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(https://www.psypost.org/poor-conservatives-and-wealthy-liberals-overestimate-wealth-of-their-neighborhoods/) Poor conservatives and wealthy liberals overestimate wealth of their neighborhoods
Aug 30th 2024, 10:00

A study in New Zealand found that liberals living in affluent neighborhoods tend to overestimate the average income of their neighbors. On the other hand, conservatives residing in poorer neighborhoods were more likely to overestimate their neighbors’ average income compared to liberals in similar areas. The research was published in (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506241265410) Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Wealth inequality has been increasing globally over the past few decades, with a growing concentration of wealth in the hands of the top 1% of the population. This trend is particularly pronounced in developed countries, where the gap between the rich and the poor has widened significantly. Factors such as globalization, technological advancements, and policy decisions favoring capital over labor have contributed to this disparity. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated wealth inequality, as the wealthy saw their assets grow while many others faced economic hardships.
Despite these trends, studies indicate that people, in general, are not very accurate in estimating the wealth of their society. More specifically, wealthy individuals tend to overestimate how wealthy others are, while poorer people tend to underestimate it. The reasons for these inaccuracies remain unclear, but researchers suggest that limited information about others’ economic situations, exposure to media, and daily encounters with wealth (or lack thereof) may play a role.
Study author Kieren J. Lilly and her colleagues hypothesized that political ideology might also influence how individuals estimate the wealth of others. They conducted a study examining the relationship between people’s actual income and their estimates of the average household income in their neighborhoods.
They expected that people’s estimates of how wealthy their neighborhood is would generally align with the actual wealth of the area. However, they also predicted that liberals living in wealthy neighborhoods and conservatives living in poor neighborhoods would be less accurate in estimating their neighbors’ wealth.
Conservatives generally advocate for traditional values, limited government intervention, and a cautious approach to change, emphasizing the preservation of established institutions and social norms. Liberals, on the other hand, typically support progressive values, favoring social and economic reforms, greater government intervention to address inequality, and are more open to change and innovation in how society is organized.
The researchers analyzed data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS), an ongoing annual nationwide longitudinal panel study of New Zealand adults. This analysis used data collected in 2016 (wave 8 of the study). The data included responses from 14,853 New Zealand residents who provided relevant information for this analysis. Of these participants, 62% were women, with an average age of 50 years. Additionally, 79% were employed, and 66% lived in urban areas.
The researchers examined participants’ household income, political orientation (measured by the question: “Please rate how politically liberal versus conservative you see yourself as being”), their estimates of the average household income in their immediate neighborhood (“… think about all the other households in your immediate neighborhood. Give your best estimate of the average income of those households.”), and the actual household income of participants’ neighborhoods (derived from official New Zealand census statistics).
The results showed that individuals with higher personal household incomes tended to live in wealthier neighborhoods. These individuals were also slightly more likely to identify as liberal. When examining participants’ estimates of the average income in their neighborhoods, the results revealed that conservatives generally tended to overestimate the wealth of their neighborhoods. Overall, participants, regardless of political orientation, tended to overestimate their neighborhoods’ wealth.
However, the link between political ideology and estimations of neighborhood wealth appeared to depend on the neighborhood’s actual wealth. Liberals living in the wealthiest 5% of neighborhoods were less accurate than conservatives living in the same areas in estimating the average income of their neighbors. They overestimated their neighbors’ wealth more than liberals did, although both groups overestimated it on average. Conversely, conservatives living in the poorest 5% of neighborhoods were less accurate than liberals in similar areas, overestimating their neighbors’ wealth more than liberals did.
“Conservatives and liberals misperceive the average wealth of their own neighborhoods at opposite ends of the income distribution. Specifically, overestimates of the average household income of one’s neighborhood were more pronounced among (a) liberals living in the wealthiest neighborhoods and (b) conservatives living in the poorest neighborhoods,” the study authors concluded.
The study provides valuable insights into the relationship between political ideology and wealth perception. However, it is important to note that the observed association between political ideology and wealth estimates is very slight, detectable only due to the large number of participants in the study. Moreover, this association was only observable at the extreme ends of the wealth spectrum. For most practical purposes, the strength of this association is negligible, although it does illustrate that conservatives perceive somewhat less, and liberals somewhat more, income inequality in their societies.
The paper, “(https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241265410) Opposing Misperceptions of Wealth: Liberals Overestimate Their Neighborhoods’ Wealth in Wealthier Neighborhoods While Conservatives Overestimate Their Neighborhoods’ Wealth in Poor Neighborhoods,” was authored by Kieren J. Lilly, Rael Dawtry, Robbie M. Sutton, Chris G. Sibley, and Danny Osborne.

