Psychology

In my post about the somewhat wretched dating website HotOrNot.com, I wrote about researchers' determination that all humans value the same standards of beauty. Really, no matter if you're hot or plain, you recognize a set standard of hotness—you ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Nov 25 2010 - 12:08am

Copycat Behavior Universal Among Children, Study Finds

A new study of Australian preschoolers and Kalahari Bushman children suggests that overimitation, in which a child copies everything an adult shows them, appears to be a universal human activity, rather than something the children of western middle-class p ...

Article - News Staff - May 3 2010 - 7:03pm

The Rat-Brained Navigation Of Men

Imagine you're navigating a three-dimensional maze. Believe it or not, in this situation, both men and women think. Only, women think with the distinctly human right prefrontal cortex, while men use the rat-brain navigational instincts of their left ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Nov 27 2010 - 1:08pm

Music-Induced Holiday Homicide

In the month of December (and October, November, and January), PA systems in malls around the country play holiday music. And when we hear the telltale pa-rum-pum-pum-pum we want to strangle the nearest elf. Maybe kick a reindeer. In the month of December ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Dec 18 2010 - 10:32am

A Guide To Gift Buying And Marital Bliss

The age-old dilemma: do you take your sig other's hints, buy that electronic picture frame, and load it with family highlights from holidays past (yawn)? Or do you go with your gut and get her the unexpected gift of a new XBox-360? ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Dec 13 2010 - 12:29pm

Pregnant Smokers Put Kids At Risk For Psychiatric Problems

Pregnant mothers who smoke during pregnancy may be putting their children at risk psychiatric problems in childhood and young adulthood, according to a new study. Finnish researchers found that adolescents who had been exposed to prenatal smoking were at i ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2010 - 10:48am

It's New Years: No More Lying

Does it take effort to tell the truth or are you naturally honest? In other words, are you truthful or a liar? A Harvard neuroimaging study showed that you're wired to be one or the other. The study watched subjects' brains as they were presente ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Jan 1 2011 - 12:04pm

The Robin Hood Morality Quiz

Read the following story and then rank Robin, Maid Marion, the sheriff of Nottingham and Little John from most to least moral (I'll post interpretation instructions tomorrow): The sheriff of Nottingham has finally caught Robin Hood and Little John! I ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Jun 25 2010 - 4:20pm

Teen Girls Communicate With Parents More Than Boys

Teenage girls are more willing than boys to communicate with their parents when it comes to talking about most dating issues, and both sexes generally prefer to talk to their mothers, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescence. The new study al ...

Article - News Staff - May 6 2010 - 11:26am

Wash Your Hands To Eliminate Buyer's Remorse?

Washing your hands can cleanse you of past immoral behavior, it can also eliminate traces of buyer's remorse by reducing the need to justify past decisions, say psychologist writing in Science. "It's not just that washing your hands contribu ...

Article - News Staff - May 6 2010 - 7:06pm