One superpower all psychologists would kill for is the ability to read minds. Not only would it make psychology research a lot easier, we would be able to experience what it is like to be someone else – a fascinating prospect.
Although telepathy is still science fiction most of us can do something clever that, while [...]

A classic study of childhood learning suggests true understanding comes from letting go of established preconceptions.
Imagine the revelations we all once absorbed: humans are descended from apes, numbers can be usefully replaced by letters to solve problems and the Earth is (near-enough) a sphere which rotates around the sun. Despite their momentous importance for our [...]

Most people look out for number one, themselves, which makes it strange to think that there was ever a time when we had no concept of ‘me’. A simple study dating from the early 70s suggests that before the age of around two years old we can’t recognise ourselves in the mirror. Because of this [...]

Some argue it’s impossible for us to remember anything much from before around two to four years of age. Others think our memories can go way back – perhaps even to before birth. The question of ‘infantile amnesia’ is thorny because it’s hard to test whether adults’ earliest memories are real or imagined.

What psychologists [...]

You know you’re in a dream world when the physical laws of the universe appear to have changed. When gravity has been turned off at the socket, objects seem to have no inertia and vanish when they are out of view. Dreams can be surprising and unsettling precisely because we’re so used to how the [...]