(https://www.psypost.org/womens-brain-responses-suggest-exclusion-by-unattractive-women-hurts-most/) Women’s brain responses suggest exclusion by unattractive women hurts most
Aug 30th 2024, 08:00

The pain of being left out is something most of us have felt at some point in our lives, but new research suggests that the impact of exclusion isn’t just about the act itself—it’s also about who is doing the excluding. A study published in (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65833-4) Scientific Reports has found that women’s brains react most intensely when they are excluded by unattractive, unfriendly women, revealing unexpected layers in how we perceive and react to social slights.
Social exclusion, a form of indirect aggression, is a powerful social signal that can significantly impact an individual’s emotional and psychological well-being. While previous research has extensively explored the effects of exclusion, this study aimed to dig deeper into how the characteristics of the excluder affect the experience of being excluded.
Women have historically and evolutionarily relied on social bonds for survival and cooperation, making them particularly sensitive to social rejection. The researchers were motivated by the idea that, in modern society, the pain of social exclusion might not only be about the act itself but also about the perceived social status of the person doing the excluding.
“I have been studying competition and aggression in women for years. This study represents an attempt to better understand women’s interpersonal interactions,” said study author Tracy Vaillancourt, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, full professor at the University of Ottawa, and author of the upcoming book Mean.
The study involved 87 undergraduate women aged 18 to 22, who were recruited from a university in Ottawa, Canada. The participants were primarily from the faculties of Social Sciences, Science, Health Sciences, and Arts. The sample was racially and ethnically diverse, with participants identifying as White, Black, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Asian, Latina, and Other.
The main experimental task was a virtual ball-tossing game known as Cyberball, a common tool used in psychology to study social exclusion. In this game, participants believe they are playing with other real people, but in reality, they are interacting with computer-controlled players. The participants were told that they would be competing against other women in the game and that their brain activity would be monitored using electroencephalography (EEG) to observe how they reacted when excluded by their peers.
When participants arrived at the lab, their photographs were taken against a neutral backdrop. These photographs were then used to create a set of virtual competitors who varied in terms of attractiveness and friendliness. The researchers used standardized images from the Chicago Face Database, which had been previously rated by independent raters for attractiveness. The competitors’ friendliness was manipulated by altering their facial expressions—some were smiling (friendly), while others were not (unfriendly).
Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in which they would be excluded by different types of competitors: (1) attractive and friendly, (2) attractive and unfriendly, (3) unattractive and friendly, or (4) unattractive and unfriendly.
At the start of the experiment, participants were shown images of five potential competitors, each of whom was wearing a similar grey T-shirt to control for any influence of clothing. The competitors included two unattractive White women (either friendly or unfriendly), two attractive women (one Black and one White, either friendly or unfriendly), and an average-looking White woman who was smiling. Participants were asked to choose two competitors to play against.
The researchers manipulated the game so that it would appear to “crash” after the participants made their selections. When the game was restarted, participants were only given the option to play against two of the previously seen competitors — those who matched the condition to which they had been randomly assigned (e.g., attractive unfriendly or unattractive friendly). This manipulation maintained the cover story and ensured that participants believed they were genuinely interacting with real opponents.
