When you recognize a friend’s face, how do you know? Do you make a careful study of their nose and cheekbones? Are you thrown off if they don’t wear the usual expression? The vast majority of people probably scoffed at those questions. Facial recognition usually isn’t a matter of careful study, but instead it is…
Read MoreAre Cats Sensitive to Human Emotions?
Historically cats have received less research attention than their canine counterparts and their cognitive abilities were less recognized. However, in the last 10 years, research focusing on trying to better understand our feline companions has grown. Can cats read emotions? A recent 2020 study entitled “Emotion Recognition in Cats” published in the journal Animals demonstrated…
Read MoreMeta Analysis: Psychological Effects of Power Poses
Body language affects how others see us, but can it also change how we see ourselves? Amy Cuddy’s infamous 2012 Power Pose Ted Talk (above) claimed that power posing was the key to confidence. Critics shut down her theory for years, but the latest research indicates that there may be some truth in it after…
Read MoreScreaming Conveys at Least Six Different Emotions
Why do people scream? In non-human primates and other mammalian species, scream-like calls are frequently used as an alarm signal exclusively in negative contexts, such social conflicts, the presence of predators or other environmental threats. Humans also use screams to signal danger and to scare predators. But new research suggests that humans scream not only…
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