Psychology

Afterlife Belief Preserves Hope When Thinking About Death

The prospect of death, and the impact of mortality, is a lot less daunting when there is belief in the afterlife, say psychologists. Dr. Arnaud Wisman and Dr. Nathan Heflick, of the University of Kent School of Psychology set out to establish in four separ ...

Article - News Staff - May 14 2015 - 10:20am

Do Flies Know Fear?

When fruit flies respond to the threat of an overhead shadow, is that fear? The response to visual threats includes many essential elements of what we humans call fear and David J. Anderson of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the California Institut ...

Article - News Staff - May 14 2015 - 11:56am

Is Flow Theory A Science Basis For Positive Psychology?

What makes us happy? Philosophers, psychologists and scientists have long pondered that question. Psychologists believe they may have a solution that satisfies everyone in flow theory, a model that better preserves the approach to individual distinctivenes ...

Article - News Staff - May 18 2015 - 12:00pm

Eat Meat? You Believe In Social Inequality, Say Psychologists

Meat eaters who justify their eating habits feel less guilty and are more tolerant of social inequality, say a group of authors led by psychologist Dr. Jared Piazza of Lancaster University. Omnivores also rationalize, say the team. They have labeled the mo ...

Article - News Staff - May 18 2015 - 11:49am

How Assassins Bury Their Feelings After A Successful ‘Hit’

A  psychological analysis of novice assassins has delved into how hitmen bury their feelings after a successful attack. Hired killers don't deal with people, they are businessmen and they are doing a job, no different than a soldier in the military. ...

Article - News Staff - May 18 2015 - 12:42pm

Virtual Drivers Resembling The User May Increase Trust In Smart Cars

Objections to automated driving seem a little silly, since millions of lives are lost in car accidents and human error is estimated to cause more than 90% of them. It may just be fear of the unknown, the same precautionary principle that makes people worry ...

Article - News Staff - May 19 2015 - 12:23pm

'Natural' Sounds Improve May Improve Office Mood And Productivity

Playing natural sounds such as flowing water in offices could boosts worker moods and improve cognitive abilities in addition to providing speech privacy, according to a new study. An increasing number of modern open-plan offices employ sound masking syst ...

Article - News Staff - May 24 2015 - 8:58am

Sense Of Self: Whether You Place It In The Brain Or Heart Says A Lot About You

If you think of your 'sense of self', do you locate it in your heart or your brain?  It can tell people a lot about your decision-making process. Obviously, advertising is one area.  Messages targeted at people with independent self-construals (y ...

Article - News Staff - May 20 2015 - 11:00am

Why 'Wellness' Isn't The Answer To Working Too Much

Many of the people who visit me in my therapy practice spend time talking about work. How much work there is, how they never seem to be able to get it all done, how many hours they spend at work, how tired they are all the time and how fearful they are ab ...

Article - The Conversation - May 22 2015 - 7:30am

Seen And Clean: What People In Surveys Say They Want In Nutrition Labels

A new survey finds that 87 percent of Americans look at the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods and beverages and 56 percent actively seek out nutritional information and guidelines. 67 percent favor groceries with fewer and simpler ingredients, while ...

Article - News Staff - May 23 2015 - 10:00am