During the game, participants would occasionally receive the ball from the virtual players, but as the game progressed, they were increasingly excluded, with the ball being passed exclusively between the other two players. This exclusion phase was the critical part of the experiment, as it allowed the researchers to observe how participants reacted both behaviorally and neurologically to being left out.
While participants played Cyberball, their brain activity was continuously monitored using EEG, which measures electrical activity in the brain. The researchers were particularly interested in a specific brainwave known as the P300 (P3) component, which is thought to reflect the brain’s response to significant or unexpected events. The P3 is often used in social neuroscience research to understand how people process social information.
“Women are highly attuned to cues of inclusion and exclusion,” Vaillancourt told PsyPost. “Our study confirms this — all participants noticed they were being excluded within 300 milliseconds.”
Contrary to what might be expected, the researchers found that participants’ brain responses were strongest when they were excluded by women who were both unattractive and unfriendly.
“We predicted that women would be most hurt by being excluded by attractive, unfriendly women because these are markers or social status in women,” Vaillancourt explained. “Women with higher social status should be able to inflict more harm than women with lower social status, hence our prediction. We found the opposite. Women were most bothered by being excluded by unattractive, unfriendly women.”
“This may be related to being offended by being rejected by someone they thought was inferior. Because people tend to overestimate their own level of attractiveness, it is likely that the women in our study thought the unattractive, unfriendly women who excluded them were out of line (e.g., ‘how dare she’ or ‘who does she think she is?’).”
After the game, participants completed a questionnaire designed to assess their subjective experience of exclusion. Participants also evaluated the competitors they had interacted with during the game.
The researchers found that participants tended to rate the women who excluded them more negatively across several dimensions. Excluders were seen as more rude, competitive, less attractive, less nice, and less happy than non-excluders. This aligns with previous research showing that people often retaliate against those who exclude them by judging them more harshly.
“Another interesting finding was that attractive unfriendly women were specifically punished for their exclusionary behavior,” Vaillancourt said. “The women in our study put them in their place by rating them lower on attractiveness even though they were objectively very attractive.”
The study provides detailed insights into the social dynamics of exclusion among women. But as with all research, there are some limitations. The sample consisted exclusively of young, university-attending women, which may limit the generalizability of the results to other populations. Additionally, the study did not include male participants or male photo stimuli, limiting the ability to examine potential gender differences in responses to social exclusion.
“My goal is to better understand indirect aggression and competition in women,” Vaillancourt said. “The next step is to replicate this study to see if the findings are robust across different social and age groups.”
The study, “(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-65833-4) Behavioral and neural responses to social exclusion in women: the role of facial attractiveness and friendliness,” was authored by Tracy Vaillancourt, Stefon van Noordt, Amanda Krygsman, Heather Brittain, Adam C. Davis, Iryna S. Palamarchuk, Steven Arnocky, Sidney J. Segalowitz, Michael J. Crowley, and Louis A. Schmidt.

(https://www.psypost.org/belief-that-u-s-needs-a-civil-war-is-uncommon-but-stronger-among-maga-republicans/) Belief that U.S. ‘needs’ a civil war is uncommon — but stronger among MAGA Republicans
Aug 30th 2024, 07:00

