Psychology

You Learn More By Trusting Than Not Trusting

We all know people who have suffered by trusting too much: scammed customers, jilted lovers, shunned friends. Indeed, most of us have been burned by misplaced trust. These personal and vicarious experiences lead us to believe that people are too trusting, ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 12 2019 - 5:14pm

Is Your Child A Moody Teen Or Depressed? It Can Be Hard To Tell

For two-thirds of parents it can be hard to know the line between recognizing youth depression and making something special of teen moods, and perhaps enabling more problems. But there is no question America is the most over-medicated in the world, and one ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 19 2019 - 5:01am

Teens Report Being "So Bored" More Than Ever

In a story that feels like it could have come from Babylon Bee or The Onion, psychologists used surveys of teens to declare with somber seriousness that teens are more bored than ever- and adolescent girls are most bored. And that could lead to drug abuse. ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Nov 20 2019 - 1:09pm

Your 'Epstein Didn't Kill Himself' Friend- Conspiracy Believers Are Often Not Crackpots About Everything

"Epstein didn't kill himself" is a conspiracy meme that has been everywhere lately. If you are not familiar with the name Jeffrey Epstein, he was a billionaire and convicted sex offender- but as a billionaire he was connected to almost every ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 4 2019 - 10:40am

The Fake News Source Is... You

A new study found that people given accurate statistics on a controversial issue misremembered those numbers to fit commonly held beliefs. That means the source of fake news is often not malevolent organizations manipulating social media, it is people conv ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 9 2019 - 6:30pm

Star Wars Will Win Even If Your Expectations Are Too High, Because Nostalgia Rules

New survey results in the Journal of Media Psychology find that how much you enjoy or hate the new "Star Wars" movie will depend a lot on your expectations. Nothing shocking in that, but there is a twist. And the twist is not that the new movie w ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 26 2019 - 5:01pm

Maharishi Paper Claims Meditation Will Reduce Chronic Heart Failure, Co-Author Is Editor In Chief Of The Journal

If you are an African-American hypertensive at high risk of developing associated cardiovascular disease, a new paper from Maharishi Institute- where yogic flying instructors get trained to levitate(1)- says Transcendental Meditation will prevent abnormal ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 30 2019 - 7:00am

'Gift Of Life' Appeals: Why Do They Work For Blood Drives But Not Organ Donations?

Every time a disaster occurs, people show their philanthropic side, but the same framing that works for blood drives, such as 'gift of life' appeals, is far less effective when it comes to organ donation. Though much is known about why people don ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 10 2020 - 4:03pm

Spurious Thinking: Why You're More Susceptible To Misinformation Than You Think

Online misinformation works, or so it would seem. One of the more interesting statistics from the 2019 UK general election was that 88% of advertisements posted on social media by the Conservative Party pushed figures that had already been deemed misleadi ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 11 2020 - 6:30am

Nearly 12% Of Surveyed Soldiers Sent To Afghanistan Had Suicidal Thoughts

Surveys sought to find out how common suicidal ideation and mental health disorders were during combat deployment and to examine the associated risk factors. Some of the greatest risks were being white, having past non-combat trauma, and past major depress ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 29 2020 - 11:00am