Articles tagged with Behavioral Psychology
Researchers at Ohio State University discovered that exposure to a pro-sustainability opinion in conversation can persuade people with anti-sustainability views to support environmentally friendly initiatives. In contrast, individuals with a pro-sustainability viewpoint remain unpersuaded by opposing viewpoints.
A study by researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management found that politicians who engage in incivility receive fewer followers and less interest in their messages. The researchers analyzed social media posts from Donald Trump and Joe Biden, finding that the former president lost over 6 million followers due t...
New research from Center for BrainHealth demonstrates the positive impact of online Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART) training on mental health symptoms. The study found improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in healthy adults, with lasting effects six months post-training.
A new study found that individuals with a strong sense of purpose in life are less likely to drink heavily when craving alcohol. This discovery opens the door for new strategies to discourage binge drinking in college students by focusing on their mission, values, and goals.
A team of psychologists found that adopting a partner's perspective reduces the likelihood of infidelity and other partnership-destroying behaviors. By putting themselves in their partner's shoes, individuals can increase commitment and desire for their current partner, while decreasing interest in alternative mates.
Researchers found that state gratitude predicts lower systolic blood pressure responses throughout the stress-testing period, indicating a unique stress-buffering effect. Affect balance amplifies the effects of state gratitude, suggesting its clinical utility in improving cardiovascular health.
Research shows pressure from coaches and management forces sports psychologists to share confidential conversations with players, leading to mistrust. To build trust, sports psychologists can work as clients, use case formulation, or establish a built-in consent process.
The UCF project, Project CENTRAL, aims to enhance collaboration between special education and school psychology using research-based practices. Scholars will receive enhanced education and preparation in a two-year program, addressing the state's critical shortage of high-quality professionals.
A recent study by University of Missouri researcher Jake Haselswerdt suggests that partisan beliefs do not overshadow how people perceive the severity of COVID-19 in their communities. Local public health information appears to get through to individuals, regardless of their political leanings.
Researchers found a significant association between restricting abortion access and increased suicide rates among women of reproductive age. The study's findings have clinical, policy, and ethical implications, highlighting the need for healthcare providers to approach suicide risk classification in this demographic differently.
A new study recommends increasing frequency of sitting-to-standing transitions to improve health. Researchers suggest using strategies like standing-up meetings and refreshments to create meaningful reasons for movement.
A test drive for an electric vehicle can strengthen a buyer's perception of themselves as an early adopter of new technologies, increasing their intention to purchase the car. However, this effect does not translate into interest in making a purchase if the test drive is seen as a status symbol.
A study by Dr Ansgar Hudde found that the Dutch cycle around twice as often as Germans during winter months due to differences in mobility culture. This is attributed to a cycling culture in Germany that only encourages seasonal cycling, whereas the Netherlands promotes year-round cycling.
A new study in The American Journal of Medicine found that adults who neglect COVID-19 vaccination may also neglect basic road safety guidelines. Unvaccinated individuals were more likely to be involved in traffic crashes, with a 72% increased relative risk compared to those vaccinated.
A national study found that Americans are moving to regions with the greatest risk of wildfires and significant summer heat, despite climate change projections. The top migration destinations were cities in the Pacific Northwest, parts of the Southwest, Texas, Florida, and the Southeast, which already face significant wildfire risks.
A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that individuals who are feeling tense due to time pressures and financial constraints tend not to reward themselves with gifts or experiences. However, when researchers encouraged participants to engage in self-gifting activities, they reported increased happiness and relaxat...
Researchers found that while humans excel at categorizing interactions between humans, dogs, and monkeys, they struggle to predict aggressive behaviors in both species. Participants performed poorly on identifying aggression in dogs and humans, suggesting a potential bias towards assuming good intentions from others.
A study found that up to 78% of walkers would choose a more challenging route with obstacles, suggesting 'Active Landscape' routes could improve health outcomes and tackle the 'inactivity pandemic'. The researchers identified design characteristics, such as handrails and signage, that influence participants' choices.
A study led by Kyoto University researchers found that AI-generated haiku poems, created without human intervention, were often indistinguishable from those penned by humans. In contrast, human-AI collaboration produced more creative works.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that women are less likely to participate in Q&A sessions at academic conferences due to anxiety about receiving professional backlash. Despite this, men were also found to hold back questions, but for different reasons, highlighting the need for structural changes to create a mor...