A recent study published in (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40621-024-00521-5) Injury Epidemiology uncovers a troubling sentiment: a small yet notable segment of the U.S. population believes that a new civil war is necessary to “set things right.” This belief was more commonly found among certain groups, including “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) Republicans, individuals who hold racist views, and supporters of extreme right-wing political organizations and movements. Despite this, the overall support for civil war remains low, even within these groups.
Previous surveys (https://zogbyanalytics.com/news/997-the-zogby-poll-will-the-us-have-another-civil-war) had already indicated that a significant portion of Americans believed a civil war was likely in the near future. For instance, a 2021 poll found that nearly half of likely voters thought another civil war was possible. Building on these findings, the researchers — led by Garen J. Wintemute, the Baker–Teret Chair in Violence Prevention and Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Davis — sought to explore not just the likelihood of civil war in the minds of the public, but also whether people believed such a conflict was necessary to address the country’s problems.
The new study was part of a larger, ongoing investigation into political violence in the United States, specifically focusing on the attitudes and beliefs surrounding the potential for civil conflict. The researchers conducted the second wave of a nationally representative longitudinal survey between May and June 2023.
Participants were selected from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, an online research panel that uses probability-based sampling to ensure representation of the U.S. adult population. This method involves selecting participants in a way that mirrors the demographics of the wider population, making the findings more generalizable.
The survey was conducted in both English and Spanish to accommodate a diverse participant pool and included a total of 9,385 respondents. The researchers asked participants a series of questions aimed at understanding their views on the likelihood of civil war and the necessity of such a conflict.
Specifically, they asked participants to respond to statements such as “In the next few years, there will be civil war in the United States” to gauge their perception of the likelihood of civil war. To understand how many people believed such a conflict was necessary, participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement “The United States needs a civil war to set things right.”
In addition to these primary questions, the survey also collected detailed data on the participants’ political affiliations, beliefs about race and ethnicity, attitudes toward violence as a means of achieving social change, and their approval of specific right-wing political organizations and movements, including the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, QAnon, and the Christian nationalist movement, among others.
While the majority of respondents did not believe that a civil war was necessary, a significant minority—about 3.8%—strongly or very strongly agreed with the statement that “the United States needs a civil war to set things right.” This indicates that, while not a widespread belief, there is a notable segment of the population that harbors extreme views about the need for violent conflict as a solution to the country’s problems.
Further analysis showed that these beliefs were more prevalent among certain groups. For example, respondents who identified as strong Republicans were significantly more likely to believe that a civil war will occur (+6.0%) and that a civil war is needed (+4.4%) compared to the reference group (Undecided/Independent/Other/Leans). On the other hand, strong Democrats were slightly less likely to hold these beliefs, though these differences were not statistically significant.
MAGA Republicans showed a notable increase in both beliefs. They were 7.4% more likely to believe a civil war is imminent and 6.3% more likely to believe it is necessary, compared to the reference group. Non-Republicans who identified with the MAGA movement also showed substantial increases in these beliefs.
Similarly, those who endorsed racist beliefs or strongly approved of extreme right-wing political organizations and movements also showed higher levels of support for the idea of civil conflict. These findings suggest that the perceived need for a civil war is tied to specific ideological positions and affiliations, particularly those associated with the far right.
Respondents who were more willing to commit political violence themselves were also more likely to believe that civil war was necessary. For instance, those who expressed a willingness to damage property, threaten others, or even kill to achieve political objectives were much more likely to believe both that a civil war is likely (+28.3%) and that it is needed (+28.3%).
In addition to these findings, the study identified differences in beliefs about civil war based on firearm ownership. While there were only small differences between firearm owners and non-owners, certain subgroups of gun owners, particularly those who owned assault-type rifles or carried firearms in public frequently, were more likely to support the idea of civil conflict.
The study also explored respondents’ views on what a future civil war might look like. A large majority (83.1%) of those who believed a civil war was likely thought it would take the form of an insurgency or guerrilla warfare, rather than large-scale battles between organized armies.
The findings highlight the importance of addressing the root causes of political extremism and violence. While only a small percentage of Americans believe that a civil war is necessary, this minority is not insignificant, especially given the potential consequences of even a small group acting on these beliefs.
But it is possible that the study’s findings understate the true level of support for civil war in the United States. “External events (or their absence) may have affected our findings,” the researchers noted. “The survey closed just before the federal criminal indictment of Donald Trump was handed down; support for violence to return him to the White House increased immediately thereafter; expectations of and support for civil war might have as well.”
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-024-00521-5) Expectations of and perceived need for civil war in the USA: findings from a 2023 nationally representative survey,” was authored by Garen J. Wintemute, Yueju Li, Bradley Velasquez, Andrew Crawford, Paul M. Reeping, and Elizabeth A. Tomsich.

