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The Malleability and Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony

Psychology, Blog | January 6, 2014
In a provocative article, John Wixted and Laura Mickes argue that eyewitness memory is a lot more reliable than previously considered. They make a distinction between malleability and reliability. While there is evidence that memory is malleable that does not...

Epigenetics

Psychology, Blog | December 15, 2013
Research has indicated that the genes in our DNA are not all active at the same time and can in fact be ‘silenced’ or ‘de-silenced’, i.e., switched on or off.  This process is called gene regulation and leads to differences in gene expression.  In other words,...

Gender considerations

Psychology, Blog | December 1, 2013
Gender considerations are an important element of IB Psychology. As the authors of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio and Beyerstein point out, one of the most enduring myths concerning gender is that men and women communicate in completely...

Neuroplasticity and Poverty

Psychology, Blog | November 5, 2013
One of the more fascinating topics from the Biological Approach is neuroplasticity. The IB Psychology Guide states that the development of neural networks is the results of both genetic and environmental influences. The article “The Lasting Impacts of Poverty on...

Brain imaging technology

Psychology | October 12, 2013
The Biological and the Cognitive Approaches employ technology like brain scanning to understand the brain and behaviour. This article, New Imaging Method Allows Scientists to Identify Specific Mental States from Science Daily reports on research on the brain that...

Neuroplasticity

Psychology, Blog | September 25, 2013
This article from Psychology Today, Plastic Is Fantastic . . . for Your Brain explores the topic of neuroplasticity, a topic from the Biological Approach. Neuroplasticity is defined as your brain’s ability to alter its physical structure, to repair damaged regions, to...