《改变心理学的40项研究》章节试读

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第274页

The Rorschach Inkblot Test
I interpret the three inkblot graphs, from top to bottom, as a bug, a pelvis, and an airplane.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第308页

The reason why in a bystander situation it is less likely that people would offer help is that, one, the responsibility is shared among the many bystanders, thus leaving each individual feeling less responsible of the emergency and less guilty of not helping; and two, the individual is fearful of getting ridiculed and embarrassed.
I think most of the time, the second issue is more overwhelming, especially for male. We tend to value dignity more than anything else (refer to the joke about Moses I quoted before). And it is unlikely that man would offer a helping hand until he is sure of the severity of the emergency. However, when that time comes, it is usually too late for the victim. Then man will be like: okay, I feel guilty of not helping in the first place. But if I come to help now, people will ridicule me even more, blaming me of not helping earlier. For that reason, I will not help. I think that's a more realistic scenario, especially for me.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第316页

The last experiment and also by far the most intriguing one. Sometimes, when we blame individuals in war crimes, it is in fact the humanity itself that should be put on trial. Yet, what can we do about it? We are created this way. We have sins. That's the nature of humankind.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第299页

"Why did Moses spend 40 years wandering in the desert? Because he wouldn't ask for directions."
A good joke.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第210页

The very first discovery that link a person's stress status to his likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease was made when Dr. Friedman was having his office upholstered. His upholsterer pointed out that the front portion of the cushion was worn out more significantly than the other parts. This strange phenomenon (or perhaps normal event, to our eyes) attracted Dr. Friedman's attention, and led him speculate that perhaps there was something unique shared only by his cardiovascular patients that had left the clue on the cushion. And thus began a serious scientific study on the correlation between stress and heart disease.
I have to say that such kind of leap in reasoning was marvelous. When people always complain about not being given opportunities or luck during day-to-day lab work, what they really lack is the eyes to spot such gifts. Well, that said, Dr. Friedman was actually quite lucky in that occasion.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第55页

Dream is nothing more than our cognitive brain's efforts to put into order the random signal output from the brain stem region. Thus, dream might contain information about ourselves, yet to delve deep into its meaning is ridiculous.
The pure neuroscientific view of dream. Indeed, not romantic at all.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第183页

Though Erkman's research described here is not the "Lie to Me" stuff, the cognitive dissonance study by Festinger and Carlsmith seems more interesting. The experiment design is indeed a piece of art! I totally fall for it. Besides, the theory of cognitive dissonance does make logical sense.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第42页

During REM, a person's body is actually immobilized by the electrochemical signals from the brain to avoid the body performing what is actually happening in the dream. A mechanism of preventing dream-walk.

《改变心理学的40项研究》的笔记-第285页

Tests such as Thematic Apperception Test or Inkblot Test are not intended as real scientific methods, i.e. with validity and specificity, to measure personality or predict a person's behavior. It is highly possible that the reports from the subject come not from his subconciousness, but from his recent experiences. Nevertheless, these tests are useful as a tool for psychotherapists to open up their subjects, even just a little bit. They are good at prying into a person's inner world. Though the outcome is not scientifically sound, it does reveal something valuable for the therapists than if no such test has been conducted.