(https://www.psypost.org/scientists-use-fainting-to-uncover-new-insights-into-the-neuroscience-of-consciousness/) Scientists use fainting to uncover new insights into the neuroscience of consciousness
Aug 30th 2024, 06:00

Recent research published in (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120759) NeuroImage suggests that dream-like episodes might be more common during fainting than previously thought. By carefully monitoring brain activity in a group of healthy volunteers during induced fainting episodes, researchers discovered that certain slow-frequency brain waves, particularly in the delta and theta bands, seemed to be linked with the emergence of these extraordinary mental states, which were marked by visions of otherworldly places, a sense of detachment from the body, and intense euphoria.
The findings offer new insights into the neural mechanisms that might underlie near-death experiences, traditionally associated with life-threatening situations like cardiac arrest.
Fainting, or syncope, is a common occurrence that can happen to anyone, often triggered by a temporary reduction in blood flow to the brain. While the physical aspect of fainting is well-documented, the subjective experiences that sometimes accompany it have largely been overlooked in scientific literature. Reports of people experiencing vivid dreams, dissociative symptoms, or even out-of-body experiences during fainting have been rare and often dismissed due to their mystical nature.
The researchers behind this study aimed to fill this gap in knowledge. They wanted to explore whether these fainting episodes could induce experiences similar to near-death experiences and, more importantly, to identify the brain activity associated with these phenomena. By doing so, they hoped to gain a deeper understanding of the neurobiological processes that might contribute to the intense and often life-changing experiences reported by people who have been near death.
“It was purely by chance that I began working on this topic. I originally wanted to pursue research in human consciousness, and my thesis advisor proposed this intriguing subject,” said study author (https://www.instagram.com/cmartial_/) Charlotte Martial, a postdoctoral researcher at the (https://www.coma.uliege.be/) Coma Science Group at the (https://orbi.uliege.be/profile?uid=p080524) University of Liège. “I immediately fell in love with it and have been passionate about it ever since. At the start of my PhD a decade ago, a pivotal encounter with someone who had experienced a near-death experience sparked my deep interest in these fascinating and life-transforming episodes.”
For their study, the research team recruited 22 healthy volunteers, all of whom underwent a thorough medical examination to ensure they had no underlying health conditions that could affect the study’s outcomes. The participants were then asked to induce fainting using a method known as the Valsalva maneuver, a technique that involves trying to exhale forcefully with the nostrils and mouth closed, which temporarily reduces blood flow to the brain.
As the volunteers fainted, their brain activity was closely monitored using a high-density electroencephalogram (EEG), a tool that records electrical activity in the brain using 256 sensors placed across the scalp. This setup allowed the researchers to capture detailed information about the brain’s activity during the moments of induced syncope. After the participants regained consciousness, they were asked to recall and describe any memories or experiences they had during the fainting episode.
Over a third of the participants reported experiencing vivid, dream-like episodes during their fainting spell. These experiences included accelerated thoughts, out-of-body sensations, visions of past events, and a sense of entering a different, often extraterrestrial world. Some even reported auditory hallucinations and feelings of euphoria. These experiences closely resembled what are commonly referred to as near-death experiences.