A new Hikikomori Questionnaire has been developed to identify individuals with pathological social withdrawal at an earlier stage. The questionnaire evaluates socialization, isolation, and emotional support on a scale of 0-4, providing a tool for early detection and treatment of hikikomori.
Researchers investigated online gaming behavior among 16,033 participants to explore its correlation with future career planning. The study found that different game genres were associated with specific soft skills, such as spatial skills for engineers and problem-solving skills for strategy players.
A University of California San Diego study found that both Democrats and Republicans would rather take away funding from their party than give money to the other party. This preference was also seen in gun rights and reproductive rights issues, with participants willing to hurt their own cause over supporting an opposing side. The stud...
Researchers found that football crowds can manipulate professional referees to award more red and yellow cards to away players. However, recent studies suggest that Premier League referees are less susceptible to these influences, indicating a narrowing of the gap between home and away yellow cards.
Researchers found that high-level social support reduces stress, anxiety, and depression in postgraduate students during the pandemic. A strong predictive effect was observed between life stress and social support on anxiety levels.
A Swansea University study found that people's fear of COVID-19 has a long-lasting impact on psychological wellbeing, affecting anxiety, depression and sleep difficulties. The study also found that older participants and those from minority ethnic groups were most likely to experience COVID-19 fear.
A large-scale study found anabolic-androgenic steroid use is relatively common among Canadian adolescents and young adults, associated with dependence and serious side effects. Nearly 1 in 4 steroid users experienced moderate or severe dependence and adverse health issues.
A study by University of Cologne scientists found that colleagues' encouragement and own healthy behaviors positively correlate with employees' fruit and vegetable consumption. However, explicit encouragement has a positive effect on physical exercise, while colleagues' behavior does not typically influence others' physical activity.
A new University of Colorado Boulder study shows that people tend to prioritize others' health and wellbeing when taking a moment to reflect on their behavior. When instructed to practice 'structured reflection,' participants were more likely to cancel gatherings and minimize public health risks, valuing others' health and wellbeing.
A systematic review found significant effects on anxiety, depression, fatigue, physical activity, quality of life, and social impairment in cancer patients who combined behavioural graded activity with psychological therapies. The effects remained significant after a period of one to three months.
A study found that COVID-19-related brand advertising leads to increased social distancing behavior, with a 1% increase in ads resulting in an average of 466 more people staying at home daily. The effect is stronger among educated populations and attenuated in conservative counties.
An experimental study found that U.S. political partisanship strongly influences first impressions of strangers' faces, affecting their perceived likability and competence. Disclosure of partisan affiliation had a greater impact on impressions than non-disclosure.
A study found that media literacy and trust in health experts are more powerful predictors of COVID-19 vaccine intentions than previous behavior or knowledge. Researchers also discovered that people who refused flu vaccines had lower future vaccine intentions despite higher COVID-19 knowledge.
A team of researchers from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, and Northern Illinois University are developing an open source system called FLASH to objectively measure children's screen-viewing behaviors. The five-year grant includes funding for three long-term studies on the impacts of screen use on young children.
A new study by UC Davis researchers analyzed over 550 speed-daters to explore how initial impressions shape later romantic outcomes. The findings suggest that both compatibility and popularity play a significant role in determining who people pursue as potential romantic partners.
A new study from The Primals Project at the University of Pennsylvania challenges the long-held assumption that conservatives see the world as more dangerous than liberals. Instead, researchers found that both conservatives and liberals view the world as similarly dangerous, with a hierarchical worldview playing a significant role in s...
Researchers at Indiana University have developed a virtual reality therapy to aid in substance use disorder recovery, using 'future-self avatars' to help people choose long-term rewards over immediate gratification. The technology has shown promising results in lowering relapse rates and increasing future self-connectedness.
A new study by UCL researchers found that talking therapies on the NHS can improve the mental health of people with dementia, with 63% experiencing a reduction in symptoms. The therapy proved clinically beneficial, even though response rates were lower than those without dementia.
A team from UNIGE and EPFL discovered that too much or too little motivation can blur sensory information and affect decision-making. In a state of hyper-motivation, rodents performed poorly, while moderate motivation led to optimal choice. These results open up new perspectives in learning methods.
A global study of nearly 16,000 people in 84 countries found that negative framing in public health messaging increases anxiety but doesn't shift attitudes or behavior related to protective actions. The research suggests using positive wording may be more effective for encouraging action.
