perception

Eliminating Visual Clutter Helps People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
10/01/2012 - 10:23

A new study from Georgia Tech and the University of Toronto suggests that memory impairments for people diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease may be due, in part, to problems in determining the differences between similar objects. The findings also support growing research indicating that a part of the brain once believed to support memory exclusively – the medial temporal lobe - also plays a role in object perception. The results are published in the October edition of Hippocampus.

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Facebook Profile Pictures Influence Perceived Attractiveness
09/12/2012 - 12:30

Around the world, more than 850 million people use Facebook regularly to communicate. More and more employers also are using Facebook as a way to examine potential employees before making hires. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that comments left by users on Facebook profile pictures strongly affect the level of perceived attractiveness of the profile owner physically, socially, and professionally.

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Infants Can’t Distinguish Between Large and Small Groups, MU Researcher Finds
06/19/2012 - 13:31

Human brains process large and small numbers of objects using two different mechanisms, but infants have not yet developed the ability to make those two processes work together, according to new research from the University of Missouri.

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Study Finds Ovulating Women Perceive Sexy Cads as Good Dads
05/14/2012 - 12:53

Nice guys do finish last at least when it comes to procreation according to a study from The University of Texas at San Antonio that answers the question of why women choose bad boys. Research from Kristina Durante, assistant professor of marketing at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Business, finds that hormones associated with ovulation influence women's perceptions of men as potential fathers.

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Golfers can improve their putt with a different look
04/03/2012 - 10:23

Golfers looking to improve their putting may find an advantage in visualizing the hole as bigger, according to a new study from Purdue University. "People in our study made more successful putts in a smaller hole when a visual illusion helped them perceive it as larger," said Jessica K. Witt, an assistant professor of psychological science who studies perception in sports. "We know that how people perceive the environment affects their ability to act in it, such as scoring as basket or hitting a baseball, and now we know that seeing a target as larger leads to improved performance.

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Perceptions of Discrimination May Adversely Affect Health of Immigrants’ Children, Study Shows
03/10/2012 - 11:27

Children of recent immigrants are more likely to make sick visits to the doctor if their mothers see themselves as targets of ethnic or language-based discrimination, researchers at New York University report in a new study. Their research, which appears in the journal Health Psychology, provides new evidence that perceptions of discrimination by a mother could have a negative effect on the health of her child within the first 14 months of her child’s life.

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