Research shows that training can effectively eliminate the age deficit in contrast sensitivity, improving visual function in older adults. The study found improvements in both near and far acuity, allowing participants to read more letters on eye charts after training.
Research found that socially engaged middle-aged adults with good mental health are more likely to view their lives as stories of personal redemption. This narrative format is associated with healthy psychosocial adaptation in the midlife years and resonates particularly deeply with African American adults.
Research reveals an association between aggressive tendencies and increased physical strength in adolescent males, which may be linked to evolutionary pressures.
Research suggests that people are willing to take risks because they believe God will protect them from negative outcomes. The study found that participants who were reminded of God were more likely to engage in nonmoral risky behaviors, such as skydiving, and perceived less danger in these activities.
Research shows that altering visual cues can impact pain by changing the physical point at which pain is experienced. Participants who suffered from chronic neck pain were shown to have a broader range of motion when visual feedback understated head rotation and a reduced range when it overstated head rotation.
A study published in Psychological Science found that when resources are scarce, people evaluate goods in a more stable and consistent way. High-income participants were willing to pay more for luxury items if it meant making trade-offs, whereas lower-income participants were less sensitive to price differences.
A new study suggests that increasing individualism in the US over the last 150 years is systematically correlated with socioeconomic trends, particularly the rise of white-collar occupations. The research found that only changes in occupational status appeared to precede changes in individualism.
Infants as young as 13 months old can comprehend complex social scenarios, taking into account who knows what about whom. They are able to make inferences about others' behavior based on the information they have learned, indicating that they are developing essential skills for assessing social situations and making relevant judgments.
A recent study with 32 transgender children aged 5-12 found that their gender identity is deeply held and not a result of confusion or pretense. The study used implicit measures to gauge the strength of automatic gender associations, revealing consistent patterns across measures.
A large study shows that frequent play with puzzles, blocks, and board games is linked to better spatial reasoning skills in children. Children from lower-income households and girls tend to have lower scores.
Research found that teens who misperceive their weight have a 40% greater risk of becoming obese as adults. This association was strongest for boys, with an 89% increased risk of later obesity compared to those who perceived themselves accurately.
Research suggests mothers speak slightly less clearly to infants than adults, contradicting the widespread view of hyperarticulation. This finding may explain why babies excel at learning their language's distinct sounds despite less clear input.
A study found innocent adults can be led to believe they committed serious crimes, including assault with a weapon, over the course of a few hours. Participants developed detailed false memories after being interviewed and encouraged to recall events.
Researchers found that prompting people to consider their long-term impact can motivate them to take action on climate change, leading to increased environmental concern and behavior. Participants who wrote about their legacy pledged more money to a pro-environmental nonprofit.
Research suggests that in certain cultures, such as Japan, expressing anger is associated with reduced biological health risk, rather than increased risk. In contrast, in Western societies like the US, managing or suppressing anger is linked to better health outcomes.
Researchers discover that echolocation can induce a 'size-weight illusion' in blind individuals, similar to sighted people's experience. This finding suggests that echolocation may have the potential to be a complete sensory replacement for vision.
Research indicates that typical-looking faces are considered to be the most trustworthy, with a U-shaped relationship between face typicality and trustworthiness. The study's findings have important implications for understanding social perception, including cross-cultural perceptions.
A study published in Psychological Science found that people with extreme political beliefs are less influenced by outside information and more resistant to the anchor bias, suggesting they make more confident judgments. The results suggest that political extremists' strong belief in the superiority of their ideology may be a key factor.
Research suggests that saving previous information helps free up cognitive resources, improving memory for new information. By 'offloading' old data, individuals can allocate mental resources to learn and remember new material.
Studies supporting bilingual advantage are more likely to be published than those contradicting it, potentially skewing the overall understanding of its effects on cognitive function. Researchers call for a critical review of scientific literature to ensure all findings are shared, regardless of outcome.
Research reveals that sons of fathers with criminal records have lower cognitive abilities, but the link is explained by genetic factors shared between father and son. The study suggests that having a father with antisocial behavior may not directly affect a child's cognitive development.
New research published in Psychological Science finds that people's subjective feelings of wealth or poverty motivate their attitudes toward redistributive policies. Feeling relatively wealthy leads participants to oppose redistribution and view others as biased by self-interest. This study suggests a mechanism by which inequality may ...
A new study published in Psychological Science found that the sound of a person's voice can convey their level of power, with speakers assigned to high-power roles having higher-pitched, more monotone voices. Listeners were able to accurately categorize these vocal cues and associate them with high-power behaviors.
Researchers found that people who made chance-level decisions still reported greater confidence in correct outcomes and less confidence in incorrect outcomes. This suggests that participants had unconscious insight into their decision-making performance, a phenomenon called 'blind insight'.
Despite early differences and biases, women's participation in math-intensive sciences levels out after earning a PhD, but disparities persist in certain fields. Interventions targeting early education and work-life balance are needed to increase representation in STEM fields.
Studies reveal human children as young as 2 years old conform to peer behavior to avoid social disadvantage, whereas apes prefer to stick with their own strategies. The research suggests that the motivation to fit in emerges early in humans and may be influenced by environmental factors.
