Guest Thinkers — February 7, 2011

Don’t Restrain the Wandering Eye

People in romantic relationships are often tempted to block their partners from seeing attractive alternatives, but a new study suggests that this strategy may backfire.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Psychologists at the University of Kentucky and Florida State University conducted several experiments with students who reported being in a relationship. The students were given a computer task that simultaneously presented them with photos of attractive and average-looking individuals of the opposite sex. Some of the students were prompted to focus their attention almost exclusively on the average-looking individual. After this task, the students whose attention had been directed towards the average-looking individual reported being less satisfied and committed—and more accepting of infidelity—with regard to their relationships.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Aphantasia limits the ability to visualize a statue of a man in the mind's eye.

Neuropsych

My brain doesn’t picture things. What’s wrong with me?

I also can’t conjure sounds, smells, or any other kind of sensory stimulation inside my head. This is called “aphantasia.”

A woman is looking at herself in a mirror.

Neuropsych

How psychedelics may therapeutically alter the link between your two “selves”

In a psychedelic state, the relationship between your “narrative” and “minimal” selves seems to transform in unique ways.

A successful man in a suit captured in a black and white photo.

Neuropsych

The psychopathic path to success

Psychopathic tendencies may be present to some extent in all of us. New research is reframing this often sensationalized and maligned set of traits and finding some positive twists.

Neuropsych

The secret life of maladaptive daydreaming

Daydreaming can be a pleasant pastime, but people who suffer from maladaptive daydreaming are trapped by their fantasies.

a close up of a cookie monster holding a banana.

The Learning Curve

Why gaining power turns you into an actual Cookie Monster

As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power and a plate of cookies.” (Something like that.)

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

A Blue Food Revolution

New fish farms out at sea, and cleaner operations along the shore, could provide the world with a rich supply of much needed protein while using more sustainable methods.