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Link Feast

Our pick of the best psychology and neuroscience links from the past week or so

31 January 2015

By Christian Jarrett

Finding The Golden Thread of Consciousness
“… the play is a lost opportunity to push ethical questions about human conduct up against the genuinely profound questions about the self raised by modern brain research,” writes Vaughan Bell at The Psychologist, reviewing Tom Stoppard’s new play The Hard Problem, showing at the National Theatre in London.

Batgirl’s Psychologist
The amazing story of Andrea Letamendi – the clinical psychologist whose once-secret love for comic books led to her being written into one story as Batgirl’s therapist.

Is Bilingualism Really An Advantage?
A new meta-analysis finds that the cognitive benefits of learning a second language may have been over-stated.

The Story of Now – Morality
Neuroscientist Molly Crockett discusses the psychology and neuroscience of morality as part of the BBC’s experimental and interactive Story of Now project.

Do Dolphins Grieve?
A new study suggests the answer is Yes.

Early Bird or Night Owl?
A new, free app from The Open University allows you to monitor your mental performance through the day.

Does Subliminal Advertising Actually Work?
The BBC conducted its own test to find out.

Team of Rivals: Does Science Need “Adversarial Collaboration”?
Neuroskeptic reports on the results of an “adversarial collaboration” that was established to find out whether performing simple horizontal eye movements really can aid memory (a finding previously reported here at the BPS Research Digest).

The Surprising World of Synaesthesia
At The Psychologist magazine, Jack Dutton meets those with the condition and the researchers who study them. Might it have benefits, and could it even be taught?

How to Survive a Disaster
In a catastrophic event, most people fail to do the one thing that would save their life, says Michael Bond at BBC Future.