M & M Experiment

In a well-known experiment (Gopnik and Astington, 1998), children aged three to six were shown an oblong bag of M&Ms and then asked what they thought was inside. They all answered "M&Ms," and presumably were all disappointed to see that there was only one […]

Dalmatian pattern recognition.

Find the Dalmatian: Somewhere in this picture is a Dalmatian hidden. If you look for it, you'll probably find it, and once you do, you won't be able to imagine it without it. Consider this: is that Dalmatian actually there, or have you just […]

Better to be proud than pitiful, thinks the fox

Once upon a time, there was a fox who was terribly hungry. He passed a bower and saw some delicious grapes hanging high up, "perfectly ripe, it seemed, dark purple." He longed to eat them, but he couldn't reach them. The wall was much too high. He had a hard time reaching them […]

Autobiographical memory, “My worst sins”

In his book "Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older," author Douwe Draaisma asks himself: "Why do we have an insanely good memory for humiliations?" "My worst sins" have a humiliating effect. In his search for an answer, he turns to psychologist Willem Wagenaar. Wagenaar has studied his diary […]

Page 83

Just as many a father quotes Preacher or Isaiah, my father quoted literary critic Kees Fens. "Fens says" was almost impossible for him to say… (…). "Fens says that Thea Beckman is no good!" That was a heavy blow, one that perhaps hit me even harder than the others. In The Wheel of Fortune, a book that […]

Deep within ourselves

By Václav Havel Deep within ourselves, we carry hope. If it isn't there, it's nowhere. Hope is a consciousness, and it doesn't depend on what happens in the world. Hope is neither predicting nor foreseeing. Hope resides in our souls, etched in our hearts, anchored beyond the horizon. Hope, in this deep […]

Fragile people

Fragile PeopleFragile PeopleLooking for a Little HappinessFragile PeopleI know, I know themSensitive and easily upsetFragile PeoplePamper them, spoil themOh, don't put them under pressure They try to live like someone elseBut that often isn't easy for themThey keep giving alms to the homelessThey keep walking […]

Cognitive dissonance

Leon Festinger (1919-1989) studied cognitive dissonance. It involves two or more ideas or beliefs that someone holds about a particular topic. These ideas conflict with each other. When someone becomes aware of the conflict, they experience an uncomfortable state of cognitive dissonance and are motivated to address that feeling.