Psychology News and Research

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Psychology is the study of human mental functions, behavior and processes.

Timing of sexual history influences partner choice across cultures

A major international study has found that when it comes to choosing a long-term partner, people across the globe consider not just how many sexual partners someone has had, but also when those encounters took place.

5 Aug 2025

Vagus nerve stimulation enhances the effects of compassion meditation training

Stimulating the vagus nerve with a device attached to the outer ear can help make compassion meditation training more effective at boosting people's capacity for self-kindness and mindfulness, finds a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers.

5 Aug 2025

MRI brain scans help identify effective use of self-guided anxiety app

By understanding differences in how people's brains are wired, clinicians may be able to predict who would benefit from a self-guided anxiety care app, according to a new analysis from a clinical trial led by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

31 Jul 2025

$5.5 million federal grant funds research to improve measurement of FXTAS treatments

UC Davis Health Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences David Hessl will help lead a major research project to develop better ways to measure treatments for fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS).

31 Jul 2025

Home-based brain stimulation system uses AI to enhance concentration

A personalized brain stimulation system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can safely enhance concentration from home has been developed by researchers from the University of Surrey, the University of Oxford and Cognitive Neurotechnology.

29 Jul 2025

Vaccine preferences found to be driven by national loyalty and trust

the Chinese vaccine was the most common, an unprecedented phenomenon occurred.

28 Jul 2025

Study reveals how old wounds increase sensitivity to stress

A wound can leave a lasting imprint - even after it has healed. A new study in Current Biology finds that past injuries can quietly prime the body to overreact and be more sensitive to stress, pain and fear long after the damage is gone.

28 Jul 2025

Outpatient therapy offers hope for young eating disorder patients after hospitalization

Eating disorders affect more than 5% of young people, and they have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness.

28 Jul 2025

Ultrasound descriptions may shape how parents view their unborn children

Most parents can think back to the first ultrasound image they saw of their unborn child, and may even be able to remember what impression that image had on them.

22 Jul 2025

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are reshaping modern dating and intimacy

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are changing how people date and connect. In a nationally representative survey of 2,000 single U.S. adults (ages 18 to 91) led by the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University with DatingNews.com, GLP-1 users reported a wide range of physical, social, and psychological shifts they attributed to the drug.

18 Jul 2025

AI-guided patient stratification boosts Alzheimer’s trial outcomes and efficiency

Scientists have used an AI model to reassess the results of a completed clinical trial for an Alzheimer's disease drug.

17 Jul 2025

Study: Nearly half of hospital toilet users skip handwashing

Almost one in two people using a hospital toilet did not wash their hands afterwards, according to new research from the University of Surrey - raising serious concerns about hygiene compliance in high-risk environments.

17 Jul 2025

Ripple activity in the brain helps organize and store episodic memories

A research team from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Barcelona, the UB Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has identified, for the first time in humans, and in a realistic environment, a key neurophysiological mechanism in memory formation: ripple-type brain waves —high-frequency electrical oscillations that mark and organize the different episodes or fragments of information that the brain stores as memories.

17 Jul 2025

Study reveals key social factors that support preterm children's mental health

Around 8% of all births in England are preterm. Despite improvements in neonatal care and survival, preterm children still have more difficulties in later life than their peers, including a higher risk of mental health problems, which have not improved in recent decades.

16 Jul 2025

Loneliness amplifies cognitive decline in individuals with hearing loss

Isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness — hearing impairment or loss is a real challenge in daily life. Over time, it can also become a risk factor for cognitive decline. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) analyzed data from 33,000 older adults across Europe to examine the combined impact of hearing loss and loneliness on memory.

16 Jul 2025

Brain's tiny region dictates how memories are formed and separated

Life may unfold as a continuous stream, but our memories tell a different story. We do not recall the past as one long, unbroken text. Instead, we remember it as a series of meaningful events, like how sentences are structured with grammar and punctuation.

16 Jul 2025