Psychology News and Research

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

Words play an important role in infants' cognition

Northwestern University researchers have found that even before infants begin to speak, words play an important role in their cognition. For 3-month-old infants, words influence performance in a cognitive task in a way that goes beyond the influence of other kinds of sounds, including musical tones.

25 Mar 2010

Head trauma can cause loss of smell and taste sensations

The ability to taste and smell can be lost or impaired after a head injury, according to a new study by scientists from the Universit- de Montr-al, the Lucie Bruneau Rehabilitation Centre, as well as the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal. Published in the journal Brain Injury, the investigation established that mild to severe traumatic brain injury could cause olfactory loss.

25 Mar 2010

Supportive parents can reduce materialism in teenagers

Today's adolescents have been characterized as the most materialistic generation in history: a brand-oriented and consumer-involved group who derive self-worth from owning luxury handbags and the latest technology devices.

25 Mar 2010

50% of bushfires deliberate and caused by school boys

The Australian Institute of Criminology and Monash University researchers say that 50% of the bushfires are deliberate and caused by school boys. The occurrence of these fires coincides with the time school ends. Research has shown that these school boys are a prey to habit and grow up to be arsonists. These crimes are one of the most difficult to solve with almost all criminals getting away from the scene.

25 Mar 2010

Gesture may be a tool for diagnosing language delays in children with brain lesions

About 1 in 4,000 infants has a brain injury known as pre- or perinatal brain lesions, mainly as a result of stroke, with risk factors involving both mothers and babies. Children with early brain lesions that affect one side of the brain often take longer to reach early language milestones; these delays normalize for many but persist for some.

25 Mar 2010

Research on approaches to assess and treat cognition in schizophrenia

Research shows that neuro and social cognition have a decisive influence on functional outcome in people with schizophrenia. In this publication, world-renowned experts summarize the latest research on approaches to assessing and treating cognition in schizophrenia. The book is organized to take the reader through the steps from definitions and assessment of cognition to research on the relevance of cognition in everyday life, to chapters which focus on treatments for cognitive disorders.

24 Mar 2010

Optimism may be good for your health

Feeling better about the future might help you feel better for real. In a new study, psychological scientists Suzanne Segerstrom of the University of Kentucky and Sandra Sephton of the University of Louisville studied how law students' expectations about the future affected their immune response.

24 Mar 2010

New software may help improve safety among senior drivers

Psychologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for Research in Applied Gerontology are testing software to determine if it could help senior adult drivers avoid car crashes by improving their reflexes and reaction time

24 Mar 2010

Researchers investigate link between consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

23 Mar 2010

Undiagnosed autistic traits deny children needed support

There has been a major increase in the incidence of autism over the last twenty years. While people have differing opinions as to why this is (environment, vaccines, mother's age, better diagnostic practice, more awareness etc.) there are still many children who have autistic traits that are never diagnosed clinically. Therefore, they do not receive the support they need through educational or health services.

23 Mar 2010

NPR's Car Talk guys team up with University of Utah to launch Driver Distraction Center

NPR's Car Talk guys, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, may be a couple of motor mouths, but they always put a lid on using cell phones behind the wheel. The perennial jokesters confirm their serious commitment to addressing the issue of devices that take a driver's focus off the road by teaming with the University of Utah to launch the Driver Distraction Center at their web site: cartalk.com/distraction.

23 Mar 2010

IDT: Military application of Transcendental Meditation for preventing war and terrorism

A leading scientific journal in Pakistan, The Journal of Management & Social Science, recently published a paper titled "A New Role for the Military: Preventing Enemies from Arising-Reviving an Ancient Approach to Peace," indicating that the military application of the Transcendental Meditation technique has merit. The paper discusses how militaries worldwide could use the Transcendental Meditation- and TM-Sidhi- program, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, as a non-religious and scientifically verified way to prevent war and terrorism. When used in a military context, these meditation practices are known as Invincible Defense Technology (IDT).

23 Mar 2010

Psychologists study the effect of online ostracism on children

Research by psychologists at the University of Kent has revealed that online ostracism is a threat to children's self-esteem.

22 Mar 2010

Young men take riskier decisions in presence of attractive women, study confirms

The presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men, according to a recent study in the inaugural issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science (published by SAGE).

20 Mar 2010

FOCUS 7 forum helps individuals meet, participate and learn how to resolve specific issues

Are you facing an issue that's having an effect on your life? Do you wish you had a secure environment where you could share openly and get real-life solutions you can start applying immediately? Enter FOCUS 7, a new forum in metro Detroit where individuals can meet, participate and learn how to resolve specific issues with the help of an expert on that topic.

19 Mar 2010

Six basic human emotions universally recognized, other positive emotions culturally specific

Humans use a wide range of different cues, both verbal and non-verbal, to share important information and particularly to warn others of danger. A team from University College London's psychology department studied a range of non-verbal emotional vocalizations, such as screams and laughs, in two very different cultural groups.

19 Mar 2010

New research project studies interactions between police and people with mental illness

One of the most challenging issues facing law enforcement today is handling encounters involving people with mental illness. Although the majority of people with mental illness do not commit criminal acts, around 1 in 5 will come into contact with the law as police officers are often the first to respond to incidents.

19 Mar 2010

Loneliness can raise blood pressure

Chronic feelings of loneliness take a toll on blood pressure over time, causing a marked increase after four years, according to a new study at the University of Chicago.

18 Mar 2010

School environment plays a big role in girls' weight-control behaviors

Their schoolmates' weight determines whether teenage high school girls will try to lose pounds, new research finds, and the school environment plays a big role in the decision.

17 Mar 2010

Surprise stimulus temporarily blinds subsequent events

Reading this story requires you to willfully pay attention to the sentences and to tune out nearby conversations, the radio and other distractions. But if a fire alarm sounded, your attention would be involuntarily snatched away from the story to the blaring sound.

15 Mar 2010

Psychology News and Research

Further Reading

Words play an important role in infants' cognition

Head trauma can cause loss of smell and taste sensations

Supportive parents can reduce materialism in teenagers

50% of bushfires deliberate and caused by school boys

Gesture may be a tool for diagnosing language delays in children with brain lesions

Research on approaches to assess and treat cognition in schizophrenia

Optimism may be good for your health

New software may help improve safety among senior drivers

Researchers investigate link between consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity

Undiagnosed autistic traits deny children needed support

NPR's Car Talk guys team up with University of Utah to launch Driver Distraction Center

IDT: Military application of Transcendental Meditation for preventing war and terrorism

Psychologists study the effect of online ostracism on children

Young men take riskier decisions in presence of attractive women, study confirms

FOCUS 7 forum helps individuals meet, participate and learn how to resolve specific issues

Six basic human emotions universally recognized, other positive emotions culturally specific

New research project studies interactions between police and people with mental illness

Loneliness can raise blood pressure

School environment plays a big role in girls' weight-control behaviors

Surprise stimulus temporarily blinds subsequent events

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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