Psychology News and Research

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

New research sheds light on two distinct brain processes that underlie prospective memory

You plan on shopping for groceries later and you tell yourself that you have to remember to take the grocery bags with you when you leave the house. Lo and behold, you reach the check-out counter and you realize you've forgotten the bags.

20 Aug 2013

Study: Websites and mobile apps help fight obesity

A pending component of health care reform would require restaurants and vending machines to list calorie information on menus to help fight obesity.

20 Aug 2013

African-American students exposed to lead three times more likely to be suspended than white students

Children who are exposed to lead are nearly three times more likely to be suspended from school by the 4th grade than children who are not exposed, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study funded jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Partnership Program Education and Research Committee.

17 Aug 2013

Irrelevant information leads to inappropriate treatment decisions in medical testimonials

Medical testimonials on the Internet and elsewhere present powerful personal stories and useful information, but they can also be dangerous to your health if distracting, irrelevant information leads to inappropriate treatment decisions, say researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

16 Aug 2013

Hypnotic relaxation therapy improves sexual health in postmenopausal women

Hypnotic relaxation therapy improves sexual health in postmenopausal women who have moderate to severe hot flashes, according to Baylor University researchers who presented their findings at the American Psychological Association's recent annual meeting.

16 Aug 2013

Preterm babies are at high risk for lower academic achievement, says researchers

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have received a five-year, $3 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

16 Aug 2013

Pregnant women with thyroid hormone deficiency are 4 times likelier to produce autistic children

Pregnant women who don't make nearly enough thyroid hormone are nearly 4 times likelier to produce autistic children than healthy women, report scientists from the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute and Erasmus Medical Centre in an upcoming Annals of Neurology (online today).

14 Aug 2013

Infants fed with DHA-enriched formula score better intelligence in early childhood

University of Kansas scientists have found that infants who were fed formula enriched with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) from birth to 12 months scored significantly better than a control group on several measures of intelligence conducted between the ages of three to six years.

13 Aug 2013

Study challenges popular perception of "new and pervasive hookup culture" among college students

A University of Portland study challenges the popular perception that there is a "new and pervasive hookup culture" among contemporary college students.

13 Aug 2013

Flexible hubs coordinate brain’s responses to novel cognitive challenges

One thing that sets humans apart from other animals is our ability to intelligently and rapidly adapt to a wide variety of new challenges - using skills learned in much different contexts to inform and guide the handling of any new task at hand.

13 Aug 2013

Websites to chronicle cancer experience reduce depression in women with breast cancer

Adults increasingly are conveying their personal experience with serious disease online, but do such chronicles help the authors or their audience? In the first known study of its kind, UCLA researchers have discovered that creating a personal website to chronicle the cancer experience and communicate with the author's interpersonal circle can reduce depressive symptoms, increase positive mood, and enhance appreciation for life in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

13 Aug 2013

Adolescents with symptoms of depression also may be at risk for developing anxiety

Some adolescents who suffer with symptoms of depression also may be at risk for developing anxiety, according to a new study of children's mental health.

13 Aug 2013

Dopamine responses to alcohol ingestion may serve as marker of vulnerability to AUDs

There are two traits closely associated with the development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). One is a lower subjective intoxication response, also known as a low level of response to alcohol.

12 Aug 2013

Children who exhibit lower conscientiousness may have adult obesity

Results from a longitudinal study show that children who exhibit lower conscientiousness (e.g., irresponsible, careless, not persevering) could experience worse overall health, including greater obesity, as adults.

12 Aug 2013

Study shows kids who overestimate their popularity display less aggression

Children who overestimate their popularity are less likely to be bullies than those who underestimate or hold more accurate assessments of their social standing, finds new research to be presented at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

12 Aug 2013

UCLA researchers invent research maps to help neuroscientists choose what to study next

Before the digital age, neuroscientists got their information in the library like the rest of us. But the field's explosion has created nearly 2 million papers -- more data than any researcher can read and absorb in a lifetime.

8 Aug 2013

Overthinking can be harmful to human performance, finds study

Trying to explain riding a bike is difficult because it is an implicit memory. The body knows what to do, but thinking about the process can often interfere. So why is it that under certain circumstances paying full attention and trying hard can actually impede performance? A new UC Santa Barbara study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals part of the answer.

8 Aug 2013

Harmful toxins found in food may put developing babies at risk

Pregnant women regularly consume food and beverages containing toxins believed to pose potential risks to developing fetuses, according to researchers at the University of California in Riverside and San Diego, suggesting that health care providers must do more to counsel their patients about the dangers of hidden toxins in the food supply.

8 Aug 2013

Prolonged exposure therapy does not increase drinking in PTSD and alcohol dependent patients

Contrary to past concerns, using prolonged exposure therapy to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid alcohol dependence does not increase drinking or cravings, Penn Medicine psychiatrists report in the August 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence/human rights.

7 Aug 2013

New study suggests that color of night light can affect mood-related behaviors

When it comes to some of the health hazards of light at night, a new study suggests that the color of the light can make a big difference.

7 Aug 2013

Psychology News and Research

Further Reading

New research sheds light on two distinct brain processes that underlie prospective memory

Study: Websites and mobile apps help fight obesity

African-American students exposed to lead three times more likely to be suspended than white students

Irrelevant information leads to inappropriate treatment decisions in medical testimonials

Hypnotic relaxation therapy improves sexual health in postmenopausal women

Preterm babies are at high risk for lower academic achievement, says researchers

Pregnant women with thyroid hormone deficiency are 4 times likelier to produce autistic children

Infants fed with DHA-enriched formula score better intelligence in early childhood

Study challenges popular perception of "new and pervasive hookup culture" among college students

Flexible hubs coordinate brain’s responses to novel cognitive challenges

Websites to chronicle cancer experience reduce depression in women with breast cancer

Adolescents with symptoms of depression also may be at risk for developing anxiety

Dopamine responses to alcohol ingestion may serve as marker of vulnerability to AUDs

Children who exhibit lower conscientiousness may have adult obesity

Study shows kids who overestimate their popularity display less aggression

UCLA researchers invent research maps to help neuroscientists choose what to study next

Overthinking can be harmful to human performance, finds study

Harmful toxins found in food may put developing babies at risk

Prolonged exposure therapy does not increase drinking in PTSD and alcohol dependent patients

New study suggests that color of night light can affect mood-related behaviors

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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