A study found that depression erodes intimate relationships by impairing partners' ability to perceive each other's thoughts and feelings. The more depressed a woman is, the less accurately she infers her partner's emotions, leading to increased alienation and depression in both partners.
A recent study found that thinking about choices can make people less sympathetic to others and less likely to support policies promoting greater equality. This effect was observed across different cultures, including the US and India, with Indian participants being less affected by choice-related thinking.
Researchers found that individuals with a better understanding of their friends' personality triggers had stronger, less conflict-ridden relationships. This knowledge was crucial for navigating social situations and avoiding frustration in friendships.
A study published in Psychological Science found that disbelief in free will impairs brain activity before conscious intention, while belief in self-mastery enhances readiness to act. This suggests that believing in one's ability to control their actions may lead to better performance and motivation.
A new study finds that our memories are affected by how we process information emotionally, rather than just the amount of study. Automatic processing biases lead to incorrect predictions about memory performance.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that people can use comfort food as a social surrogate to combat loneliness. Participants who wrote about eating a comfort food reported reduced feelings of loneliness compared to those who wrote about an unfamiliar food.
A study published in Psychological Science analyzed test scores from 90 countries, finding a significant correlation between intelligence and economic strength. The researchers discovered that even small increases in cognitive ability among the smartest 5 percent of the population can result in substantial gains in GDP.
A study analyzed records of political donations to find that workers are more likely to choose a workplace with a matching first three letters, not just the first letter. This suggests that implicit egotism may play a smaller role in life choices than previously thought.
A new curriculum aims to develop argumentative reasoning skills in students through discussion and debate. Students who participated in the program made more of the higher forms of arguments and listed more questions of substance than those taught in a conventional way.
A new study published in Psychological Science suggests that heat increases feelings of revenge in pitchers, making them more aggressive towards batters who have been hit by a pitch. The researchers found that high temperatures increase the likelihood of retaliation, but not overall aggression in general.
A new study suggests that holding doors for others may be motivated by a desire to reduce the effort required, not just out of respect. The research found that when multiple people follow, the person holding the door holds it longer, and followers hasten their steps to fulfill an implicit pact.
Researchers found that those primed to think of their own unethical nature subjected themselves to more pain, but experienced reduced feelings of guilt after the painful experience. Pain has been imbued with meaning as punishment, leading to its psychological effect of resolving guilt.
A new study suggests that people are more likely to allow something bad to happen rather than causing it, especially if they know someone will judge them. The researchers found that participants were more willing to let a timer run out, resulting in less money for themselves, when they knew someone was watching and would penalize them.
New research from Psychological Science shows that attentional task sets modulate subliminal semantic and visuomotor processes differently. High-capacity individuals recover more quickly from distractions than low-capacity individuals.
A study found that people with HIV/AIDS feel reluctant to disclose their disease due to subtle clues from their communities. The motivation for this reluctance varies among individuals, with some valuing tolerance and others responding to social pressure.
A study by Richard Eibach and Steven Mock found that parents who focus on the financial costs of parenthood tend to idealize parenting more, while those considering both costs and benefits report lower enjoyment in other activities. The researchers suggest this myth is a modern psychological phenomenon linked to changing societal values.
A new study published in Psychological Science finds that a short-term regime called cognitive-bias modification can help heavy drinkers change their impulsive responses to temptation, leading to improved treatment outcomes. The technique involves video-game-like tasks and was found to reduce relapse rates among alcoholics.
A study published in Psychological Science found that people with full bladders make better decisions by holding out for larger rewards. This contradicts the concept of ego depletion, suggesting bladder control is an automatic process.
Researchers discovered that people who are motivated to be dominant gaze longer at angry faces and shorter at happy faces. The study suggests that engaging in gaze contests is an automatic response for those with a dominance motive.
Researchers found that older adults rely on implicit memory, which influences behavior without awareness, while younger adults use explicit memory. This discovery has implications for age-specific marketing and learning strategies, as well as our understanding of cognitive decline with age.
A new study suggests that females may rely on indirect forms of aggression, such as social exclusion, when faced with social threats. Female participants were more likely to choose an alliance option when they felt threatened by the prospect of being excluded.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that people with low self-esteem are more likely to exhibit bias against others. The researchers used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to investigate this claim and found that feeling bad about oneself activates negative evaluations of others.
A study found that participants acted more morally than they predicted, with emotion playing a central role in moral behavior. The researchers suggest that people misjudge their emotional responses when considering moral dilemmas, leading to unexpected actions.
Researchers link infant attachment quality to adult conflict recovery in romantic relationships. Couples who were securely attached as infants tend to recover from conflicts better than those with insecure attachments.
Research suggests that eyewitness identifications and expert testimony are often unreliable due to bias. Alternative methods like the PEACE model can reduce false confessions. Juries are largely effective at considering evidence, despite implicit biases.
