Researchers from the UMass Amherst Psychology of Peace and Violence program argue that social psychology can be used to promote nonviolence and peace. They emphasize the importance of increasing empathy and understanding of others in reducing conflict, and highlight the need for more research on constructive approaches to violence.
Researcher Chad Forbes aims to understand how stereotype threat impacts women in STEM fields, leading to job dissatisfaction and decreased performance. He's using a combination of neuroscience and social psychology to develop strategies to reverse this trend.
Researchers found that expansive postures, like standing up and spreading arms, make people feel powerful across cultures. However, some postures that violate cultural norms, such as putting feet on desk, have little effect on individuals from East Asia.
Researchers studied over 400 South Australian women to understand the link between body image and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. The results show that most pregnant women who are overweight or obese under-estimate their weight, leading to a higher rate of weight gain.
A team of University of Pennsylvania researchers used Facebook data to develop computer models that accurately predicted users' age, gender, and personality traits. The study drew on a large dataset of Facebook status updates to identify linguistic patterns that correlated with specific characteristics.
Researchers found that 8-month-old infants categorize objects as animals and assume they have insides, even when shown hollow ones. This suggests that babies possess a core understanding of biology in addition to physics and psychology.
Researchers found that heart disease patients with positive attitudes exercised more and had a lower risk of dying during the follow-up period. Positive mood and exercise also cut the risk of heart-related hospitalizations.
Fluent bilinguals have both languages active at all times, regardless of conscious use. This suggests that they control parallel language activity and select intended language without conscious thought.
A new study by CU-Boulder researchers suggests that people's ability to delay gratification may be influenced by their perception of others' trustworthiness. The findings have implications for understanding why certain populations struggle with self-control, and could inform strategies for improving social trust in children and adults.
A study from the Université de Montréal found that the program improves parenting style and boosts children's psychological adjustment, leading to higher well-being levels. The three key dimensions of optimal parenting—structure, warmth, and autonomy support—showed significant increases.
Researchers found that distracting similarities in testimonials can result in less medically appropriate treatment recommendations. They suggest consumers recognize the potential for 'gut feel' decisions based on credibility rather than accurate data.
A new study from UT Arlington found that individuals with high levels of 'group narcissism' and strong national in-group identification are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward undocumented Latino immigrants. This aligns with the researchers' hypothesis that perceived threats to one's group can contribute to such attitudes.
Patricia Resick, PhD, ABPP, received the American Psychological Association's Division of Trauma Psychology Award for Lifetime Achievement in trauma psychology. She has made outstanding contributions to science, practice, advocacy, and education, developing Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD treatment.
Terence M. Keane, a renowned expert on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has received the Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Clinical Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association. His work focuses on developing new therapies and treatments for PTSD, which affects approximately 7.7 million adults in the US.
Researchers found that keeping a secret can change the way people interact with others, leading to more deceptive behavior among friends and superficial positivity towards acquaintances. Additionally, high neuroticism and low conscientiousness are consistently associated with increased risk of obesity across various samples. Confrontin...
The SAGE/STP Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Award recognizes Dr. Shannon R. Audley-Piotrowski and Carly Smith for their dedication to teaching and scholarship in psychology. The award provides funding for them to attend the American Psychological Association Convention and present on their research.
A new UCLA study found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People with eudaimonic well-being showed favorable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells, while those with hedonic well-being showed an adverse profile.
In a study published in Developmental Psychology, researchers found that gesturing significantly improves young children's performance on cognitive tasks. The study shows that even 2-and-a-half-year-olds who use gestures outperform their peers, suggesting a strong link between gesture and cognitive development.
A recent study by Bowling Green State University researchers found that applicants with a high body mass index (BMI) were less likely to be offered admission after an in-person interview. The study, published in the journal Obesity, followed 97 applicants and suggested that weight bias may be stronger for female applicants.
Psychological interventions often don't account for the placebo effect, which can lead to false claims of treatment effectiveness. Researchers found that even with active control groups, expectations for improvement can still be influenced by prior experiences with the training tasks.
Researchers found that partition dependence, where breaking down possible outcomes into specific intervals, leads people to overestimate the likelihood of certain events. This bias was observed in various prediction markets, including lab experiments and natural markets, such as horse racing.
