Psychology

You're Attracted To Body Odor Of Those With Similar Political Beliefs

For the last decade, political science has been engaged in an effort to make all political behavior a function of biology, much the same way evolutionary psychologists make everything about sex.  A new paper goes beyond suspect fMRI imaging interpretation ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2014 - 7:18pm

Artworks Are People Too?

Not all objects are equal in our minds. A Picasso sculpture is not the same way as a hammer, no matter how fancy the hammer.  The reason? We see the Picasso more as a person than an object, according to a new paper from the University of Chicago Booth Sch ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 16 2014 - 3:24pm

Yoga Is Not A Treatment For Bipolar Disorder

One way to know there will be no science at a nutrition conference is to find a yogic flying instructor on the panel roste r. Yoga has a variety of mental and physical health benefits, just like all exercise and sports do, but it is not going to cure bipo ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2014 - 9:04am

Theory Of Externalities, And Why We’ve Come To Hate Tech Companies

Google buses yuppifying San Francisco. Facebook creepily profiling us. iCloud giving up our pubes to hacker paparazzi. We poured our faith and money into these companies, and now we feel like jilted lovers. Apple once made “the computer for the rest of us ...

Article - Fred Phillips - Sep 18 2014 - 12:27pm

In Middle School, Girls' Body Image Affected By Other Girls, Not Boys

In American culture, media and men are criticized for how women feel about their bodies while in Europe women are given more credit for being able to decide for themselves how they feel.  Europeans may be onto something. A paper in  Psychology of Women Qu ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 18 2014 - 9:54am

Why Your Dog Is Pessimistic

Most dogs are happy and they are "man's best friend" because they brighten our day. If you rescue a starving dog they will love you forever whereas if you rescue a starving human, in a week they will have decided they did you a favor. With ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 18 2014 - 9:40am

Do Kids Of Tiger Moms Have Lower Self-Esteem?

Do kids of "tiger moms"- the term used by culture for demanding mothers in Asian families and   popularized due to the 2011 book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua- have lower self-esteem? Not if the halls of Caltech are any ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 22 2014 - 12:17pm

Would A Guardian Angel Make You Cautious Or Reckless?

If you had an angel walking beyond you, would you be more reckless or more cautious? It's surprising how many people believe that guardian angels watch over them to keep them safe in a dangerous world, and it's even more surprising that those wh ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 23 2014 - 9:38am

Why Perfectionists Are At Higher Risk For Suicide

For some people, their own standard is much more demanding that anything the outside world could expect. Perfectionism is a bigger risk factor in suicide than it is credited for, says York University Psychology Professor Gordon Flett, who is calling for c ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2014 - 10:45am

Evolutionary Psychology: Why Women Like Older Men And Men Like Younger Women

A new evolutionary psychology paper says that men and women have different age preferences regarding sexual partners- but it's primarily women realize their preferences.  ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2014 - 10:16am