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By Brad Bell The availability heuristic is an important concept in psychology.  What is the availability heuristic?   Tversky and Kahneman (1973) proposed that people may use an availability heuristic to judge frequency and the probability of events.  Using the availability heuristic, people would judge the probability of events by the ease inwhich instances could be… Continue reading The Availability Heuristic

 By Brad Bell Imagine that you got into an argument with your best friend.  Yousaid some things you wish you had not.   You told your best friendthat he or she was lazy and did not like work.  Now you realize thatyou must apologize.  The apology is the best way to resolve theconflict.  Should you apologize… Continue reading When Is the Best Time to Apologize?

By Brad Bell Empathy may be one of the most important attributes.  Empathy involves being able to see things from another person’s perspective, as well as being able to feel what another person feels.  There may be several reasons why empathy is important.  These reasons include building rapport, reducing conflicts, and increasing helping behavior. Building… Continue reading Why Is Empathy Important?

By Brad Bell Some lectures may be hard to pay attention to.  Some subjects suchas research methods and statistics may seem very dry.  What can theinstructor do to make these topics more interesting?   One possibilityis to use humorous examples in the lectures. In Garner’s (2006) experiment, all the participants viewed threevideo-recorded lectures on statistics and… Continue reading Can Funny Lectures Foster Learning?

By Brad Bell You have been listening to soothing music while reading a book.  You go to answer the phone.  It is a volunteer who is asking you to donate to a nonprofit.  You are feeling happy and relaxed.  You agree to donate 10 dollars to the organization.  Did listening to the soothing music influence… Continue reading Psychology of Music: Can Soothing Music Increase Helping?

By Brad Bell People have different aspirations.  Some people may wish to befamous and wealthy.  Others may be more concerned with developing good social relationships and making a contribution totheir community.  Could exposure to nature affect our aspirations? In their first three studies, Weinstein, Przybylski, and Ryan (2009)had participants view either slides involving natural scenes… Continue reading Can Exposure to Nature Influence Our Aspirations?

By Brad Bell Imagine that you are juror in a criminal trial in which the defendant isaccused of stealing a duffle bag from a gym.  One eyewitness is positive that the defendant took the bag, and the other eyewitness is positive that someone else took the bag.  The eyewitness for the prosecution was much more… Continue reading Are People Influenced by Trivial Details?

By Brad Bell Love is an important concept in psychology.   Love is a word that could be defined in many different ways.   What do people believe love is?    What are the most important attributes of love? What types of love are the best examples of love?    These important questions may help us gain a better… Continue reading The Nature of Love