Psychobabble

Boosting Self Esteem

2011-08-23T10:14:00.001+01:00

Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to summarise a person's evaluation of their own worth. Self-esteem includes beliefs, attitudes and emotions. The self-concept is what we think about our self. Your self esteem is influenced by many things. Our outlook and attitude on life in general plays a huge part in how happy we are in life and how successful we become. Someone who thinks positively

Does Brain Training Work?

2011-06-19T21:11:00.000+01:00

Have you ever played any brain training games? If so, you may agree that most people do seem to improve the more often they play the games. This, however, holds true for any activities that we undertake regularly - the old adage that 'practice makes perfect'. The important point with respect to brain training is that in order for the claims to boost memory and intelligence to be validated,

Multiple Personalities

2011-05-27T10:05:00.000+01:00

The terms multiple personalities and split personality are often used to describe people whose behaviour can be unpredictable or changeable. The most commonly used example may be of a 'Jekyll and Hyde' type character. But what does it mean to have a ‘split personality’ or ‘multiple personalities’? Well, it’s probably fair to say that when these terms are used to describe people they’re usually

Fight or Flight (or Freeze!)

2011-05-01T09:39:00.003+01:00

You've probably heard the expression 'fight or flight' at some time or another - it's probably one of the most commonly used psychobabble terms around today. But what does it really mean? Fight or flight response is common to most complex animals. It serves a vital survival function - allowing the animal (or person) to react against threats in a way that will keep them safe. Basically it is a

What is my memory and how can I boost it?

2011-04-10T08:17:00.001+01:00

Do you ever struggle to remember things? For for a test? Your shopping list? The ability to make memories, store them and then recall them whenever you need to allows people to learn and take part in the world around them. Human memory is a major field within cognitive psychology. It seeks to answer questions such as 'What is memory?' and 'How do people create memories?' Popular topics

Psychobabble Podcasts

2011-04-02T12:46:00.000+01:00

Just found a really interesting podcast that explores the everyday world of Experimental Psychology - check it out here! Take a listen to the episodes on 'First Impressions' and 'Priming and Mind Control'. Enjoy!

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology

2009-11-22T19:27:00.005Z

* Criminal profiling is helpful in solving cases. In most studies, professional profilers barely do better than untrained persons. Most of what they say can be inferred from “base rate information” about criminals: guessing that a serial killer is a white male will be right more than 2/3 of the time just based on statistics.* A large proportion of criminals successfully use the insanity defense.

Subliminal Messages....Mind Control!

2009-11-22T18:49:00.002Z

A popular theory in the world of psychobabble is that television adverts that use subliminal messages will make you buy things you don’t want. This false assumption comes from a study by Vicary in the 1950s. Vicary added frames that flashed the phrases "buy coke", and "buy popcorn", into cinema films and found that coke and popcorn sales increased by a significant amount. This caused mass-panic

Which brain do I use?

2009-10-20T20:28:00.006+01:00

Left-brain/Right-brain. You've probably heard the term before. It refers to the theory that says different sides of your brain control different aspects of you!For example, if you are 'left-brained' you are more logical, analytical and objective. If you are 'right-brained' you're intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective. The psychological term for this kind of split is 'hemispheric dominance' -

The unproven hype of Brain Training!

2009-09-07T19:39:00.005+01:00

The BBC has just launched the biggest ever scientific experiment into Brain Training! Click here to get involved yourself.They're trying to uncover the truth behind claims that brain training can improve your memory or intelligence. The software market continues to grow rapidly, so the findings of this study will be very interesting.Get involved, train your brain in the name of science here.

Fun Personality Tests

2009-08-27T12:52:00.005+01:00

Just for fun!Some pesonality tests......find out what you're really like!The Big FiveWhat Am I Like? The Personality TestDo You See What I See?Spot The Fake SmileThe Jedi Test - How Jedi Are You?

Psychobabble Definition

2009-08-27T11:55:00.002+01:00

Psychobabble: talk or writing that employs the language and concepts of psychology and psychiatry in a trite, superficial, or confusing way. It descrbies the use of popular buzzwords, taken out of their original context or meaning, but still with a psychological tinge! When phrases become overused, misused, and jagonised they become psychobabble. And in the process they become part of our

What is Psychology?

2009-08-27T11:39:00.006+01:00

Psychology is the study of the human mind. As psychologists are not able to actually see somebody thinking, or observe their emotions, dreams, or perceptions directly, we use human behaviour as our marker – something we can observe – and use this to draw conclusions and form hypotheses about all of those other things. So psychologists study the complex relationships between mind, brain, and body.