New research suggests racial stereotypes and creativity share a common mechanism: categorical thinking. Racial essentialism leads to closed-mindedness, reducing domain-general creativity, according to a study published in Psychological Science.
Studies using new technology show that our ability to imitate facial expressions depends on learning through visual feedback. In two studies, researchers found that participants who could see their imitation attempts improved over time, while those relying solely on proprioception got worse.
Research suggests that experiencing rejection due to discrimination can lead to an increase in risk-taking behavior, anger, and vigilance. Participants who were rejected by partners of a different race showed increased cardiac output, lower vascular resistance, and more anger compared to those rejected by same-race partners.
A new study found that cognitive reappraisal can decrease negative intergroup emotions and increase support for conciliatory policies in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reappraisal training reduced anger towards Palestinians, increased support for peaceful solutions, and decreased support for aggressive policies.
New studies published in Psychological Science found that young children can pass nonverbal versions of false-belief tasks, suggesting they are able to track the protagonist's perspective. Additionally, research showed that early executive-function skills and vocabulary knowledge predict analytical reasoning skills at age 15.
Research finds that people with a small social network and deep ties are more well-off when economic conditions are unstable, while those with a broad social network and weak ties do better in economically favorable contexts. Participants who had a narrow, deep friendship strategy reported greater well-being than those who had a broad,...
Studies show that when faced with a threat, our bodies respond with fight-or-flight responses and engage perceptual biases to misperceive objects as being closer. However, this effect is absent in cases of disgust. These findings support the threat-signal hypothesis, suggesting that perception can be biased to promote functional action.
A study from researchers at UC Berkeley suggests that reframing pro-environmental rhetoric according to values resonating with conservatives can reduce partisan polarization. The findings indicate that such approaches can increase motivation among conservatives to support environmental causes.
Research suggests that feeling disgust motivates people to prioritize cleanliness and purity, leading them to better see subtle deviations from whiteness. Disgust sensitivity is linked to improved performance in detecting impurities on the light end of the visual spectrum.
Researchers found that stimulating the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) can alleviate the painful effects of social exclusion. Participants who received rVLPFC stimulation reported less unpleasantness and hurt feelings during a virtual ball-tossing game, regardless of whether they believed they were being socially excluded.
Researchers analyzed data on individuals with depression across four developmental periods, finding that early episodes last longer and increase risk of future episodes. Female participants were more likely to experience first incidence but not recurrence.
A new study found that writing about emotions after a divorce can actually increase emotional distress in some individuals, particularly those prone to rumination. Non-expressive control writing may provide greater healing benefits for these individuals.
Research suggests that times of economic hardship can limit the inclusiveness of people's racial in-groups, making them more likely to categorize biracial faces as Black. The study found that participants exposed to scarce resources were more likely to do so compared to those exposed to abundant resources.
Researchers found that the order of symptoms matters more for clinicians' descriptions of disorders that are different than those that overlap. This contradicts the assumption that order doesn't matter in psychiatric diagnoses. The study's findings have implications for bringing classification and clinical practice closer together.
Infants exhibit remarkable rapid growth in new skills every day, with research showing that early abilities can predict later developments. For example, studies found that processing speed in infancy significantly predicted working memory and shifting ability at age 11, while memory in infancy predicted shifting ability.
A study of Danish soldiers found that childhood experiences of family violence and emotional problems predicted the onset of PTSD. The researchers suggest that social support and camaraderie during army life minimized mental health benefits for these soldiers, leading to increased symptoms after deployment.
Researchers studied retrieval-induced forgetting, finding that impaired individuals recall more negative memories than positive ones. Historical knowledge transmission was also explored, showing a reminiscence bump influenced by sociocultural events.
Researchers found that subjects in a sadness condition exhibited impatience and myopia, leading to financial decisions that prioritized immediate gratification over future rewards. This study has implications for public policy, particularly in estate planning and credit card regulations.
A study on young children's use of British Sign Language found that iconic signs were comprehended and produced more by younger children, with the benefit increasing for older children. This suggests that iconicity may play an important role in language acquisition, providing a mechanism for early sign learning.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that using a specific frame to describe income inequality can influence people's views on redistributive tax policies. Participants who were told that the rich make more than the poor showed less opposition to raising taxes on the wealthy, while those in control conditions and tho...
New research examines how social groups work, including in-group conformity and prejudice reduction strategies. Studies find that oxytocin stimulates in-group conformity and a small dose of negativity can reduce prejudice toward stigmatized groups.
Researchers suggest that causation may be the root of temporal binding, a phenomenon where events close in time are perceived as meaningful episodes. The study found that participants in experiments anticipating an event's flash showed significantly later predictions than those without causal understanding.
Research found that self-affirmation enhances performance by making individuals more receptive to errors and allowing for better correction, as indicated by a stronger error-related negativity response in the brain. This study suggests that self-affirmation can be an effective strategy to improve self-control and reduce distress.
A study published in Psychological Science found that women are less likely to accept precarious leadership positions but more sensitive to social resources. Men, on the other hand, focus on financial resources. The researchers suggest that societal expectations about gender and leadership play a key role in driving these evaluations.
Research suggests that authoritarian parenting practices and fearful temperaments in childhood are associated with conservative attitudes, while egalitarian parenting and higher levels of activity or restlessness are linked to liberal values. The study provides new insights into the developmental antecedents of political ideology.
