Psychology News and Research

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

PTSD treatment claims process eased, some remain skeptical

NPR: The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a new rule Monday that aims to make it easier for troops who return from battle to get the PTSD support they need. "Veterans will no longer have to prove that a certain attack, bomb explosion or event in a combat zone triggered post-traumatic stress. It's a change that most agree has been a long time coming.

14 Jul 2010

Emotions play important role when certifying patients' terminal stage: Research

A research conducted at the University of Granada revealed that emotions play an important role when health professionals have to certify that a patient is in terminal stage. To the purpose of this research, a qualitative study was undertaken with a sample of 42 participants. Participants were thoroughly interviewed, with the aim of analyzing the approach and language employed by health professionals treating terminally-ill patients.

13 Jul 2010

Verbal cues influence even most elementary visual processing

Cognitive psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California have shown that an image displayed too quickly to be seen by an observer can be detected if the participant first hears the name of the object.

13 Jul 2010

Hormone leptin reduces food intake by activating hippocampus: Research

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior, the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that the hormone leptin reduces food intake, in part, by activating the hippocampus, an area of the brain that controls learning and memory function. Leptin is a hormone released from fat cells that acts on the brain to inhibit feeding.

13 Jul 2010

Portion control all a matter of perception!

The key to losing weight could lie in manipulating our beliefs about how filling we think food will be before we eat it, suggesting that portion control is all a matter of perception.

13 Jul 2010

New research evaluates effectiveness of popular slimming supplements

New research evaluating the effectiveness of a broad selection of popular slimming supplements sold in pharmacies and health food shops has found no evidence that any of them facilitate weight loss beyond the placebo effect.

12 Jul 2010

Educational psychologists use eye-tracking method for detecting lies

Shifty eyes long have been thought to signify a person's problem telling the truth. Now a group of University of Utah researchers are taking that old adage to a new level.

12 Jul 2010

Fussy eating may be an “eating disorder” say researchers

Picky and fussy eaters are not just being difficult to please say U.S. researchers. They may be suffering from an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. Soon the disorder is to have an official name and the American Psychiatric Association plans to call them “selective eaters”.

11 Jul 2010

MHN endorses 'The American Journal of Men's Health'

The American Journal of Men's Health (published by SAGE) is now endorsed by Men's Health Network.

9 Jul 2010

Women aged 27-45 have heightened sex drive in response to dwindling fertility: Study

As more women wait until their 30s and 40s to have children, they are more willing to engage in a variety of sexual activities to capitalize on their remaining childbearing years, according to new research by psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

8 Jul 2010

Bilinguals more effective in certain executive functions: Study

The research group of Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging at the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, led by Professor of Basic Psychology, César ávila Rivera, has reported that bilinguals are faster and more efficient in certain tasks in which executive functions are used due to a different form of cerebral control.

7 Jul 2010

CME announces conference on mind-body connection in psychiatric disorders

CME LLC announces Treating the Whole Patient: The Mind-Body Connection in Psychiatric Disorders, a one-day educational conference for professionals to be held on August 14, 2010, at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach, California. Leading mental health experts Rakesh Jain, MD, MPH, Jon W. Draud, MD, MS, Vladimir Maletic, MD, and Charles Raison, MD will review the most recent developments concerning the relationship between mental and physical health conditions and explore the concept of Wellness.

7 Jul 2010

Boys outnumber girls at extremely high levels of math ability and scientific reasoning: Study

A study that examined 30 years of standardized test data from the very highest-scoring seventh graders has found that performance differences between boys and girls have narrowed considerably, but boys still outnumber girls by more than about 3-to-1 at extremely high levels of math ability and scientific reasoning.

7 Jul 2010

Social, psychological factors rather than biological changes influence women's sexual behaviour during menopause

New research from the University of Sheffield has found that social and psychological factors have the biggest influence upon women's sexual behaviour during the menopause, rather than biological changes such as declining hormone levels.

7 Jul 2010

New study may lead to in-car warning system that may provide enough time for drivers to react

It is well-documented that when negotiating winding roads, drivers tend to look at a specific, well-defined point on the lane marking - referred to as the tangent point. New research finds that the further drivers can look ahead, generally in left-hand curves, wide curves and when leaving a curve, the less they have to look at the tangent point.

7 Jul 2010

If you witness rudeness you are more likely to make mistakes, says Professor of Applied Psychology

If someone is rude to you at work or if you witness rudeness you are more likely to make mistakes, says Rhona Flin, Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, in an editorial published in this week's BMJ.

7 Jul 2010

Drug use debilitates sexual response: Study

Sharing a bottle of red wine may seem like the best recipe for a romantic interlude. However, the evening may not turn out as planned according to a Concordia University study, which evaluated the effect of a wide range of drugs, including alcohol, on sexual behaviour. The findings, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior, definitively show that despite our preconceived notions, use of many recreational drugs can cause a loss in that lovin' feeling.

7 Jul 2010

Therapist competence strongly related to symptom improvement in some patients: Study

While studies have shown that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for depression, it has still not been clear the role therapists' training and expertise plays in making treatment successful. A new study finds that depressed patients show more symptom improvement when their therapists more competently follow the guidelines for delivering cognitive therapy.

7 Jul 2010

Anxiety can cause individuals become more idealistic in religious belief, researchers find

Anxiety and uncertainty can cause us to become more idealistic and more radical in our religious beliefs, according to new findings by York University researchers, published in this month's issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

7 Jul 2010

New MRI technology may revolutionize diagnosis of medical conditions

The development of a new magnetic resonance imaging technology that could revolutionise the way medical conditions are diagnosed and treated is to take a major step forward as a £7m research centre is established at the University of York.

2 Jul 2010