Tootfinder

🧚 Model suggests gaslighters manipulate their targets by taking advantage of a learning process
#psychology

Model suggests gaslighters manipulate their targets by taking advantage of a learning process
Gaslighting could happen to anyone who trusts the wrong person, a McGill University researcher says. Willis Klein, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology, was part of a team from McGill and the University of Toronto that developed a new theoretical model with which to understand how manipulators are able to make their targets question their sense of reality over a period of time.

What makes a sound musical?
#sound and #psychology
https://muz4now.com/2020/what-makes-a-

What makes a sound musical?
Stan Stewart - @muz4now

😵 Rigid and negative thought patterns linked to increasing political polarization online
#psychology

Rigid and negative thought patterns linked to increasing political polarization online
The ideological divide between opposing political groups has been drastically increasing in various countries worldwide. This phenomenon, known as political polarization, can lead to greater social division, extremism and political violence.

🥱 Study shows that social interaction boosts emotional vitality—but leads to delayed fatigue
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-social-interaction-boosts-emotional-vitality.html

Study shows that social interaction boosts emotional vitality—but leads to delayed fatigue
Social contact can lift our mood but later leave us drained. A new study has tracked this full emotional sequence in everyday life. Researchers found that being around others boosts emotional energy at the moment, yet contributes to rising fatigue a few hours later.

☯️ Political polar opposites may be more alike than they think
#psychology

Political polar opposites may be more alike than they think
The brains of politically extreme individuals, whether left- or right-leaning, appear to respond to and process political information in surprisingly similar ways, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The paper is titled "Politically extreme individuals exhibit similar neural processing despite ideological differences."

📏 Learning from punishment: Model makes sense of the cognitive processes humans use
#psychology

Learning from punishment: Model makes sense of the cognitive processes humans use
From toddlers' timeouts to criminals' prison sentences, punishment reinforces social norms, making it known that an offender has done something unacceptable. At least, that is usually the intent—but the strategy can backfire. When a punishment is perceived as too harsh, observers can be left with the impression that an authority figure is motivated by something other than justice.

🤠 Overconfident conspiracy theorists: Many unaware their beliefs are on the fringe
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-overconfident-conspiracy-theorists-unaware-beliefs.html

Overconfident conspiracy theorists: Many unaware their beliefs are on the fringe
Overconfidence is a hallmark trait of people who believe in conspiracies, and they also significantly overestimate how much others agree with them, Cornell psychology researchers have found. The study indicates that belief in conspiracies may be less about a person's needs and motivations and more about their failure to recognize that they might be wrong.

🎗️ Why people embrace conspiracy theories: It's about community, not gullibility
https://phys.org/news/2025-08-people-embrace-conspiracy-theories-community.html

Why people embrace conspiracy theories: It's about community, not gullibility
Psychologists have long considered how a tendency towards irrational thinking or particular personality traits might predict people's interest in conspiracies. Yet these individual factors do not explain the group processes through which conspiracy theorists are extending their influence and impact.

🧠 Strangers whose brains respond alike to movie clips often become friends later, study finds
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-strangers-brains-alike-movie-friends.html

Strangers whose brains respond alike to movie clips often become friends later, study finds
People often bond with strangers over the books they read or the movies they watch and build friendships that last. Scientists may now have some insight into why this happens. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour found that participants who responded similarly to the same movie clips even before meeting were more likely to become friends later.