Psychology News and Research

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

Habitual physical activity improves midlife women's health

Moving 6,000 or more steps a day-no matter how-adds up to a healthier life for midlife women. That level of physical activity decreases the risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome (a diabetes precursor and a risk for cardiovascular disease), showed a study published online this month in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society.

22 Nov 2012

Yawning could be linked to fetal development

The 4D scans of 15 healthy fetuses, by Durham and Lancaster Universities, also suggest that yawning is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors another index of a fetus' health.

22 Nov 2012

Study demonstrates memory-enhancing effects of low-level light therapy

It's called the "Silver Tsunami" - the swelling number of baby boomers surpassing age 65. As medical advancements extend their lives, they're expected to live well into their 80s and 90s - outlasting any generation in American history.

22 Nov 2012

Tips on how to help children understand concepts of thankfulness during holidays

Most people are looking forward to the food, family gatherings and gift giving that comes along with the holiday season. Dr. William Hansen, a psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, reminds parents that this is also the time of year when they should pause to say thanks and also reinforce this idea in their children.

21 Nov 2012

Researchers to study importance and impact of lifelong learning in workplaces

How can successful companies use lifelong learning to have a competitive advantage in their enterprises? This is one of the questions being addressed by the new LLLight'in'Europe project, which wants to analyse the importance of lifelong learning activities to ensure better person to job fits.

21 Nov 2012

UNC expert to talk about gratitude research at SPSP annual meeting, Jan. 17-19

Sara Algoe of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who has investigated how gratitude benefits close relationships, including how expressing gratitude leads to long-term social outcomes for women with metastatic breast cancer and the evolutionary role for gratitude. She will be presenting some of this work at the SPSP annual meeting in New Orleans (Jan. 17-19, 2013), and she is a recipient of grant funding through the Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude project.

21 Nov 2012

John Templeton Foundation to continue and extend meditation research project

The John Templeton Foundation has awarded a grant of $2.3 million over three years to continue and extend the Shamatha Project, the most comprehensive investigation yet conducted into the effects of intensive meditation training on mind and body.

20 Nov 2012

No link between lunar phases and incidence of psychological problems: Study

Contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between lunar phases and the incidence of psychological problems. This is the conclusion reached by a team of researchers directed by Professor Genevi-ve Belleville of Universit- Laval's School of Psychology after having examined the relationship between the moon's phases and the number of patients who show up at hospital emergency rooms experiencing psychological problems.

20 Nov 2012

International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals symposium to be held in Nevada

The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp) announces its 2013 Symposium slated for March 21-24 at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada. The program is celebrating its 27th year with five keynote speakers as headliners addressing innovative approaches to eating disorder treatment as well as thirty-two workshop presenters and preconference training sessions.

20 Nov 2012

Decreased cognitive functioning associated with deterioration in kidney function

Decreased kidney function is associated with decreased cognitive functioning in areas such as global cognitive ability, abstract reasoning and verbal memory, according to a study led by Temple University. This is the first study describing change in multiple domains of cognitive functioning in order to determine which specific abilities are most affected in individuals with impaired renal function.

19 Nov 2012

New bulimia nervosa therapy for patients with eating disorders

An eating disorders research team led by Stephen Wonderlich, a Director of Clinical Research at the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (NRI), has developed a successful bulimia nervosa therapy that can provide patients an alternative for treating this debilitating disorder.

18 Nov 2012

Possible link between mind wandering and aging

Scientific studies have suggested that a wandering mind indicates unhappiness, whereas a mind that is present in the moment indicates well-being. Now, a preliminary UCSF study suggests a possible link between mind wandering and aging, by looking at a biological measure of longevity.

17 Nov 2012

Researchers analyze Brazilian mediums' cerebral blood flow during practice of psychography

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil analyzed the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of Brazilian mediums during the practice of psychography, described as a form of writing whereby a deceased person or spirit is believed to write through the medium's hand.

17 Nov 2012

UGA research finds children with noncardiac chest pain have higher levels of anxiety

Psychological factors can have as much-or more-impact on pediatric chest pain as physical ones, a University of Georgia study found recently.

17 Nov 2012

Study examines how anxiety sensitivity thwarts efforts of smokers with asthma to quit smoking

A new University of Cincinnati study examines how anxiety sensitivity can thwart the efforts of smokers with asthma to quit smoking. This new direction of research from Alison McLeish, a UC assistant professor of psychology, will be presented on Nov.17, at the 46th annual convention of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) in National Harbor, Md.

15 Nov 2012

Over stress during pregnancy increases risk of child being victimised in later life

Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy are more likely to become victims of bullying at school.

15 Nov 2012

LanPercept to focus on advanced techniques for studying language and perception

LanPercept, a new Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded through the 7th EU Framework Programme, will develop cutting edge techniques to understand vision-language mapping across the life-span in typically and atypically developing populations. New tools and training software will be tested to help disabled and elderly people negotiate the translation between vision and language.

15 Nov 2012