Smiling People May be Less Likely to be Judged by Their Gender or Race

By Bahar Gholipour and David Freeman for Huffington Post Could something as simple as a smile put an end to racist and sexist first impressions? Probably not. But a new study published in the August issue of the journal Motivation and Emotion suggests that when people smile, strangers may be less likely to judge them…

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The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

With the Rio Olympic Games coming to an end and the Paralympic Games starting September 7th, we can learn a lot about human behavior by studying the pinnacle of sporting events. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, we’ve seen a wide range of human emotions that connects us all. As the…

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Emotions in the Olympics

What drives Olympic athletes’ emotions? SF State psychologist and Humintell Director David Matsumoto answer this question explains the science behind an athlete’s “victory stance” in the video below. For more on Emotions, Sports and Critical Thinking, view this past blog post.  

Olympic Victory and Defeat, Frame by Frame

From NPR’s “Hidden Brain” It may sound trite, but the Olympic Games truly are a chance to witness what unites us all as human beings: Our joy in triumph and our anguish in defeat. David Matsumoto believes this truism, but on an entirely different level. Matsumoto is a professor of psychology at San Francisco State…

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