Psychology News and Research

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

New insights into how the brain controls movements

In the children's game "red light green light," winners are able to stop, and take off running again, more quickly than their comrades.

19 Apr 2007

Psychological interventions to improve adherence to oral hygiene instructions in adults with periodontal diseases

Even when they have gum disease, many people don't bother to brush or floss properly.

19 Apr 2007

Short and simple interventions can reduce drinking in the general population

Five minutes of straight talk between doctors and problem drinkers could help reduce the toll of alcohol-related injuries, violence and accidents.

19 Apr 2007

Animal model for binge eating disorder

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) psychologists have developed an animal model for the binge eating disorder, which affects an estimated one in 20 Americans.

18 Apr 2007

Night owls do it tougher than other insomniacs

According to a new study night owls, those who stay up late with insomnia and then sleep longer in the mornings, have more psychological symptoms than morning insomniacs and need different treatment, even though they get more sleep.

16 Apr 2007

Men and women show different patterns of brain activity when viewing sexual stimuli

A study funded by the Atlanta-based Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) analyzed the viewing patterns of men and women looking at sexual photographs, and the result was not what one typically might expect.

15 Apr 2007

Lower educational level makes some men more vulnerable to the effects of prostate cancer

Among men who have received similar treatments for prostate cancer, those with less education , particularly those who did not graduate from high school , experience a significant drop in their quality of life after treatment compared with men who have more education, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

15 Apr 2007

Seeing a person's face makes it easier to hear them

Experience hearing a person's voice allows us to more easily hear what they are saying. Now research by UC Riverside psychology Professor Lawrence D.

15 Apr 2007

New perspectives on risk taking in adolescence

While the government spends billions of dollars on educational and prevention programs to persuade teens not to do things like smoke, drink or do drugs, a Temple University psychologist suggests that competing systems within the brain make adolescents more susceptible to engaging in risky or dangerous behavior, and that educational interventions alone are unlikely to be effective.

15 Apr 2007

Aftermath of suicide attempts - helping families cope

When a child attempts suicide, these emotions hit families like a Mack truck. Some family members bury their feelings deep inside and refuse to accept the stark reality.

15 Apr 2007

Faster diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease

Research by faculty and staff at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J.; the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; and Drexel University may lead to better diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's disease.

15 Apr 2007

Study describes impact of post-9/11 media exposure to dreams

Dream journals being kept by students in a college psychology class have provided researchers with a unique look at how people experienced the events of 9/11, including the influence that television coverage of the World Trade Center attacks had on people's levels of stress.

14 Apr 2007

Clinical psychologist to discuss stress disorder and soldiers in Iraq

Clinical psychologist Katherine T. Platoni, who is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Service Corps, will discuss her experiences treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder during active combat in Iraq Thursday, April 26, at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

12 Apr 2007

Role of hope in cooperative learning studied

Research conducted at the University of Arkansas suggests that when university graduate students are assigned to work in cooperative groups, they might want to start by exchanging scores on the Hope Scale along with cell phone numbers.

11 Apr 2007

Team sports helps breast cancer survivors

Breast cancer survivors may find participation on a team that incorporates physical fitness, such as boating, walking or running, can help improve their quality of life, says a Purdue University sport and exercise psychologist.

11 Apr 2007

Dieting might mean you end up fatter that before!

After analyzing the effects of 31 studies on the longterm effects of a number of diets, scientists in the U.S. say not only do they not work but they can also put a person's health at risk.

10 Apr 2007

UCLA research project targeting teens who leave home and their families

When emotions swell between teenager and parent, both sides sometimes say and do things they later wish they could take back.

7 Apr 2007

Remarkable power of social norms

Most people want to be normal. So, when we are given information that underscores our deviancy, the natural impulse is to get ourselves as quickly as we can back toward the center.

7 Apr 2007

San Antonio students aim to raise $500,000 to save the life of Adrian Flores-Saucedo

They started out a small group of students from San Antonio universities coming together regularly to pray for the world around them, now 25 members of the St. Matthew's Catholic Church prayer group Oriens have embarked on a more challenging mission, a humanitarian effort to try and raise $500,000 to save the life of Adrian Flores-Saucedo, a seven-year-old boy from Piedras Negras, Mexico in desperate need of a heart transplant.

7 Apr 2007

Behavior influenced by our genes

A new study in Journal of Personality shows that selfless and social behavior is not purely a product of environment, specifically religious environment.

7 Apr 2007