We Continue to Sense Danger Even When Threats Decrease
New research finds when a situation gets less dangerous, we fail to perceive the positive shift.
Perception
The Social Construction of Race
Unemployment, imprisonment, and other life events can change what race those around you perceive you to be.
Science Explains Why You Saw the Dress as Blue or White
Newly published experiments suggest it's all about the assumptions our brains use to filter out extraneous material.
All Snowflakes Look the Same
After I moved to Wisconsin to pursue an education, other people’s racial perceptions began to pursue me.
How Time Tricks Our Minds
The brain sometimes renders new and traumatic events in slow motion so it can adequately inventory the details.
The Hidden Psychology of Wearing Glasses
To others, glasses can make you look cool or like a dork, but they can also change your self-perception.
You Feel Closer to Your Destination Even When You're Not
Simply moving toward or away from something alters the way you think about it, according to a new study.
The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: Jon Freeman, 27, Psychology
For the month of April we're profiling the individuals who made our inaugural list of the 30 top thinkers under 30, the young men and women we predict will have a serious impact on the social, political, and economic issues we cover every day here at Pacific Standard.
Why You Rarely Notice Major Movie Bloopers
The visual field accounts for the recent past in order to prevent us from feeling like we've gone mad.
A Rose Would Not Smell as Sweet If You Were Agitated
The circuitry that controls emotions and smell is all tangled up in the brain.
Time Flying By? You're Getting Old (and Stressed)
New research shows that time seems to move faster as we get older because we're more stressed.
Seeing Is Perceiving
Is it possible to feel less pain if you look directly at the affected area? Take two drops of Murine and call us in the morning.
What is the Color of Sin?
Two psychologists show that our concepts of morality and sin are mentally associated with lightness and darkness, with potentially troubling implications for criminal justice.
Emotional Vérité: If You Can See It You Can Feel It
In a sequel to an experiment from the days of silent film, a multinational team of psychology researchers has shown that we perceive emotions based on what we bring to the table.