Psychology

Healthy Chocolate And Why Our Confirmation Bias Gets Trolled So Easily

Earlier in the year the world was finally treated to some good news from science: a report was published that claimed to show that eating chocolate could help you lose weight faster. ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 2 2015 - 11:46am

Scary TV's Impact On Kids Overstated

The impact of scary TV on children's wellbeing has been overstated, according to a new paper. While research has shown that a small minority of children can have extreme reactions to a scary program, overall there is very little sign of increased anx ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 8 2015 - 11:36am

Why Academics Are Interested In The Naked Men Of Poldark And Outlander

The buzz in the press and on social media about TV costume dramas Poldark and Outlander has been formidable. Adapted from hugely popular novels, they have drawn fans of the books (and, in the case of Poldark, of the original TV series) as well as newcomer ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 4 2015 - 11:00am

Genetic Variation Of Stress Hormone Receptor May Affect Vulnerability To Major Depression

Scientists are beginning to unwrap the biology behind why some people are more prone to major depression and other psychiatric disorders than others when experiencing stressful life events. The researchers found that cellular activity in response to stres ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 9 2015 - 11:00am

Mindfulness Or McMindfulness

Mindfulness as a psychological aid is very much in fashion. Recent reports on the latest finding suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is as effective as anti-depressants in preventing the relapse of recurrent depression. While the authors of ...

Article - The Conversation - Jun 8 2015 - 11:00am

Why Good People Do Bad Things

Honest behavior is much like sticking to a diet- you have to be ready for temptation and consider the long-term consequences. A recent paper says it is the first study to test how the two separate factors of identifying an ethical conflict and preemptivel ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 10 2015 - 12:25pm

Social Scientists Say Everyone Is Biased- And We All Have A Bias Blind Spot About It

It is believed by the social sciences that all people have bias- and a "bias blind spot," meaning that they are less likely to detect bias in themselves than others. If so, how blind are we to our own actual degree of bias, and how many of us th ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 10 2015 - 3:31pm

Increased Risk With Teen Moms, Finds Study Of Parental Age And Autism

A study of parental age and autism risk including  5.7 million children in five countries found increased autism rates among the children of teen moms and among children whose parents have relatively large gaps between their ages. It also confirmed that o ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 12 2015 - 8:09am

Pig Behavior And Emotions Similar To Dogs?

A psychologist and an English professor have written a review of studies and concluded that pigs perform as well as or better than dogs on some tests of behavioral and cognitive sophistication, and they compare favorably to chimpanzees. The review by Emor ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 10 2015 - 11:30pm

Sympathetic Nervous System: Physiological Responses Correlated To Political Affiliations?

Political partisanship is rooted in affective, physiological processes that cause partisans to toe the party line on policies and issues, regardless of policy content, according to a new paper. Social psychologists have said that party identifiers are mor ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 18 2015 - 9:00am