Category Archives: Psychology

Nudging the public into censorship: The effect of default opt-in on decision making

This post originally appeared on ORGzine for the Open Rights Group. Last year the Government decided that it wanted Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to “actively encourage parents…to switch on parental controls”. Two weeks ago the Department for Department for Culture, … Continue reading

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I believe in CBT and my research shows it works! Therapy allegiance in psychotherapy research

Looking to find a psychologist to help you with your problems? Within the world of psychology, there are many flavours of talking therapy, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Although there are many similarities between different psychotherapies (e.g. … Continue reading

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Have connectionist models killed off beliefs?

Image from Arenamontanus (CC BY-NC 2.0) Guest post by Joe Gladstone ( jjg39@cam.ac.uk ), PhD Candidate – Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University Connectionist models are widely held to have had a revolutionary impact upon cognitive science (Marcus, 2001). However, they are also … Continue reading

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Can research on meditation help bridge the gap between phenomenological and neuroscientific approaches to consciousness?

Although consciousness continually resists a clear definition, there are roughly two principal approaches that populate contemporary western thought: the phenomenological and neuroscientific accounts of consciousness. Both offer a compelling perspective on the nature and function of consciousness, but before delving … Continue reading

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Cyberchondria: Online health information and health anxiety

Wondering what that rash on your arm is? If the cough you’ve had for a few days warrants making an appointment to see your doctor/physician? If you’ve ever used the internet to answer these sort of questions then you’re in … Continue reading

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The merits and shortcomings of positive psychology

Positive Psychology is a movement founded by Martin Seligman which aims to “increase the tonnage of happiness on the planet” by measuring, classifying, and increasing positive emotion and positive traits. It explicitly positions itself as the anti-DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical … Continue reading

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Computational Modelling of Reading and Dyslexia – Symbolic vs. Connectionist Approaches

  Reading is a new skill in terms of evolutionary history, and it is therefore unlikely that sufficient time has passed for any adaptive benefits to become coded in the human genotype. Reading therefore represents a novel skill to be … Continue reading

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Chronic Pain: What psychosocial interventions work?

Chronic Diseases and Illnesses Chronic diseases are highly prevalent in communities worldwide, affecting roughly 30% (Dobbie & Mellor, 2008; Stanton, Revenson, & Tennen, 2007) of a given population. They are the largest cause of death (Yach, Hawkes, Gould & Hofman, … Continue reading

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