Research suggests that the timing of first sexual experience can predict the quality and stability of romantic relationships in young adulthood. A study found that individuals who had their first sexual encounter later were more likely to have higher educational attainment, live with a partner, and be satisfied with their relationship.
A new study published in Clinical Psychological Science found that recent exposure to targeted rejection activates inflammatory signaling pathways and elevates pro-inflammatory signaling molecules. Participants with higher perceived social status showed a more pronounced effect, suggesting an adaptive response in top-tier individuals.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that attractive women are perceived as having more socially desirable personality traits, such as extraversion and conscientiousness. However, the researchers also discovered that attractive women's actual self-reported values differ from those of less attractive women, with attra...
Research suggests that people anticipating negative feelings from guilt are more likely to exhibit sympathetic and moral traits. This can lead to better business decisions and less unethical behavior in the workplace. Guilt-proneness is linked to lower counterproductive work behaviors, even after controlling for other factors.
A study published in Psychological Science found that individuals are happier when a self-benefiting option is imposed upon them, as it removes feelings of responsibility for the outcome. This is because having no choice eliminates the conflict between self and others.
Researchers Todd Gureckis and Douglas Markant examine the benefits of self-directed learning from a cognitive and computational perspective. They argue that this approach optimizes educational experiences by focusing on useful information and exposing learners to new sources. By understanding these processes, researchers can develop as...
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that people tend to prefer the option they chose over the one they rejected, and this preference can last for years. The researchers used a vacation destination rating task to demonstrate this effect, which was only observed when participants made their own choices.
Researchers analyzed 12 genes and found no correlation with intelligence in nearly every case, contradicting previous studies that identified specific genes linked to intelligence. The study suggests that the genetic roots of intelligence may be more complex than previously thought.
Bilingual infants demonstrated an ability to discriminate between two unfamiliar languages using visual cues, suggesting that early exposure to multiple languages improves perceptual sensitivity. Skilled deaf readers showed enhanced perceptual span in reading, contrary to previous hypotheses that suggested this might hinder reading abi...
A study defines boredom as an aversive state caused by difficulty paying attention to internal or external information required for engaging satisfying activities. The researchers hope to develop new strategies to ease the problems of boredom and address potential dangers associated with cognitive errors.
Research found that physical inactivity and negative body image increase the risk of mental health problems in adolescents, while sports participation lowers this risk. The study suggests that psychosocial factors, such as body image and social interaction, play a crucial role in explaining the link between exercise and mental health.
A study published in Psychological Science found that individuals with clinical depression struggle to differentiate between various negative emotions, including anger and frustration. In contrast, healthy individuals tend to identify specific emotions more accurately.
New research reveals that our moral judgments can be driven by intuition and emotional reactions, but also regulated through reappraisal. Additionally, studies show that visual imagery plays a crucial role in shaping our moral decisions, particularly in cases involving difficult trade-offs.
A new report highlights the cognitive factors that make misinformation sticky, including the need for cognitive effort to reject information. Effective strategies for debunking or counteracting erroneous beliefs include providing alternative narratives, focusing on facts rather than myths, and considering audience beliefs. Research has...
A new article suggests that prejudice can cause depression, with the connection between stereotypes about others and schemas of self being fundamentally similar. Depressed individuals may experience deprejudice, leading to societal, interpersonal, or intrapersonal depression.
A new training program targeting specific memory recall has been shown to alleviate symptoms of depression in adolescents. The study found that participants who received the intervention recalled more specific memories and showed fewer symptoms of depression compared to those in a control group.
Research suggests that SAT scores are a useful indicator for college admissions decisions, as they positively correlate with academic performance. Contrary to previous research, taking socioeconomic status into account has little effect on the relationship between SAT scores and college performance.
Researchers argue that self-control is not a depletable resource but rather a process influenced by motivation, attention, and individual perceptions. This new perspective has implications for understanding behaviors related to important problems like obesity and impulsive spending.
Researchers used a robot named Nexi to test how people assess trustworthiness in others. They found that sets of non-verbal cues, not just one cue, determine a person's trustworthiness. Participants exposed to untrustworthy cues with Nexi adjusted their financial decisions accordingly.
A new study examines the role of psychological distance and violation severity in humor, suggesting that a balance between the two is necessary for comedy. The findings support the 'Benign Violation Theory,' which proposes that humor emerges when we perceive something wrong while seeing it as okay.
A study found that social psychologists exhibit a liberal bias, with conservatives self-selecting out of the field due to perceived hostility. Despite this, the authors highlight the importance of addressing ideological diversity to promote healthy intellectual inquiry.
Researchers explore three levels of hindsight bias: memory distortion, inevitability, and foreseeability. Factors fueling the phenomenon include selective recall, need for closure, and overconfidence in judgments. This bias can hinder learning and lead to poor decision-making.
Researchers Marcel Zentner and Klaudia Mitura found that nations with higher gender parity have fewer differences between men and women's preferences when choosing mates. The study, published in Psychological Science, suggests that evolution is only part of the answer to understanding mate choice.
A study found that people under time pressure are more likely to lie, while those with time constraints are less likely. With more time, individuals can justify their behavior and refrain from dishonesty.
A study found that people drove more after 9/11, with increases strongly associated with greater driving opportunity. This suggests that fear alone may not be enough to change behavior, and environmental factors play a crucial role in shaping our actions.