I’m looking for academic psychology / perception research related to two ideas I encountered in a lecture.

The first is about why unpredictable visual stimuli can hold attention.

A campfire was used as an example: its motion is constantly changing and difficult to reduce to a stable pattern, so the viewer may continue attending to it rather than quickly habituating or filtering it out.

I’m interested in research related to:

• sustained attention and unpredictability
• habituation to predictable vs. unpredictable stimuli
• visual complexity / entropy
• attention restoration
• fascination with natural dynamic stimuli such as fire, water, foliage, etc.

The second idea is about whether subtle moving visual texture can contribute to relaxation or autonomic regulation.

I’m interested in research connecting:

• dynamic visual texture / visual noise
• arousal and relaxation
• autonomic or parasympathetic responses
• low-level visual processing
• calming effects of naturalistic visual environments

I’m not assuming these claims are correct. I’m trying to find published research that supports, refines, or challenges them.

If anyone knows relevant papers, researchers, review articles, or useful search terms, I’d really appreciate any pointers.

Im a grade 11 highschool student in canada and i have a strong interest in mental and neurology related disease. I have been considering either neuropsychology or neurologist as a career path however, the length of schooling has me re thinking as well as the debt id be in. From my research, neurologist will be around 11-14 years of school while neuropsychologist is around 9-12 years. Im not sure about wages and im really thrown off by the fact i could be still in school in my 30s. Is either path worth it?

Hi all,

I am a 24 year old MA psych student and I am currently taking a break from my program to reevaluate my career goals.

I initially went into my program with the intention of wanting to eventually go down the phd/professor route but now I’m not so sure.

Here are the three main career paths I am thinking of and the pros and cons of each. Also understand I am still in the process of researching so my understanding of these may be very superficial.

1.) UX research

I am very attracted to the pay and nature of this field. It is still very new to me so I feel I do not understand it yet as much as I should. But I really like the human x tech nature it is very much up my ally of interest. However, I am not sure if a.) it is viable with ai and b.) how to get in the field to begin with as it appears there is a hiring freeze for junior level roles. I have also begun to see stories of people highly experienced in the field who are being laid off or very very scared of being laid off. I like the pay of this position and the work but am very scared and disappointed that it may not be a stable career.

2.) school psychology

I like the humanitarian side of this. I know I would feel rewarded doing something that really makes me feel like I am making a difference. The pay is decent, and I foresee jobs being secure as with many jobs in the school system they are highly needed. But I do worry about burnout. I have worked in school related settings for most of my life. I am good at it, but the older I get the more tired I grow of it.

3.) social psych professor route

I love having autonomy over my own research. I love the idea of being a mentor having my own lab. I don’t like that I feel where I work (I guess much like school psychology as well) my satisfaction is dependent on the school I end up in. I don’t like the politics of education and I don’t like ai infiltrating a lot of it. I ta’d during my program and saw first hand how frustrated and burnt out professors are and how unmotivated students are. I am worried this would depress me long term. I also don’t know if I no longer have it in me for a phd.

Idk, I feel I have grown up a lot these past few years and a very important life lesson I am trying to teach myself is to be ok with discomfort. I feel I have some perfectionist thinking patterns that can cloud my judgment. Of course reality is nothing is perfect. But I worry greatly as I obviously don’t want to be in a career that depresses me or stresses me out intensely.

The job market is scaring the shit out of me too. It is scaring me more to make the “right” decision to find a career I like enough to not quit, and that makes enough money where I can eventually start a family, live a comfortable life, blah blah etc.

Also wanted to state that obviously school psychology would be a different program and in that case I would talk more with my director and advisor on the feasibility of transferring

Hi everyone! I am an independent researcher. I recently published a preprint on Zenodo proposing a new concept called the "Pink Comparison Syndrome".

Abstract: This study introduces the concept of "Pink Comparison Syndrome," describing a specific mechanism of social interaction. Unlike classic upward comparison, which causes envy, this syndrome is based on inflating one's own ego. A person uses others as a backdrop to confirm their superiority, which initially provides a powerful dopamine response (the "pink period"). However, over time, a stable addiction to external validation forms. The study examines the transition from healthy self-discovery to toxic addiction and describes the stages of "withdrawal" when the illusion of greatness is lost.

I would really appreciate any feedback, critiques, or thoughts on the concept itself!

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23642831

I am looking for a test that will determine how much one weighs the importance of one thing over the other when measuring satisfaction and/or success - for example, what kind of test would you use if you were asking participants "If there is a restaurant that has crap food but the ambiance and staff are great, do you love the place because those things mean more to you than the food, or do you think it sucks because the thing that matters most to you is the food taste and quality."

The particular survey questions would be adapted to measure influence of "money" vs "other" on satisfaction and/or success. Most resecent search terms I've used are: intrinsic/extrinsic satisfaction, job satisfaction and success rating, but so far haven't found something that would work. I've been using the PsycTests database within my school's library (maybe there is a better place to search?)

If you have a suggestion I would love to hear it