imaging Studies Show Different Cultures Have Different Brains
November 27, 2010 16:00 - 2 minutesThe emerging field of cultural neuroscience reveals fascinating differences in brain function between cultures and environments. Christie Nicholson reports
Fear-Based Messaging May Influence Skepticism of Global Warming
November 20, 2010 15:00 - 2 minutesA study proposes that fear-based messaging about an issue like global warming may encourage the audience to dismiss it. Christie Nicholson reports
Who Teens Blame for Bullying
November 13, 2010 13:00 - 2 minutesA recent Swedish study finds that teenagers put most of the blame for bullying behavior on the bully or the victim, and not on their peers or the school environment. Christie Nicholson reports
Male Names Are Still Mentioned First
November 06, 2010 11:00 - 2 minutesA recent study finds that despite our efforts for parity between the sexes, male names still come first when referring to a couple. Christie Nicholson reports
Beware of Brain Differences in the Sexes
October 30, 2010 00:00 - 2 minutesA recent review advises us to beware of the gender differences found in brain-imaging studies. Christie Nicholson reports
Generosity Might Keep Us Healthy
October 23, 2010 18:00 - 2 minutesPsychologist Liz Dunn spoke with us from the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine, about the link between greed and long-term health. Christie Nicholson reports
Adversity Is Linked to Life Satisfaction
October 16, 2010 12:00 - 2 minutesA certain amount of negative life events is correlated with an overall sense of life satisfaction and happiness. Christie Nicholson reports
Thinking about Time or Money Impacts How We Spend Our Days
October 09, 2010 12:00 - 2 minutesPriming our mind with thoughts of time or money influences our future behavior. Christie Nicholson reports
Tennis Players' Grunts May Slow Opponents' Reactions
October 02, 2010 11:00 - 2 minutesA recent study shows the negative impact that noise can have when one is attempting to predict where a tennis ball will land. Christie Nicholson reports
Women Apologize More Frequently Than Men Do
September 25, 2010 15:00 - 2 minutesResearch confirms that women tend to apologize much more frequently than men do, but there's a curious twist as to why this is the case. Christie Nicholson reports
We Only Trust Experts If They Agree with Us
September 18, 2010 10:00 - 2 minutesWe only consider scientists to be experts when their argument is in line with our own previously held beliefs. Christie Nicholson reports
Mind-Reading Tools Go Commercial
September 12, 2010 09:00 - 3 minutesThe tools used by the commercial industry to detect our thoughts and brain states are very different, and somewhat limited, compared with those used in the research lab. Christie Nicholson reports
It's Very Tough to Tell Just How Drunk Someone Is
September 04, 2010 13:00 - 3 minutesA recent review of studies on intoxication has determined that we are very bad at determining just how drunk someone is. Christie Nicholson reports
Generation X Loyaler to Religion Than Previous Generation
August 28, 2010 09:00 - 2 minutesA recent survey analysis reveals that gen-Xers are more likely than baby boomers to remain loyal to religion. Christie Nicholson reports
Poor Linguistic Ability May Indicate Risk of Alzheimer's
August 22, 2010 09:00 - 2 minutesA series of longitudinal studies done with nuns out of the University of Kentucky shows a significant relationship between linguistic ability early in life and the development of Alzheimer's later in life. Christie Nicholson reports
Your Opinion of Climate Change Depends on Your Social Psychology
August 14, 2010 09:00 - 3 minutesIn a public lecture at the Banff Center for the Arts, science journalist Jay Ingram argues that climate change controversies have little to do with facts and findings. Christie Nicholson reports
Psychology Studies Biased toward Western Undergrads
August 07, 2010 10:15 - 3 minutesA recent and exhaustive meta-analysis of scientific data shows that top psychology studies tend to make conclusions about human nature based on samples taken solely from Western undergraduate students. Christie Nicholson reports
Busting the Myth That Opposites Attract
July 31, 2010 12:00 - 2 minutesWhen it comes to love, we're ambivalent about "opposites attract". Christie Nicholson reports
The Impact of Rude Behavior on a Business
July 24, 2010 10:00 - 2 minutesNew research shows that rudeness between employees can have a far worse impact on a business than rudeness directed toward customers, or even employee incompetence. Christie Nicholson reports
Large-Brained Mammals Live Longer
July 18, 2010 10:00 - 2 minutesA new study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology finds that mammals with larger brains tend to have longer life spans. Christie Nicholson reports
Bully or Victim? More Similar Than We Might Think
July 10, 2010 09:00 - 2 minutesA new analysis reveals that bullies and victims share more similarities than we might think, with one stand-out difference. Christie Nicholson reports
The Connection Between Multiple Sclerosis and Depression
July 03, 2010 09:00 - 2 minutesResearch in the journal Biological Psychiatry finds a potential physiological connection between multiple sclerosis and depression. Christie Nicholson reports