Middle-aged adults with depression tend to evaluate their past and current lives negatively, yet they also believe in a brighter future. Research suggests that this optimistic belief may not lead to better outcomes for these individuals.
A new study suggests that an internal 'calorie counter' in the brain evaluates the caloric density of foods, influencing food choices and predicting caloric content. The study used functional brain scans to track brain activity while participants viewed food images.
Research suggests that children's interest in science is more strongly linked to actual scientific knowledge when raised in more fortunate socioeconomic circumstances. The study found a significant correlation between science interest and achievement in wealthy nations, whereas no such link was observed in poorer countries.
A study of 320 women finds that peak and end levels of pain experienced during childbirth are strong predictors of recalled pain, while duration of labor is not. Additionally, receiving an epidural may influence women's memory for labor pain, with those who received epidurals remembering lower levels of pain.
Research reveals teenage girls are exposed to more interpersonal dependent stressors, which contribute to higher levels of rumination and negative cognitive style. This increased exposure maintains a higher risk for depression over time, especially in girls who experience similar stressors as boys.
Research finds that sharing experiences with others intensifies both pleasant and unpleasant emotions, making them more pleasurable. This effect is observed even when individuals are not explicitly interacting with each other.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that sharing extraordinary experiences can lead to feelings of social exclusion, even if they are pleasurable in the moment. The researchers suggested that this is because these experiences often separate us from others, making it difficult to connect with them on an ordinary topic.
Research finds that alcohol increases sensitivity to rewarding social behaviors like smiling in men, shedding light on risk factors for problem drinking among men. The study suggests that social context plays a crucial role in understanding drinking behavior, highlighting the importance of social motives and bonding.
Researchers found that people consistently estimate their dominant hand to be less magnified than other objects under the same degree of magnification. This finding suggests that our bodies are used as perceptual metrics, allowing us to attribute changes in perceived size to changes in the world rather than our own body.
New research suggests that a specific brain wave, P300, can be used to identify details that a person has seen and recognized from everyday life. A study found that this method could potentially be used in criminal investigations and courtrooms, with promising results.
A low-cost intervention educating teens about the malleability of personality traits may prevent increases in depressive symptoms. The study found that students who learned about personality change showed no increase in depressive symptoms, even if bullied.
Researchers confirmed earlier findings of verbal overshadowing, where witnesses' descriptions impair their ability to select a suspect. The study found smaller effects in replications, suggesting sample sizes may have been too small to detect the effect reliably.
A new study published in Psychological Science suggests that sharing painful experiences can lead to increased cooperation and bonding within groups. Researchers found that participants who underwent painful tasks reported higher levels of group bonding and were more willing to cooperate with their group members.
Children show stronger food craving than adolescents and adults but can use a cognitive strategy to reduce it by 16%, according to new research. The study's findings have implications for interventions to curb childhood obesity and suggest that brain areas involved in regulating craving differ depending on body mass.
New research reveals that people with lower social connections have a higher threshold for determining animacy in faces. This suggests that individuals with high social connection desires prioritize recognizing human-like features less to form connections. The study sheds light on the role of social motivation in face perception and ma...
The report highlights how stigma, including public and structural forms, prevents individuals from seeking mental health care. Effective approaches to addressing stigma, such as promoting personal stories of recovery and enhancing support systems, are identified.
A recent study found that public trust in others and confidence in societal institutions have reached their lowest point in over three decades. The decline is attributed to the increasing wealth gap and poverty, leading to a perception of distrust among people towards each other and large corporations.
New research reveals that capturing ordinary experiences can lead to pleasurable rediscoveries in the future. Studies show that people underestimate the value of everyday events, leading to missed opportunities for enjoyment. By documenting mundane moments, individuals can give their future selves the joy of rediscovery.
A new study published in Psychological Science found that individuals and institutions tend to highlight their marginal membership in high-status groups, leading to a boost in self-image and projecting an impressive image to others. This phenomenon was observed in universities, airports, and even socioeconomic group membership.
New research suggests that anticipating experiential purchases can bring more enjoyable anticipation and greater happiness. Studies show that people tend to report higher levels of happiness when thinking about future experiential purchases compared to material ones.
Researchers at University of California, Berkeley and University of Denver discovered that we rely on a specialized visual process known as 'ensemble coding' to perceive where a crowd is looking. This enables us to tell where a group of people is looking even after just a fraction of a second.
A study found that preterm infants' ability to follow another's gaze emerges earlier than expected, implying the influence of early visual exposure. This challenges previous assumptions about cognitive development and suggests a potential link between visual experience and social cognition.
A new study found that exposing White participants to higher racial disparities in incarceration rates increased fear of crime and support for punitive policies. The researchers suggest that awareness of extreme racial disparities may actually decrease efforts to address inequality.
A study found that people exhibit implicit racial, religious, and age-based hierarchies, favoring their own group above others. This contradicts the idea of social equality, suggesting people's biases may be influenced by cultural beliefs and personal identities.