Psychology News and Research

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

Talk therapy effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder

The alterations start every year around October just after the end of daylight savings time. For most, the clock shift just adds an hour to the weekend -- but for sufferers of seasonal affective disorder, a syndrome involving recurring bouts of depression during fall and winter months, it marks the beginning of a difficult time of year when many forgo an after-work run for a nap, watch television instead of walk the dog, or sleep later in the morning.

30 Oct 2005

Scientists say there is less white matter in the frontal lobes of those who struggle with focusing

When it comes to focusing on a task amid distractions, some folks more than 60 years old are as mentally sharp as 22-year-olds. Others struggle. Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have shed some light on why that is.

27 Oct 2005

Alien abduction may be all in the mind

New research presented at the Science Museum's Dana Centre, supports what scientists have long argued: that people who report contact with aliens have a psychological profile that might make them more susceptible to false memories.

27 Oct 2005

Women's sexual function improves when partners are administered Vardenafil for erectile dysfunction

Couples share wine, movies, vacations and bedrooms. Do couples also share sexual problems and solutions?

25 Oct 2005

The face represents an important window into the influences of stress and emotion on health

A provocative new study has found that people who respond to stressful situations with angry facial expressions, rather than fearful expressions, are less likely to suffer such ill effects of stress as high blood pressure and high stress hormone secretion.

25 Oct 2005

Ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors

Heredity plays a major role in determining the blood lipid profile and heart rate variability of blacks and whites, two major risk factors for coronary artery disease, researchers say.

16 Oct 2005

Combining alcoholics anonymous and treatment works best

Most clinical studies examine individuals either during or immediately following treatment. A study in the October issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research tracks individuals for 16 years who have first acknowledged their alcohol-use problems and then chosen Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), treatment, or both.

13 Oct 2005

Long-term smoking linked to diminished mental proficiency

The association between long-term smoking and diminished mental proficiency in 172 alcoholic and non-alcoholic men was a surprising finding from a study that set out to examine alcoholism's long-term effect on the brain and thinking skills.

11 Oct 2005

Families who regularly share meals together have children with higher self-esteem

Research by two Emory University psychology professors shows that families who regularly share meals together have children who know more about their family history and tend to have higher self-esteem, interact better with their peers and show higher resilience in the face of adversity.

11 Oct 2005

Aging may intensify and prolong feeling run down when common infections like the flu occur

A new study, done with mice and published in the Federation of the American Societies of Experimental Biology Journal, suggests that miscommunication between the immune system and brain may be to blame for extended sickness symptoms and other cognitive disorders in elderly people and animals with an infection.

11 Oct 2005

Black adolescents are as achievement-oriented as white adolescents

Despite a common belief that peer pressure against high academic achievement is prevalent among black students, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University shows that that's not usually true.

11 Oct 2005

Chinese men swapping tiger penis for Viagra

Chinese men are selectively switching from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction, but sticking with tradition for ailments such as arthritis, indigestion and gout, according to new research published in Environmental Conservation.

10 Oct 2005

New way to measure the impact of AIDS on the living brain

A new University of California - Los Angeles/University of Pittsburgh imaging study for the first time shows the selective pattern of destruction inflicted by AIDS on brain regions that control motor, language and sensory functions. High-resolution 3-D color scans created from magnetic resonance images (MRI) vividly illustrate the damage.

10 Oct 2005

Association between long-term smoking and diminished mental proficiency

Smokers often say that smoking a cigarette helps them concentrate and feel more alert. But years of tobacco use may have the opposite effect, dimming the speed and accuracy of a person’s thinking ability and bringing down their IQ, according to a new study led by University of Michigan researchers.

10 Oct 2005

Significant new research centre - the Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre

The centre, based at the UCL (University College London) Department of Human Communication Science, will see ESRC inject £4.5 million over an initial 5 year period into a study of deafness, linguistic systems and communication that will run over a 10 year programme.

10 Oct 2005

Novel methodology that can be used to investigate choice and introspection

When evaluating facial attractiveness, participants may fail to notice a radical change to the outcome of their choice, according to a study by researchers at Lund University, Sweden, and New York University. Equally surprising, the study shows that participants may produce confabulatory reports when asked to describe the reasons behind their choices.

9 Oct 2005

Brain abnormalities in people who habitually lie

While previous research has shown that there is heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain that enables most people to feel remorse or learn moral behavior - when normal people lie, this is the first study to provide evidence of structural differences in that area among pathological liars.

3 Oct 2005

Revolutionary new study into the psychology of disfigurement

The Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) at the University of the West of England, Bristol has been awarded a record-breaking half a million pounds by a new charity called the Healing Foundation to fund a new study into the psychology of disfigurement.

28 Sep 2005

Findings explain why abused children are often so distracted at school

Even the subtlest hints of anger or hostility in their environment sets physically abused children on prolonged 'alert', even if a conflict has nothing to do with them.

27 Sep 2005

Early parenting style makes a big difference in how a child turns out

Although preadolescents and adolescents might think their parents hold no sway over them, a study published in the September/October issue of the journal Child Development finds just the opposite

27 Sep 2005