It is well known that emotions can spread to other people of the group (called emotional contagion), but what is the role of emotional recognition in this process? There is certainly a long history of research and casual observations as to how other people’s emotions can impact our own, but the exact causal mechanism is…
Read MoreAlcohol and Emotion Recognition
We all know that alcohol has profound neurological impacts, but what is its role in emotion recognition? According to a new study by Dr. Lauren Hoffman and a team of researchers, alcohol use can significantly impair our abilities to recognize crucial emotions in other people, especially anger. Dr. Hoffman found that recovering alcoholics, while generally…
Read MoreThe Psychology of Humor: Why is that Funny?
Psychology often tries to unravel emotional mysteries, but some resist investigation more than others. One of these long-standing mysteries is the psychology of humor. What exactly makes a joke funny or not? And to whom? It is this question which has long puzzled psychologists and philosophers, and Scientific American’s Giovanni Sabato attempts to trace the…
Read More