A psychological scientist in Germany found that dialing specific numbers on a cell phone can induce positive emotions and activate word meanings. The study used number sequences corresponding to words, such as "love" and "friend," to show that mere typing of these numbers could affect participants' emotional responses.
Researchers review common misconceptions about liars and find that verbal methods of deception detection are more effective than nonverbal methods. They also identify opportunities to improve lie detection by exploiting psychological differences between liars and truth-tellers.
A new study in Psychological Science reports that thinking about a partner's support for goals can decrease motivation and increase procrastination. However, this phenomenon, known as self-regulatory outsourcing, can also lead to positive relationship outcomes if done consciously.
A Canadian psychological scientist team found improvements in brain activity after group cognitive behavior therapy for patients with social anxiety disorder. The study used EEGs and found that changes in brain electrical interactions paralleled clinicians' and patients' reports of easing symptoms.
In a study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that three-year-old children shared equally when collaborating to earn a reward. The study suggests that young children's ability to cooperate and share is more developed than previously thought, and may be linked to the evolution of mutually beneficial arrangements.
A new study of people from 128 countries found that those who are satisfied with their country tend to have better lives, especially those with low incomes or living in poor countries. For people with high incomes and Western countries, well-being is linked to personal factors like health, standard of living, and job satisfaction.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that people are more likely to abandon a failing investment when they focus on their hopes and aspirations, rather than their duties and obligations. This suggests that changing one's mindset can help individuals make more rational decisions about continuing or ending a project.
A study published in Psychological Science found that women are more attracted to men when they're uncertain about how much he likes them. Women who were told the men liked them most or average were less attractive than those who didn't know their interest level.
A study found that younger immigrants (under age 15) tend to identify more with their new culture as they settle, whereas older immigrants may struggle to adapt. The researchers surveyed people who immigrated at various ages and found that those who arrived before age 15 quickly came to see themselves as part of the new culture.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that poor adolescents living in communities with high social cohesiveness are less likely to smoke and have lower body mass indexes. This suggests that social capital may help mitigate the negative effects of childhood poverty on health outcomes.
A study published in Psychological Science found that states with higher physical activity rates tend to have higher voter turnout. Researchers created an 'action-tendency index' using data on exercise, diabetes rates, and other factors, which roughly matched voter turnout in the 2004 election.
A new study reveals that poverty's impact on children's cognitive abilities begins as early as 2 years old. Children from poorer families underperform in school and cognitive tasks compared to their wealthier peers, suggesting an environmental factor is suppressing their genetic potential. Further research aims to understand the specif...
A new report reviews the psychological effects of disasters, finding that less than 30% of adults experience severe, lasting problems, while most people recover from passing distress. Factors influencing recovery include age, socioeconomic status, and economic resources.
Researchers found people on ships are steadier when focusing on the horizon, unlike on land where they sway more when gazing far away. This phenomenon may help differentiate between body movement and ship movement, potentially predicting motion sickness.
A study found that couples with matching language styles, including function words, were more likely to want future contact and stay together. The research used computer programs to analyze conversations and online chats between dating couples.
Infants as young as 7 months old show a preference for frightening stimuli when exposed to fearful voices. Three-year-olds rapidly identify snakes in photographs, indicating an early bias towards detecting threats. These findings suggest that fear of spiders and snakes is quickly learned during infancy.
Researchers investigate how the insula integrates affective and cognitive processes, and how neural systems develop with age. They also examine the role of vision in auditory and tactile integration, and find that vision plays a crucial role in developing this integration.
A new review article suggests that positive emotions can protect against poor health in older adults by promoting healthy lifestyle choices, reducing inflammation, and combating stress. These findings imply that a proactive approach to aging may lead to extended years of quality living.
A study published in Psychological Science found that students are more likely to retake the SAT if their score ends with a round number, such as 1290. This phenomenon suggests that people are driven by self-motivation and arbitrary goals, leading them to take major actions like retaking a test.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that people's predictions of apology value are often inaccurate. The researchers used an experiment to test how individuals perceive apologies and discovered that those who imagined receiving an apology valued it more than those who actually received one.
A new study suggests that driving simulators can be an effective way to improve the driving skills of older adults. The researchers found that coaching and feedback through a driving simulator improved driving abilities in older drivers. This method may help keep older drivers on the road longer while maintaining safety.
A new study found that people's personalities play a significant role in determining their future emotional reactions, contrary to predictions made about external events. Positive individuals tend to be more accurate in forecasting their own happiness due to their natural disposition.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that people's perceptions of gender are influenced by their sense of touch. When touched by a hard object, individuals were more likely to categorize neutral faces as male, while soft textures led them to perceive these same faces as female.
According to the study, posture plays a crucial role in determining whether people act as though they are really in charge. Adopting an expansive body posture activates a sense of power that produces behavioral changes independent of actual rank or hierarchical role in an organization. In contrast, recalling an experience of being in a...
Researchers found that gesturing while talking changes how people think by providing a visual clue to their mental state. This effect is particularly pronounced when discussing abstract concepts like mathematics or physics.