A study by University of Illinois researchers found that Christians on Twitter use more positive words and engage in less analytical thinking than atheists. The analysis of nearly 2 million tweets also showed that Christians are more likely to tweet about their social relationships.
A new study suggests that student engagement, crucial for success in school, is malleable and can be enhanced by creating a supportive school environment. Researchers found that students who felt their work was meaningful and related to their goals were more emotionally and cognitively engaged.
A new study led by Ohio State University researchers found that parents who see their children as part of themselves are more likely to want their children to succeed in achieving their own failed dreams. The study suggests that these parents may be transferring their own broken dreams onto their children.
A study by Dr. Daniel Boduszek reveals substantial empirical evidence linking psychopathy to increased criminal behavior and recidivism. The research also identifies the Interpersonal-Affective traits of psychopathy as a key factor in instrumental violence among offenders.
A new study by the University of Utah found that hands-free devices can overload drivers' attention and impair their ability to drive safely. The study used advanced metrics to assess driver mental workload and reaction time, revealing a five-fold increase in infotainment systems in new vehicles by 2018
A NYU study explores the connection between political ideology and racial categorization, revealing that conservatives are more likely to identify mixed-race individuals as Black. The research suggests that this phenomenon is linked to system-justifying biases and a desire to maintain traditional social boundaries.
New research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that older adults use less effective reference frames to visualize nearby objects, leading to difficulties with daily tasks like dialing phones and grasping objects. This study sheds light on the cognitive changes associated with aging and their impact on hand-eye coordination.
Researchers will develop computerized models of social tasks requiring physical coordination and social interaction to understand the link between cognition and action.
A UK study found that the £10 million Family Nurse Partnership program can only tackle around 10% of families involved in child maltreatment. Researchers suggest using different risk factors to identify vulnerable children could reach three times more abusive families.
A study by Clemson University researchers suggests that knowing an actor is gay has no impact on ratings of their performance. The study found that perceptions of masculinity are affected, but not acting ability.
Researchers found a growing gap between materialism and the desire to work hard among recent high school graduates. Materialism peaked in the 80s and 90s with Generation X, but has continued to stay high. In contrast, work ethic declined, with 39% of students admitting they didn't want to work hard in 2005-07 compared to 25% in 1976-78.
A new UC Berkeley study suggests that morality plays a significant role in shaping our perception of money, with those who perceive money as 'tainted' viewing it as having less purchasing power. The research findings also shed light on why people avoid ill-gotten gains and the psychology behind socially responsible investing.
A study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that portion sizes significantly affect food intake, even with mindful eating education. Despite teaching participants about external factors influencing eating habits, they consumed more food when given larger portions.
A new study reveals that diversity training programs can create an illusion of corporate fairness, leading people to believe work environments are equitable despite hiring, promotion, or salary inequities. The researchers recommend that companies examine their records to determine the effectiveness of diversity and mentoring programs.
A new psychology study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that public officials located out of state from their constituents are more likely to gain approval by framing their arguments around the abstract rather than specific incidents. This prompts people to consider the larger picture, according to researchers.
A new study demonstrates that sleep consolidation helps retain both new memories, overcoming interference from learned tasks. Researchers measured starlings' ability to recognize new songs and found that a good night's sleep improves performance on previously learned tasks.
Researchers found that elite athletes outperformed nonathletes in cognitive tests such as memory recall, task-switching, and peripheral vision detection. Female athletes also showed significant advantages over their male peers in certain tasks, minimizing the typical performance gap between women and men.
H. Julia Hannay, a clinical neuropsychologist and pioneer in experimental neuropsychology, received the Lifetime Distinguished Career Award for her groundbreaking research on cognitive functions in children and adults, brain injury, and rehabilitation.
A study by Rice University found that testing enhances learning among adults of all ages, improving memory retention and job performance. The research discovered that participants who took tests showed improved retention compared to restudying, even after a two-day delay.
A study published in Health Psychology found that endometrial cancer survivors who had higher daily self-efficacy tended to exercise longer and more intensively. This is significant because exercise is a crucial aspect of cancer survivorship, particularly for those who are overweight or obese.