“Our study reveals that it’s not uncommon for people who faint to report rich subjective experiences that may resemble near-death experiences,” Martial told PsyPost. “We demonstrated that dreamlike experiences, characterized by extraordinary and mystical aspects, can emerge during syncope episodes. More broadly, this is one of many states where a person might be considered ‘unconscious’ due to outward unresponsiveness, while in reality, they are experiencing vivid conscious experiences.”
On the neurological side, the EEG data revealed specific patterns of brain activity that appeared to be linked with these experiences. During the fainting episodes, the researchers observed surges in slow-frequency brain waves, particularly in the delta and theta bands. These types of brain waves are usually associated with deep sleep or meditation and are rarely prominent in a fully awake state. The presence of these waves suggested that the brain was in a state of disconnected consciousness—where the person is unresponsive to the external environment but may still be experiencing vivid internal sensations.
“I was quite amazed to discover the strong positive correlations we observed between cortical activity associated with theta and delta waves and the richness of subjective experience in specific regions of interest, such as the insula, temporoparietal junction, cingulate cortex, and parahippocampal gyrus — areas known to be crucial for self-awareness and the (sometimes distorted) perception of our body.”
Interestingly, the intensity of these experiences seemed to be predicted by the amount of delta activity observed during the fainting episode. This finding led the researchers to propose that delta waves could be a marker of the brain’s potential to generate such extraordinary conscious states, even when disconnected from the outside world.
“Our study is the first to explore the electrical brain activity of individuals using high-density EEG during syncope,” Martial explained. “We found that these dreamlike experiences, some of which may carry the hallmarks of near-death experiences, appear to be supported by surges in slow-frequency activity bands on EEG. While these findings should be interpreted with caution, they open up new avenues for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying near-death-like experiences.”
The long-term goal of this research is to understand the brain mechanisms behind near-death experiences, with the aim of improving patient care and developing tools to detect consciousness in unresponsive individuals.
“From a scientific perspective, this line of research aims to demonstrate, across a comprehensive spectrum of physiological, pathological, and pharmacological conditions, that unresponsiveness cannot be considered a surrogate for unconsciousness,” Martial said.
“From a clinical perspective, my long-term goal is to search for markers of near-death and near-death-like experiences in different clinical conditions to develop a comprehensive neurophysiological model for these experiences. My ultimate objective is the improvement of patient outcomes. Indeed, we now understand that encountering such mystical and extraordinary experiences in unexpected situations can have significant implications.”
“I’m optimistic that our research could inform therapeutic follow-up for near-death experience patients and lay the groundwork for innovative strategies that use these markers for the automated detection of conscious experiences, without relying solely on memory, ultimately assisting medical management.”
The study, “(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924002568) EEG signature of near-death-like experiences during syncope-induced periods of unresponsiveness,” was authored by Charlotte Martial, Andrea Piarulli, Olivia Gosseries, Héléna Cassol, Didier Ledoux, Vanessa Charland-Verville, and Steven Laureys.

