Psychology News and Research

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

Study links altruism and motor control

A polite act shows respect. But a new study of a common etiquette-holding a door for someone-suggests that courtesy may have a more practical, though unconscious, shared motivation: to reduce the work for those involved.

10 Mar 2011

Predictability can improve multitasking

Researchers from Rice University and Georgia Institute of Technology have found support for the theory that the brain has three concentric layers of working memory where it stores readily available items. Memory researchers have long debated whether there are two or three layers and what the capacity and function of each layer is.

9 Mar 2011

Camp STAR to offer evidence-based therapy for children with ADHD

Camp STAR, the Chicago area's only summer camp offering evidence-based therapy for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other behavioral, emotional and social difficulties, begins its fourth season in June.

9 Mar 2011

Study supports DNA mismatch repair test for bowel cancer

Bowel cancer patients whose tumors contain defects in specific DNA repair systems are much less likely to experience tumour recurrence post surgery, results from a major clinical study have demonstrated.

9 Mar 2011

Many American employees feel undervalued and stressed out at work: Survey

Despite promising signs of economic recovery, many employees feel undervalued and stressed out at work and many are dissatisfied with aspects of their job, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association.

9 Mar 2011

Brain's learning capacity recharges during light, dreamless slumber

Scientists have long puzzled over the many hours we spend in light, dreamless slumber. But a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests we're busy recharging our brain's learning capacity during this traditionally undervalued phase of sleep, which can take up half the night.

9 Mar 2011

Text messaging effectively intervenes during smoking urges

A pair of related studies on smoking cessation by researchers at the University of Oregon and other institutions have isolated the brain regions most active in controlling urges to smoke and demonstrated the effectiveness of text-messaging to measure and intervene in those urges.

9 Mar 2011

Classroom environment impacts children's mental health

Children in classrooms with inadequate material resources and children whose teachers feel they are not respected by colleagues exhibit more mental health problems than students in classrooms without these issues, finds a new study in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

9 Mar 2011

Belly laugh best for venous leg ulcers

Forget technology. The best prescription for patients with venous leg ulcers is good quality nursing care - and the occasional belly laugh!

9 Mar 2011

Jobless African-American men may face risk of depression

Jobless African-American men might be at a greater risk of suffering from depression, new research shows. More surprising, at the other end of the income spectrum, African-American men making $80,000 and upward are also among those at higher risk.

9 Mar 2011

Females who base their self worth on appearance tend to share more photos on Facebook

In a new study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, University at Buffalo researcher Michael A. Stefanone, PhD, and colleagues found that females who base their self worth on their appearance tend to share more photos online and maintain larger networks on online social networking sites.

8 Mar 2011

Quick dose of empathy may help close racial gaps in pain treatment

Years of research show black patients getting less treatment in the American health care system than their white counterparts, but a new study suggests that a quick dose of empathy helps close racial gaps in pain treatment.

8 Mar 2011

Happy Together book reveals essential relationship skills

Were you once madly in love, only to be later disillusioned? If so, you're the rule, not the exception. We all know how to find happiness. The problem is, we don't know how to keep it. No matter how much passion there is at the beginning of a relationship, for love to last it must be actively created.

8 Mar 2011

Poll explores link between Americans' use of communication technologies and sleep habits

The 2011 Sleep in America- poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation finds pervasive use of communications technology in the hour before bed. It also finds that a significant number of Americans aren't getting the sleep they say they need and are searching for ways to cope.

7 Mar 2011

Researchers explore ways to improve human-computer interaction

Lijun Yin wants computers to understand inputs from humans that go beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse.

5 Mar 2011

Dr Russell Wallis, Reader and RCUK Academic Fellow to give Frank May Prize Lecture 2010

The Frank May Prize Lecture 2010, entitled 'Fishing for Complement: innate targeting of microbial pathogens', will be given by Dr Russell Wallis, Reader and RCUK Academic Fellow in the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, and Department of Biochemistry.

5 Mar 2011

Study examines link between voice pitch and perceived infidelity

When choosing a partner, women believe the lower the man's voice, the more likely he's going to cheat. Conversely, men think a woman with a higher voice is more likely to be unfaithful, researchers have found.

5 Mar 2011

Study examines effectiveness of active video games for improving health, fitness

A multidisciplinary team from the Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat de València, Universitat Jaume I, University General Hospital from Valencia and the Biomedical Research Network Centre on Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) is developing a study on the effectiveness of active video games in children and teenagers (know as "exergaming platforms") for exercising and improving their health and fitness.

5 Mar 2011

NorthShore receives $1.5 million gift to establish center for the study of complex diseases

NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) Foundation has received a $1.5 million gift for the creation of the Center for the Study of Complex Diseases. The development of the Center, which is being established within the NorthShore Research Institute, is made possible through a generous gift by Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Keyser of Glencoe, Ill., through the Keyser Family Research Fund.

4 Mar 2011

New study suggests HIV-positive people aren't paranoid

People in marginalized groups, such as the disabled or racial minorities, feel stigmatized-condemned, feared, or excluded-when other people stigmatize them. That's obvious. But they can also feel stigma when nobody blatantly discriminates against them or says a negative word.

4 Mar 2011