Memory Bonanza Continuous, Unrelenting Blasts.’ JS

psy 03_12 p178_187 news_Layout 1 14/02/2012 10:59 Page 187 media A modern-day witch-hunt? MEDIA CURIOSITY ‘The hounding of 'Psychic Sally' is hunters of old: first, by a desire to look New York – the city that never sleeps. becoming a modern-day witch-hunt’, big and impressive by shouting down an Perhaps that’s why taxis are to be fitted claimed the headline of a Telegraph piece allegedly wicked woman; and second, by with ‘honk-reduction technology’ by Brendan O’Neill (see a desire to save the little people, who are (http://t.co/MeGiq1BA). tinyurl.com/7h2b8o7). daft and easily led, from having their It seems that enormous signs reading For those not familiar with the story, minds warped and their lives wrecked by ‘Don’t Honk – $350 fine’ are not enough. Sally Morgan is a TV psychic who is people who believe in things the rest of us ‘Give someone a horn and they’ll honk it,’ demanding damages of £150,000 from don’t believe in.’ writes Josh Max in New York Daily News. So Associated Newspapers over a Daily Mail I asked Professor French about this, why are New Yorkers such brats behind the story by magician Paul Zenon, accusing and he said: ‘There are crucial differences wheel? her of scamming a vulnerable between the persecution ‘It’s frustration,’ says environmental audience. The article, of innocent women falsely psychologist Dr Arline Bronzaft. ‘Nothing published on 22 September, accused of being witches moves if you’re stuck at the back end of was headlined: ‘What a load of and criticism of a woman a line of cars and you honk your horn. crystal balls!’, and it alleged who has made millions of Rationally, we know this. But are people Morgan pretended to have pounds by herself claiming rational beings? No – they’re emotional.’ psychic powers when she was to be able to talk to the Yet despite the impact of noise on in fact simply repeating dead. If she really does quality of life, most drivers like their horn information from members of have such powers, it nice and loud. During a press launch for the her team via a microphone and would be the most Hyundai’s Sonata, there were overwhelming hidden earpiece. amazing discovery ever complaints about the car’s wimpy horn. Morgan was subsequently and she should be willing Within a week, Hyundai replaced the invited to prove her to be tested under hardware with a ‘more appropriate dual- supernatural powers in a controlled conditions. If she shell unit that gives the car a louder Halloween test devised by ‘She should be doesn’t, she’s a fraud presence when the owner needs to use psychologist Professor Chris willing to be tested’ exploiting the bereaved and the horn’. French, Head of the nothing more.’ Despite this, a new Nissan taxi is to Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at I am in complete agreement with be fitted with honk-reduction technology, Goldsmiths, University of London. When Professor French here. Yet I do ‘specifically a so-called low-annoyance she inevitably failed to show, Morgan was occasionally feel a twinge of unease at the horn’. Bronzaft recommends training heavily criticised on Twitter. speed, volume and ferocity of response drivers to control their tempers. ‘Take a O’Neill appears to have taken issue the sceptical scientific community appear deep breath, hum a song. Say to yourself, with this, writing: ‘Why are ostensibly able to marshal. Perhaps there is a grain “How best could I deal with this situation?” intellectual people devoting so much time of truth in O’Neill’s caution that ‘the Or why not see if we can come up with and energy to having a pop at a woman fashionable secular set seems incapable something imaginative? Why not a horn you who claims to be psychic? … The anti- of asserting itself in any positive way’, and can restrict? If you hit the horn, say, 2–3 Morgan lobby is motivated by the same we should be particularly wary of social times, then it quits. Or design a mechanism impulses as those pointy-hatted witch- media in this context. JS whereby when you put your hand down for any length of time, the horn simply stops. And then it won’t go on again for a period of time. At least let’s stop the horns from Memory bonanza continuous, unrelenting blasts.’ JS The Guardian and Observer held a themed Memory Week in January, part of the papers’ Head Start self-help series for 2012 (see tinyurl.com/maximem). This included a mass participation online experiment run by psychologists Jon Simons, Zara Bergström and Charles Fernyhough, looking into long-term memory and how the similarity of events MEDIA TRAINING affects remembering. In three weeks, over 27,000 people took part. ‘It was great fun collaborating with The Guardian,’ Simons told us. ‘Thanks to lots of publicity by them, 12 March Intro to media and hundreds of people sharing and re-tweeting the weblink around the world, we had www.bps.org.uk/events/media-training- an extraordinary response. We’re currently immersed in processing these data, and hope introduction-working-media to publish a preliminary report on the findings soon.’ £200 +VAT (BPS) Another feature was a live, online Q&A session with Charles Fernyhough. ‘That was a very new experience,’ Fernyhough said. ‘It showed me that a lot of people think of 30 April Broadcast memory as a muscle that needs to be strengthened, rather than this fascinating and www.bps.org.uk/events/media-training- tricky process of self-editing that the research is telling us about.’ broadcast-interview-skills The week culminated in publication of a special two-part supplement coordinated £300 +VAT (BPS) by Fernyhough, which included contributions from him on autobiographical memory and shared memories; from Simons on the science of remembering; Hugo Spiers on the Contact [email protected] neurobiology of memory; Alice Bell on the effect of the internet; Ed Cooke with mnemonics and memory tests; and me on memory myths and glitches. CJ read discuss contribute at www.thepsychologist.org.uk 187.

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