(https://www.psypost.org/musical-memory-remains-resilient-in-old-age-even-for-unfamiliar-tunes/) Musical memory remains resilient in old age, even for unfamiliar tunes
Aug 29th 2024, 14:00

When you hear a familiar melody, it can often bring back memories or stir emotions, and fascinatingly, this ability might not fade much with age. A new study published in (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305969) PLOS One sheds light on how older adults remember music, even when it’s new and unfamiliar. The researchers found that while aging typically leads to declines in various memory functions, the ability to recognize and recall music may remain relatively intact, even when hearing new pieces for the first time.
As we age, one of the most common complaints is difficulty remembering new information. This decline in memory can be troubling, particularly when it interferes with daily activities. However, not all types of memory are equally affected by aging. For instance, while recalling recent events might become challenging, older adults often retain their ability to recall well-known information.
Music is unique in that it engages multiple areas of the brain, including those responsible for memory, emotion, and sensory processing. Given the growing interest in using music as a tool to maintain cognitive function in older adults, researchers have begun to explore how well we remember music as we age. The new study set out to investigate whether attending a live concert, with all its distractions and complexities, would affect an older adult’s ability to remember a piece of music compared to a controlled lab environment.
“This study is part of a line of research looking at aging and music perception more broadly,” explained study author (https://sarahasauve.wixsite.com/femslab) Sarah Sauve, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Lincoln. “One of my coauthors (Benjamin Rich Zendel) found in previous work that an older musician has the equivalent ability to understand speech in a noisy environment as someone 20 years younger who was not a musician, suggesting there’s something about the listening skills that musicians develop that helps them listen better as they age.”
“How could these skills be developed in people who have not been musicians their whole lives? And also, though people tend to find understanding speech in noise more difficult as they age, we don’t really hear complaints about music and people still actively listen to music throughout their lives.”
“Together, these two questions led us to investigate how auditory streaming (separating sounds into their sources), memory and attention (three cognitive skills we think are important to understanding speech in a noisy environment) may or may not change with age, specifically in the context of music. So far, we’ve done the studies on auditory streaming and memory (both published in PLOS One) and we’ve found no negative effects of age.”
The researchers carried out their study in two distinct settings: a live concert and a laboratory environment. Participants were attendees of a symphony concert and members of the general community. The live concert took place at the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra’s 2022–2023 Season Masterworks 3 concert. Participants ranged in age, with some as young as 18 and others as old as 86.
In the concert setting, participants were asked to listen to three different pieces of music: the well-known Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart, and two new pieces composed specifically for the study. These new compositions were designed to challenge listeners with varying levels of familiarity—one piece followed traditional tonal music rules, while the other was atonal, a style that lacks a clear key or tonal center.
Before each piece was played, the main musical theme was introduced and repeated three times to help participants familiarize themselves with it. During the performance, participants used handheld devices to indicate when they recognized the theme as it reappeared within the music. This process was repeated in the laboratory setting, but instead of listening live, participants watched a recording of the concert while seated in a soundproof booth.
The researchers found that age did not significantly impact participants’ ability to recognize the musical themes. Whether in their twenties or their seventies, participants generally performed similarly when identifying the themes. This finding challenges the common notion that memory declines uniformly with age. Instead, it suggests that some types of memory, such as those associated with music, might be more resilient to the effects of aging.
“We expected to find more false alarms (identifying a theme when there isn’t one) in older adults, which is a pattern commonly found in the literature, but we didn’t find that,” Sauve told PsyPost.
The study also found that familiarity played a significant role in how well participants recognized the themes. Unsurprisingly, participants were better at recognizing the familiar Mozart piece than the two newly composed ones. However, when the familiar piece was excluded from the analysis, the results revealed that tonality—the adherence to traditional musical structures—helped participants remember the new music better. The tonal piece was easier to remember than the atonal one, indicating that the brain’s familiarity with certain musical structures can aid in memory retention.
“We’ve found no evidence that the ability to learn and recognize new music is negatively affected by age – in fact, it’s equally challenging for everyone,” Sauve said. “We’re all good at recognizing things we’ve heard many times before though.”
Interestingly, the study also showed no significant difference in memory performance between the live concert and the lab setting. This suggests that the complexities and potential distractions of a live performance do not necessarily impair our ability to remember music. This finding is encouraging for those who advocate for more ecologically valid research settings—studying memory in real-world environments rather than strictly controlled lab conditions.
“We were pleasantly surprised to find that performance on the task wasn’t affected by whether or not the study was in the lab (more controlled) or at a live concert (many concerns over noisiness and control in such a setting),” Sauve said.
The study’s implications for using music as a cognitive scaffold—essentially, a tool to support other cognitive functions—are worth exploring further.
“Ideally, the goal is to use this information, along with existing literature, to develop a training programme using music to develop the listening skills most needed to understand speech in a noisy environment,” Sauve explained. “This is important because trouble understanding speech in a noisy context is one of the most common complaints in older adults with their hearing and it can have negative effects on quality of life – when going out becomes exhausting, you might do it less, increasing loneliness and isolation, etc.”
The study, “(https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305969) Age and familiarity effects on musical memory,” was authored by Sarah A. Sauvé, Praveena Satkunarajah, Stephen Cooke, Özgen Demirkaplan, Alicia Follett, and Benjamin Rich Zendel.

