Strange lights streaked across New Jersey skies, newsrooms erupted, and even the White House took notice, but every “drone” turned out to be something far more ordinary. Dive into how mass suggestion, media frenzy, and the quirks of eyewitness memory fueled a full-blown phantom invasion, and learn what this psychological puzzle means for spotting real…
In my latest addition to The Forensic View, I take a practical look at the hidden dangers of sleep deprivation among night shift workers—especially in law enforcement, healthcare, and emergency response. While our biology resists working through the night, survival may depend on adapting. This article explores how environmental “zeitgebers” like light, heat, and noise…
In my latest addition to The Forensic View, I explore how the same psychological principles that complicate criminal investigations, particularly the limits of eyewitness memory, can also distort our understanding of history. From the uncertain shade of PT-109 to the debated color of the USS Arizona, even the most basic historical facts become blurred by…
What happens when investigators become too focused on the wrong lead? In my latest addition to The Forensic View, I explore cognitive tunneling, a psychological phenomenon where stress and over focus narrow both visual and mental awareness, through the lens of the infamous Washington Sniper case. Learn how a single, inaccurate eyewitness report and the…
In this episode of World of the Mind, I take a closer look at how memory works—how we remember, why we forget, and how our memories can shift or even mislead us over time. Drawing from cognitive psychology and real-world examples, I explore the roles of sensory memory, short-term (or working) memory, and long-term memory,…
What do Pavlov’s dogs, casinos, bad whiskey ads, and near-mystical slot machines have in common? They all reveal something wild about how we learn—and how easily we’re influenced without even realizing it. In this episode, I break down classical, operant, and latent learning with real-world examples (and a few rants) to show how our minds…
I’m excited to share the latest installment of The World of the Mind with you! In this episode, I take a deep dive into the complexities of human cognition, exploring how our “electric head meat” has shaped our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. From early hominins crafting primitive tools to the evolution…
I’m excited to share the first episode of The World of the Mind, a new video series exploring how the brain and mind operate, how our understanding of them has evolved, and what happens when they’re pushed to their limits. This series will cover everything from perception and cognition to extreme psychological experiences. Check out…
Serial killers captivate and horrify us in equal measure. The psychology behind their actions remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in forensic science. Why would someone continue a path of violence when capture is almost inevitable? What is it that overrides rational self-preservation? In my latest article, I explore a fascinating perspective—how deeply rooted,…
Matthew J. Sharps Every generation has dealt with mental illness. Every generation has done so from an essentially local perspective, based in local concepts of the best way to understand the natural world from which mental illness has sprung. Historically, every generation has been fairly certain that its perspective on mental illness was correct. The…