A new study finds that gossiping about group members' behavior can help maintain social order and deter selfishness. In the experiment, participants who knew others' behavior were more likely to cooperate, as they could exclude those deemed untrustworthy. The researchers suggest that this mechanism is fundamental to human nature.
Researchers find that people can detect unpleasant odors in sweat after exposure to toxins, potentially indicating an early immune response. The study suggests that there may be biomarkers for illness in the form of volatile substances from the body.
A computer-based individualized study schedule has been shown to significantly improve students' memory of material presented months earlier. Personalized review helped students remember more material on tests given at the end of the semester and a month later, with benefits also seen in long-term educational outcomes.
A new study found that when charity is tied to personal gain, it's viewed less favorably by others. Participants rated individuals who benefited from charity as less moral and ethical compared to those who didn't benefit. The researchers suggest finding ways to reduce this bias could lead to more charitable donations.
Researchers analyzed data from over 850,000 online gamers, finding that those who practiced more efficiently or explored game mechanics before achieving higher scores. This study suggests that optimal learning strategies can improve skill acquisition and become increasingly relevant as people live longer and acquire complex skills.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that people who use the risk of losing their monthly healthy food discount as a motivational tool are more likely to make healthier choices at the grocery store. By precommitting to increase their healthy food purchases, participants increased their healthy food intake by an average ...
A study published in Psychological Science found that a cyclical mindset, focusing on recurring experiences rather than linear goals, can lead to higher savings rates. Participants who used a cyclical approach saved an average of $223 over two weeks, compared to $130-$140 for those using a linear mindset.
New research reveals that residents of poorer nations report having greater meaning in life, contrary to the notion that wealthier nations are happier. Higher religiosity is believed to play a crucial role in this phenomenon, providing people with a sense of purpose and structure in their lives.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that Americans tend to overestimate the number of households struggling financially and underestimate those doing well. The researchers discovered that this perception was more pronounced among liberals, who believed the gap between rich and poor had grown significantly.
A recent study found that while mainstream psychotherapists and clinical psychologists are more skeptical about recovered memories than they were 20 years ago, there remains a significant gap between researchers and clinicians in their beliefs about memory. The divide has implications for clinical practice and the judicial system.
The Delaware Project offers a cutting-edge vision for training in clinical science, integrating research and practice to improve clinical outcomes. Key features include problem-based learning, public-health focus, and addressing the gap between developing effective interventions and dissemination.
Research finds that thinking about time reduces cheating behavior by encouraging self-reflection, whereas priming people to think about money makes them more likely to cheat. This study suggests that boosting self-reflection might be an effective way to curb dishonesty.
A study by Linda Henkel found that participants had worse memory for objects and specific details when taking photos compared to observing them. Additionally, the data showed that zooming in on a specific detail with the camera preserved memory for the object, not just the focused area.
Research suggests women tend to view sexually explicit ads negatively, except when paired with high-value products like luxury watches. Women's attitudes soften towards such ads due to the connotation of exclusivity and rarity associated with premium pricing.
Researchers found that pupils constrict in response to imagining brighter scenes and dilate when imagining darker scenes. This effect was observed even when participants were not actively trying to imagine the scenes, suggesting that mental imagery is closely tied to actual perception.
Researchers suggest that focusing on a country's age and history can increase citizens' confidence in its enduring future, leading to increased environmental concern. A lab-based study found that participants who viewed the US as having a longer history donated more money to an environmental organization.
Research suggests that awe-inspiring sights can motivate people to seek explanations for the world, potentially leading to a stronger belief in the supernatural. Participants who watched awe-inspiring videos showed increased comfort with supernatural control and were more likely to believe in God.
Liberals tend to underestimate agreement within their own group, while conservatives overestimate it, leading to different social change outcomes. This is driven by participants' desire for uniqueness and inaccurate perceptions of in-group consensus.
Researchers found that the brain processes visual input at a level of understanding its meaning, even if we never consciously perceive it. The study used EEG monitoring to show that participants' brainwaves showed a signature, or N400 waveform, when viewing objects hidden in silhouettes.
Research suggests that living through war leads to increased solidarity among members of one's own group, shifting motivations toward greater equality. This effect is most pronounced when the war experience occurs during middle childhood and adolescence, leaving a lasting impact on psychology.
Research suggests that touch can alleviate existential fears for individuals with low self-esteem, reducing death anxiety and social alienation. Touching an inanimate object can also provide existential comfort, reducing ethnocentrism and promoting a sense of existential significance.
Anthropomorphizing social causes with a human-like face can increase support by appealing to feelings of guilt and empathy. This approach was found to be effective in boosting participation in social causes such as energy conservation, recycling, and environmental issues.
A new study suggests that stress eaters show dynamic patterns of eating behavior, with 'munchers' eating more after being stressed but less when pleased, while 'skippers' do the reverse. This challenges the idea that stress eaters need to regulate their eating habits to prevent weight gain.
Researchers discovered that self-control decreases over the course of a day, leading to increased dishonesty in the afternoon. Participants were more likely to cheat or engage in unethical behavior when tested later in the day.