(https://www.psypost.org/students-with-concentration-issues-turn-to-chatgpt-and-similar-ai-tools-study-finds/) Students with concentration issues turn to ChatGPT and similar AI tools, study finds
Aug 29th 2024, 12:00

In school, executive function (EF) – that is a set of cognitive processes that are essential for attention, concentration, planning, and problem-solving – plays a vital role in long-term success. Lower EF has consistently been linked to decreased academic achievement. Now, researchers have investigated if students who struggle with EF perceive using AI tools, such as ChatGPT, as more helpful than their peers. They found that they do – which highlights the need to rethink the role of generative AI in education.
Since their release, AI tools like ChatGPT have had a huge impact on content creation. In schools and universities, a debate about whether these tools should be allowed or prohibited is ongoing.
Now, researchers in Sweden have investigated the relationship between adolescents’ EF and their use and perceived usefulness of generative AI chatbots for schoolwork. They published their results in Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence.
“Students with more EF challenges found these tools particularly useful, especially for completing assignments,” said Johan Klarin, a school psychologist and research assistant at the Department of Psychology at Lund University. “This highlights these tools’ role as a potential support for students struggling with cognitive processes crucial for academic success.”
The researchers, however, also mentioned that overreliance on these tools could hinder or delay the development of EFs and students’ learning. “This should be carefully considered when implementing AI support in schools, and the effects should be studied longitudinally,” added project leader Dr Daiva Daukantaitė, an associate professor at Lund University.
Perceived usefulness
The researchers conducted two studies. The first had a sample of 385 adolescents, aged 12 to 16 and attending four primary schools in the south of Sweden. The second study included 359 students aged 15 to 19 who were enrolled in the same high school.
The studies revealed that usage rates of AI chatbots were around 15% among younger teens and around 53% among older students. One possible explanation is that older students are more often given complex assignments and therefore may use AI tools more frequently. The researchers also pointed out that the two studies were conducted at different times – ‘study two’ nearly a year after ‘study one’ – which could show that during this time, AI use got more popular in general.
More crucially, however, the studies showed that students who struggle more with EF, perceived generative AI as significantly more useful for schoolwork than their peers. A possible reason is that these students derive greater productivity improvements than their classmates, the researchers said.

(https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence/articles/10.3389/frai.2024.1415782/full) Read and download original article

Support or cheating?
“The line between cheating and using AI tools as an aid should be drawn based on the intent and extent of use,” said Klarin. Using ChatGPT to complete whole assignments or solve problems and submitting the results as one’s own, is cheating. Provided students engage critically with the generated content and contribute their own understanding and effort, however, can be considered a legitimate aid.
Responsible ways for students – especially those who struggle with EF – to use ChatGPT can include using it for research, idea generation, and understanding complex concepts. “Educators should provide guidelines and frameworks for appropriate use. Teaching digital literacy and ethical considerations is also crucial,” Klarin said.
Real-world feasibility of such teaching could be enhanced by using technology, facilitating peer support programs, and providing professional development for teachers to identify and support students with EF challenges, the researchers said.
Balancing AI and academic integrity
The results offer an initial attempt to understand the relationship between the use of AI tools in school settings and EF, the researchers said. “Our work lays the initial groundwork to inform educators, policymakers, and technology developers about the role of generative AI in education and how to balance its benefits with the need to maintain academic integrity and promote genuine learning. It also underscores the need for supportive measures for students, especially those with EF challenges. However, to gain a more comprehensive understanding, further studies are needed,” Daukantaité concluded.
Nevertheless, they pointed to the study’s limitations, which include the fact that students self-reported on their AI use, and that a generalization of results may not be possible because they focused on specific age groups, educational contexts, and carried out their research in a setting where every student receives a free laptop – factors that might vary between situations and countries.
(https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2024/08/28/chatgpt-popular-students-concentration) 

Forwarded by:
Michael Reeder LCPC
Baltimore, MD

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