Psychology News and Research

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

Toddlers learning language skills earlier than expected

Toddlers are learning language skills earlier than expected and by the age of 18 months understand enough of the lexicon of their own language to recognize how speakers use sounds to convey meaning.

2 Oct 2007

Genetics and learning

New research is giving scientists fresh insights into how genetics are a prime factor in how we learn.

2 Oct 2007

Depression, aging, and proteins made by a virus may all play role in heart disease

Researchers here have linked an increase in two immune system proteins essential for inflammation to a latent viral infection and proposed a chain of events that might accelerate cardiovascular disease.

2 Oct 2007

Best weight-loss plans for heart health

Over the past three decades, the rising obesity epidemic has been accompanied by a proliferation of weight-loss plans. However, as a new study by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) reveals, these weight-loss plans vary significantly in their ability to positively affect heart health.

1 Oct 2007

Job stress and work environment can contribute to depression

Job stress and a lack of social support in the workplace were associated with major episodes of depression in men, according to a study led by a University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry psychologist.

1 Oct 2007

Females explain influence of past on future differently than males

A new study finds that young girls and women are more likely to believe that negative past events predict future events, compared to boys and men.

29 Sep 2007

Deviancy training among friends may lead to more trouble

Friendships can be beneficial, but watch out when talk about deviant topics is the best way to get a laugh in an adolescent relationship, because such interaction may well lead to questionable behavior down the road, say University of Oregon researchers.

29 Sep 2007

Babies raised in bilingual homes learn new words differently than infants learning one language

Infants who are raised in bilingual homes learned two similar-sounding words in a laboratory task at a later age than babies who are raised in homes where only one language is spoken.

29 Sep 2007

Stealth learning fosters science education

Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, a Duke University pharmacology professor who left the lab bench to focus on science education, has developed a tactic for keeping students hands in the air at the end of class.

27 Sep 2007

Memory tasks require more coordinated brain blood flow for people with high blood pressure

Blood flow to the parts of the brain that support memory function differs between people with high blood pressure and those with normal blood pressure, and this difference seems to increase when high blood pressure is treated with medications, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

27 Sep 2007

Expertise modulates the perception of pain in others

Physicians apparently learn to “shut off” the portion of their brain that helps them appreciate the pain their patients experience while treating them and instead activate a portion of the brain connected with controlling emotions, according to new research using brain scans at the University of Chicago.

27 Sep 2007

Research at Rice may help explain aspects of synesthesia

A research team led by Rice University Psychology Professor Tony Ro has published its findings that may help to explain the phenomenon known as synesthesia, in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway.

27 Sep 2007

$2.19 million grant to study therapy for women with depression

A University of Rochester Medical Center psychologist has received a $2.19 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health that will fund a study of the effectiveness of Interpersonal Psychotherapy in the treatment of women with depression and a history of childhood sexual abuse.

27 Sep 2007

A man's deep voice more attractive than good looks

According to researchers from the U.S. and Canada one of the features which attracts a woman to a man is a deep voice.

26 Sep 2007

Is it any wonder kids are fat?

While the debate over childhood obesity rumbles on and experts search for reasons for the epidemic, a clutch of new studies recently published suggests the causes are a combination of factors.

26 Sep 2007

Lifestyle interventions in the treatment of childhood overweight

A little health information is not enough to help obese children get into better shape, according to a recent analysis.

25 Sep 2007

Study explores link between victimization and suicidal behavior among college students

The film and television series "M*A*S*H*" featured the song "Suicide is Painless," but new research refutes that idea and indicates that being victimized because of sexual orientation is a chief risk factor for suicidal behavior among gay, lesbian and bisexual college students.

25 Sep 2007

Ethnic identity forms prior to adolescence

A study of more than 400 children of first-generation immigrants is among the first longitudinal studies to demonstrate that one's ethnic identity forms prior to adolescence.

25 Sep 2007

Eye movement can affect our cognitive processes

A pair of Beckman Institute researchers has discovered that by directing the eye movements of test subjects they were able to affect the participants' ability to solve a problem, demonstrating that eye movement is not just a function of cognition but can actually affect our cognitive processes.

25 Sep 2007