FABBS reports on items of interest to many communities – scientists, policymakers, and the public. In our news, you will see updates on science funding and policy, articles that translate research for policy, and descriptions of the research contributions of scientists at all stages of their research careers.
Driving Simulator Steers Kids from Texting at the Wheel: Applied Psychology Popular at Science Festival on the National Mall
Even the youngest visitors to the FABBS Foundation’s booth at the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo got a turn at the wheel.
But when the kids were asked to send a text message while working a foot pedal and steering a car on a video screen, “they were colliding into walls and going off the road,” recalled Haneen Saqer, a graduate student at George Mason University who assisted in coordinating the event.
FABBS Foundation joined forces with the George Mason
Believing is Seeing
Most of us can think of a time we engaged in wishful thinking, and it probably didn’t work out as we hoped. But the situation was likely out of our conscious control, because we are predisposed to see what we want to see – literally. Through a combination of social and cognitive psychology, Emily Balcetis of New York University has found that our desires influence our visual and cognitive attention, biasing us to see things in a certain way, even when we think we are being impartial. That
read moreNational Institute on Aging Advancing New Research Initiatives on Alzheimer’s
At the recent National Advisory Council on Aging meeting, 26 new concept proposals focused on Alzheimer’s and related dementia’s were approved by Council. According to NIA Director Richard Hodes, the concept proposals will be developed into a “record number” of new Funding Opportunity Announcements in the next few months. NIA has benefited from increased federal funding for Alzheimer’s research over the last few years and is expected to receive additional increases this fiscal year,
read moreNo Single Solution for Bullying
Media reports of bullying and its consequences have become distressingly common, especially for parents of children and teens. A spate of high profile cases that ended in suicide or violence helped fuel a national movement for legislation to define and deal with bullying. All 50 states now have laws designed to prevent and address bullying in schools, but those laws vary widely and their impact isn’t clear. What is clear is that laws alone can’t stop bullying, because it’s a complex
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