If you're acting stupid because you're a stoner, you might just be playing to type. That is, it may be your expectations about marijuana's long-term cognitive effects — rather than any real effect of the drug itself — that is to blame, particularly if you're male, according to new research. The study, which was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, explored the effect of "stereotype threat" — the idea that performance is affected by conventional images of minorities — on marijuana smokers.
Earlier studies of stereotype threat have found that when African Americans are asked to identify themselves by race before being tested, they tend to score worse than blacks who weren't reminded of their race — in line with racist stereotypes about blacks doing poorly in school.
Explains study co-author Mitch Earleywine, professor of psychology at the University of Albany–SUNY: ...
From Cloverfield to District 9, Monsters to Skyline - we stand in the midst of the biggest wave of alien invasion movies to hit cinemas in almost sixty years. The trend shows no sign of abating - the likes of Battle Los Angeles and Cowboys and Aliens are due before the end of the year, Area 51, The Darkest Hour and Simon Pegg's Paul follow in 2011.
But what does it all mean? And more importantly, how can you stay safe?
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