Research found that people are rated as more attractive when part of a group, with average faces being perceived as more attractive due to the averaging out of idiosyncrasies. The study suggests that being in a group confers an attractiveness benefit, roughly bumping someone from the 49th percentile to the 51st percentile.
A study published in Psychological Science found that cognitive reappraisal can actually have negative effects on psychological health when dealing with controllable stressors. This challenges the long-held notion that reappraisal is always beneficial for emotional well-being.
Researchers found that learning new skills, such as photography, improves memory in older adults, while less demanding activities like listening to classical music or completing word puzzles have little impact. Engaging in unfamiliar and mentally stimulating activities is crucial for maintaining cognitive vitality with age.
New research suggests that racial biases impact economic decisions, leading participants to accept lower offers from White proposers and larger offers from Black proposers. The findings highlight how specific stereotypes can influence fairness perceptions, with implications for legal and economic contexts.
Researchers found that older participants experienced more tip-of-the-tongue moments, but these experiences were not associated with actual memory problems. The study suggests that these frustrating occurrences are largely independent of each other.
Research confirms GWI deficits in working memory, a critical cognitive function that enables short-term retention of information. Brain alterations reveal a unique neurobiological marker that could positively identify GWI, with potential implications for Alzheimer's disease treatment.
A study found that taking a memory test significantly increases the perceived age of older adults, shifting their subjective age from 58.59 to 63.14 years old. The effect is specific to memory tests and does not occur in younger adults or those taking different types of cognitive assessments.
New research suggests that brain training programs strengthen working memory capacity but do not improve general fluid intelligence. The study found that students who trained on complex span tasks showed transfer to other working memory tasks, but none of the groups showed benefits on measures of fluid intelligence.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that individuals on the extreme ends of the political spectrum are equally likely to believe their opinions are superior to others', but for distinct political issues. Conservatives tend to feel more confident in their views on issues like voter ID laws and tax rates, while liberals ...
Researchers found that when facial features were ambiguous, participants used body cues such as the nose and face shape to accurately identify individuals. The study suggests that computer-based recognition systems can be improved by incorporating body information, especially in low-quality facial images.
New research suggests that eye contact can actually make people more resistant to persuasion, particularly when they already disagree. The study found that direct eye contact makes skeptical listeners less likely to change their minds.
Research suggests that testosterone promotes generosity and reciprocity when there is no threat of competition, helping to maintain social relationships. In the absence of competition, participants with increased testosterone levels chose to give more money back to investors than those with placebo treatment.
A new study suggests that warning consumers about potentially harmful side effects can improve their opinions and increase product sales. Researchers found that when warnings are delayed, they can actually make products seem more trustworthy to consumers.
Researchers found that donors prioritize fatalities over those affected when deciding how much to donate. However, a simple change in terminology can reverse this bias, prioritizing the number of homeless individuals. By diverting attention from fatalities to survivors, aid can be allocated more effectively.
Extreme weather events, such as Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, have been shown to increase support for environmental policies and a belief in human-caused climate change. Researchers found that individuals who were particularly affected by the storms showed a stronger preference for politicians promoting green policies.
Researchers found that watching a movie clip of someone safely interacting with a feared object can significantly reduce the fear response and prevent relapse. This type of vicarious social learning may be more effective than direct personal experience in extinguishing phobic fears.
New research suggests that sadistic tendencies are a distinct aspect of personality, joining psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism to form a 'Dark Tetrad'. Studies reveal that individuals with high levels of sadism experience pleasure from causing or observing others' suffering.
Research found that older adults retain ability to make accurate judgments about others' emotions using acquired knowledge. When partners were separated, both older and younger adults were equally good at estimating how their partner was feeling.
Researchers found young adults have strong emotional connections to the music popular during their parents' younger years. This phenomenon is linked to the prevalence of music in home environments and childhood experiences.
Researchers found that adapting to a face explored by touch shifts visual face perception, and the effect works both ways. This study challenges traditional views on face processing, suggesting a shared representation between vision and haptics in the brain.
Researchers suggest that trypophobia may stem from a specific visual feature common to poisonous animals, including high contrast energy at midrange spatial frequencies. Studies exploring the phenomenon are underway to shed light on its ingrained nature in everyday objects.
Research suggests that familiar voices sharpen auditory perception and help individuals focus on one voice at a time. Middle-aged adults can use familiarity to ignore their spouse's voice and better understand unfamiliar voices, while older adults struggle with this task.
A study found that forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who believed they were working for the prosecution assigned higher risk scores to sexually violent offenders than those who thought they were working for the defense. The researchers hope this finding will prompt experts to re-examine their training and practice methods.
Girls report higher levels of math anxiety in general surveys, but their actual math class performance reveals no significant difference from boys. Lower self-reported competence may be the underlying cause of this discrepancy.
A new study published in Clinical Psychological Science found that divorce elevates the risk of future depressive episodes, but only for individuals who already have a history of depression. The study suggests that separation and divorce may exacerbate underlying risk rather than directly increasing rates of depression.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that physiological arousal can be beneficial for individuals who enjoy negotiation, but detrimental for those who dread it. The researchers suggest that the key is interpreting arousal as excitement rather than nervousness.