Psychology News and Research

RSS

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

Extreme personality poses risk of ADHD

Children with personalities marked by aggressiveness, mood swings, a sense of alienation and a need for excitement may be at greater risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder, according to a new Florida State University study.

23 Mar 2006

Children's earliest words stem from what interests them

A child's first word is always a time for celebration. Whether it's "ma," "da," or "cookie," the fact that your child has begun to communicate verbally represents a significant step in his or her development - and your role as a parent.

22 Mar 2006

The birth of words: Ten-month-olds learn words through perceptual salience

Infants are listening and learning their first words as young as 10 months, but they are only learning the words for objects that are of interest to them, not for objects of interest to the speaker, according to researchers at Temple University, University of Delaware and University of Evansville.

22 Mar 2006

Study uncovers variations in service on UK's psychiatric wards

A groundbreaking study to assess the state of the nation’s acute psychiatric wards has uncovered substantial variations in service provision and delivery.

21 Mar 2006

The effect of mood on how people process information changes greatly as they age

The study, which offers a window into the changing nature of the aging mind and the way it handles emotion and information, appears in the latest edition of the journal Psychology and Aging.

19 Mar 2006

Viewing a person as dishonest or immoral can distort memory

Viewing a person as dishonest or immoral can distort memory, a Cornell study suggests. So much so, that when we attempt to recall that person's behavior, it seems to be worse than it really was.

15 Mar 2006

Nature play before age 11 fosters adult environmental appreciation

If you want your children to grow up to actively care about the environment, give them plenty of time to play in the "wild" before they're 11 years old, suggests a new Cornell University study.

14 Mar 2006

Link between learning results and working memory

This three-year project has concentrated on basic research into the essence of memory and learning, and its results can be applied to such things as predicting learning difficulties or successes and understanding their related factors, which within working memory hinder or promote learning at an individual level.

13 Mar 2006

Strategies help keep memory fit in elderly

Believing that you can retain a good memory even in your twilight years is the first step to achieving that goal. Those who believe they can control their memory are more likely to employ mnemonic strategies that help keep memory fit despite the march of time.

13 Mar 2006

D-cycloserine helps patients learn how to conquer their fears

The fear of public speaking is the most common among individuals with SAD, as well as in the general population. The results of the study are published in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

13 Mar 2006

Anxiety restricts blood flow in some patients

The fear of public speaking might cause some people to do more than just break out in a cold sweat and battle stomach-churning butterflies - it could prove to have consequences for their heart health.

13 Mar 2006

Expressing anger in the moment is not healthy

According to a new book, Getting Control of Your Anger: A Clinically Proven, Three-Step Plan for Getting to the Root of the Problem and Resolving It (McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Dr. Robert Allan, a noted clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, for most people and in most circumstances, directly expressed anger will only make a bad situation worse.

9 Mar 2006

Research challenges theories on the organization of the visual system

Neuroscientists from the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota have found that the first area in the cortex of the human brain that receives information from the eyes processes the perceived size, rather than the actual size, of an object.

9 Mar 2006

How mammalian brains recognize other individuals

Imagine seeing a former high school classmate you always wanted to know better. Then imagine seeing that kid who used to push you in the hallways. Do you react differently? What happens in your brain during these encounters?

9 Mar 2006

Sex chromosome genes influence aggression

It has been well documented that, across human cultures and in most mammals, males are usually more aggressive and less nurturing than females.

9 Mar 2006

Genes play a key role in stress response

Both nature and nurture - genetic makeup and the environment experienced through life - combine to influence health and well-being, Duke University Medical Center researchers and their colleagues have determined in four new studies.

7 Mar 2006

Hostile women more likely to have atherosclerosis

Hardening of the coronary arteries is more likely in wives when they and their husbands express hostility during marital disagreements, and more common in husbands when either they or their wives act in a controlling manner.

7 Mar 2006

Simple saliva test may offer a new way to probe the consequences of caffeine coupled with stress

Using doses of caffeine equivalent to drinking one to four cups of coffee and an intense arithmetic test as stressors, Klein and her colleagues found a rise in the amount of alpha amylase, an enzyme secreted by the salivary glands, in the healthy young men who participated in the study.

7 Mar 2006

Peer exclusion may be as harmful as bullying

Children who are excluded from activities by their peers are more likely to withdraw from classroom activities and suffer academically, according to a recent study in the Journal of Educational Psychology published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

7 Mar 2006