The SMU psychology department has been awarded over $1 million in grants to collaborate with the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women's University in Peshawar, Pakistan. The partnership aims to enhance faculty development, curriculum growth, and research collaborations between the two institutions.
BMC Psychology is the first solely dedicated open access psychology journal, covering all aspects of psychology. The new journal will practice open peer review and welcome submissions of replications and null findings in addition to positive results.
A Norwegian study examines the cases of soldiers convicted for sexual violence during the Bosnian War, highlighting three categories of perpetrators: romantic heroes, opportunists, and repentant sinners. The research emphasizes the importance of clear training and leadership to prevent such behavior.
A new psychology study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that friendships between straight women and gay men are rooted in the absence of deceptive mating motivations. Gay men may provide more trustworthy love advice to straight women because they don't have conflicts with them, unlike other women or straight men.
Researchers dispute evolutionary psychology's 'adaptive' explanation for males' superior spatial navigation, suggesting it may be a result of testosterone levels. The study analyzed 35 species and found no consistent support for the hypothesis that male superiority is an adaptation.
A new study finds that men whose wives earn more income are more likely to use erectile dysfunction medication, while wives who outearn their husbands suffer from insomnia. Humor can also be a double-edged sword in relationships, with some types of humor helping to diffuse tense conflicts and others eliciting negative responses.
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reveals that men and women share a significant number of psychological traits, with most characteristics falling along a linear gradation for both genders. The authors conclude that traditional gender categories are not as rigid as stereotypes suggest.
A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that priming participants with a belief in moral realism led to increased charitable donations, suggesting that considering objective moral facts can motivate people to behave better.
A University of Utah study found that people who multitask the most, including those talking on cell phones while driving, are actually least capable of doing so. This is because they often lack the ability to focus attention on a singular task and tend to be impulsive and sensation-seeking.
A recent study found that extraversion predicts neural activity in the brain's reward evaluation region, which may influence decision-making. Additionally, research suggests that personality traits such as conscientiousness are linked to better health outcomes, including lower obesity and higher life expectancy.
Recent research challenges the predominance of facial expressions as an indicator of emotions, suggesting that body language is a more accurate cue. In experiments, participants were more accurate in guessing emotions from body language alone or combined with facial expressions than from facial context alone.
Researchers found that Tsimane indigenous population in Bolivia does not exhibit the traditional Big Five personality traits, but rather a 'Big Two' of prosociality and industriousness. The study's findings suggest that lifestyle and ecology shape human psychology more broadly.
A new study from Temple University psychology professor Marsha Weinraub found that most babies sleep through the night, waking up only about once per week, by six months. The research revealed two groups: sleepers and transitional sleepers, with 66% of babies not waking at all and a majority being boys.
The inaugural issue of Clinical Psychological Science (CPS) publishes diverse and boundary-crossing perspectives on topics such as targeted rejection, major depressive disorder, youth mentoring, and mind wandering. The journal aims to define a new way of studying clinical phenomena through innovative research.
A new study by Joshua Hart reveals that men's anxious attachment style and conflicted views on relationships may lead them to adopt sexist attitudes towards women. Anxiously attached men tend to be ambivalent sexists, exhibiting both hostile and benevolent sexism, while avoidantly attached men typically endorse hostile sexism.
A Norwegian study of 963 children aged 14 and 15 found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were seen in roughly 33% of respondents who said they had been victims of bullying. The research also showed that girls are more likely to display PTSD symptoms than boys.
Pediatric patients with noncardiac chest pain exhibit higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to those with innocent heart murmurs. The UGA research found a statistically significant increase in anxiety and depression among these patients.
A recent study published in Developmental Psychology found that variation in words, rather than similarity, may help early readers learn the rules of phonics more effectively. The study showed that students exposed to varied practice outperformed those with similar word lists, particularly among struggling learners.
A sense of control over events reduces emotion-driven time distortions, regardless of individual's emotional state or illusion of control. Previous studies found that highly arousing images lead to time distortions, but this study shows that giving participants a feeling of control eliminates these effects.