Clinical psychologists need new ways to understand and confront the fear of losing control, which is an understudied construct. Adam Radomsky's research suggests that a deeper understanding of what leads to a client's choices can help therapists make better ones in the future.
A team of researchers demonstrates a nonconscious cognitive system that enables humans to make intuitive judgments striking a balance between conflicting moral duties. The study's findings contradict an influential dual process model, proposing instead a system capable of making tradeoffs in an optimal way.
Researchers found that people tend to choose familiar activities even when given the chance to try new things, especially when they feel like they don't have much time left. This preference for familiarity is driven by a desire for psychological closure and personal meaning, rather than just seeking safety.
Researchers found that people wearing masks in China were less likely to engage in deviant behavior, such as running red lights or cheating for money. Mask-wearing was associated with increased moral awareness, leading some individuals to behave more ethically.
A new research paper has demonstrated that psychological factors, such as feeling unhappy or being lonely, add up to 1.65 years to one's biological age, significantly impacting overall health and longevity.
A new study from Boston University's Social Development and Learning Lab reveals that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds take bigger risks in certain situations due to their environment. The research, led by Professor Peter Blake, suggests that children are rationally choosing risk when it makes sense in their circumstances.
A new study suggests that outgroup preference does not necessarily reflect negative feelings about the ingroup, but rather positive feelings about the outgroup. The study found that people who like a higher-status group tend to have more positive evaluations of both groups.
A new report reveals that both Democrats and Republicans personally value core democratic principles, but severely underestimate opposing party members' support for those same characteristics. This biased underestimation leads to a willingness to subvert democratic principles, particularly among Republicans.
A study by University of Basel economists found that homeownership leads to increased happiness, but not as long as predicted. Status-oriented individuals overestimated the benefits of home ownership, while intrinsically-oriented individuals were more accurate in their expectations.
A new study has decoded information about how we process gazes and facial expressions, revealing that emotional expressions of faces significantly impact our attention. The results show that faces showing joy or anger attract attention when looking directly at the observer, while disgusted faces with an averted gaze do the opposite.
Researchers found that experiencing reward enhances connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and the ventral striatum. This effect was specific to the DMN and correlated with personality characteristics related to openness. The study used data from the Human Connectome Project, a database of healthy participants.
Researchers surveyed FAU residents on perceptions, coping strategies, and mental health during the pandemic. Residents reported effective coping mechanisms like acceptance, self-distraction, and emotional support, but found depression and anxiety levels in normal ranges.
Researchers found that adults' face processing system remains rigid and unimproved despite prolonged exposure to masked faces during the pandemic. This suggests that the adult brain's ability to process faces does not adapt over time, even in the face of extensive natural exposure.
A study by Kyoto University and BonBon Inc found that complex games like Potion can measure distinct cognitive skills such as stealth behavior and abstract thinking in young players. However, older players did not exhibit the same level of engagement, challenging existing beliefs about gaming's impact on cognition.
A new study across 67 countries reveals that people who believe in COVID-19 conspiracy theories are less likely to support public health efforts, but a strong sense of morality can weaken this effect. The study suggests that appeals to moral foundations could be an effective strategy to reduce such beliefs.
A new study suggests that climate anxiety is a significant driver of climate action, particularly among younger people and those with higher generalized anxiety. Media exposure, rather than direct experiences, predicts climate anxiety, which can motivate individuals to make environmentally friendly lifestyle changes.
A study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that social media sharers believe they are knowledgeable about the content they share, even if they have not read it. This rise in confidence is due to the public commitment to an expert identity through sharing.
Researchers at Nara Institute of Science and Technology developed a new model of obsessive-compulsive disorder based on principles of reinforcement learning. The model suggests that imbalanced learning between reinforcement and punishment can lead to disordered behavior in OCD. This work helps explain how OCD develops and may be used t...
A new study found that 41% of teenagers can't tell the difference between true and fake online health messages. The researchers suggest focusing on health literacy and media literacy training, as well as skills like analytical thinking and scientific reasoning to help teenagers spot editing cues.
A new study found that people experiencing anxiety or depression during the pandemic were more likely to get vaccinated, but less likely to follow distancing guidelines. The researchers suggest that a gentler approach may be warranted, focusing on the benefits of vaccination for others, to encourage behavior change.