Psychology

Reassurance: Sexy Underwear Is Not The Only Way For Women To Feel Pretty On Valentine's Day

Do television shows and magazines make you feel guilty for not wearing sexy lingerie, ladies? You may just need some marketing empowerment from academics in the humanities. Luckily, at Valentine's Day, the Internet will be filled with insipid advice ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 14 2014 - 11:23am

You Might Look Gay- And That First Impression Sticks, Say Social Psychologists

First impressions are so powerful that they can override what we are told about people, say social psychologists. A new paper presented today at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference in Austin says that even when told ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 14 2014 - 12:23pm

What Do Women Want? It Depends On Evolution, Their Menstrual Cycle- And Gray Literature

Is your significant other fickle? Blame evolution, say psychologists in a new Psychological Bulletin paper. The authors analyzed dozens of published and unpublished studies to try and determine how women's preferences for mates change throughout the ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 15 2014 - 5:30am

Risk Aversion In Gun-Shy Traders May Lead To Market Crises

Does cortisol, the stress hormone, cause risk aversion and 'irrational pessimism' in bankers and fund managers during financial crises? The authors of a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences correlate the fact that traders exh ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2014 - 5:30am

Deja Vu And Delusions Caused By Faulty 'Reality Testing' In Cognitive Functions

Why are some people are unable to break free of their delusions, despite overwhelming evidence explaining the delusion isn't real? A new paper by a philosopher offers as good an explanation as any, that dreams and delusions have a common link – they ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 19 2014 - 10:09am

Evil Genius: To Your Brain, Being Dishonest Or Creative Are A Lot Alike

Rule breakers are often more creative, because they are not bound by conventional ideas. So are liars. Yet one of those has a positive connotation and one is negative. But lying about performance on one task increased creativity on a subsequent task, by m ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 22 2014 - 11:17am

Dim The Lights And You May Make A More Rational Decision

If you want to turn down the emotional intensity before making an important decision, turn down the lights, say Alison Jing Xu, assistant professor of management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and Aparna Labroo of Northwestern University. ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 20 2014 - 1:48pm

To Diet Successfully, Avoid Late Night Cravings- And Your Friends

Eating is a biological necessity that became a communal activity. If you have gotten used to eating popcorn at the movies with your family, you either have to avoid going to the movies or have the willpower to say no to the popcorn. Not everyone can do it ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 24 2014 - 12:42pm

How To Get Rid Of Phantom Limb Pain: Put It Back To Work

A new method for the treatment of phantom limb pain after an amputation has been initially tested on a patient who has suffered from severe phantom limb pain for 48 years. The case study shows a drastic reduction of pain. It is common for people who lose ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2014 - 11:53pm

How To Reduce Autism By One Third

Autism diagnoses have gone up a lot in the last generation. It was to the 2000s what ADD diagnoses were to the 1990s.  And so people have rushed to attribute blame. Vaccines, GMOs, even BPA. If someone is selling alternative medicine, food or culture they ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 26 2014 - 3:58am