Psychology News and Research

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

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

University of Tennessee CST effectively detects cognitive abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease

Early detection is key to more effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive impairment, and new research shows that a test developed at the University of Tennessee is more than 95 percent effective in detecting cognitive abnormalities associated with these diseases.

12 Mar 2010

Flu infection during pregnancy may increase risk of schizophrenia in offspring

Rhesus monkey babies born to mothers who had the flu while pregnant had smaller brains and showed other brain changes similar to those observed in human patients with schizophrenia, a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found.

12 Mar 2010

Study explores incidence of eating disorders among type 1 diabetic patients

Diabetics, under the gun to better manage their disease by controlling their food intake and weight, may find themselves in the sticky wicket of needing treatment that makes them hungry, researchers said.

12 Mar 2010

Restrictions on physician work hours may lead to more miscommunication

As shifts change in a hospital, outgoing physicians must "hand off" important information to their replacements in a brief meeting. But a new study of this hand-off process finds that the most important information is not fully conveyed in a majority of cases, even as physicians rate their communication as successful.

11 Mar 2010

Auditory cortex development becomes vulnerable if it does not receive appropriate stimulation at right time

Hearing scientist Daniel Polley, Ph.D., an investigator at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary's Eaton-Peabody Laboratories of Auditory Physiology, has gained new insight into why a relatively short-term hearing deprivation during childhood may lead to persistent hearing deficits, long after hearing is restored to normal.

11 Mar 2010

Study examines discrepancies in patient and physician expectation with joint replacement surgeries

While physicians strive to set realistic expectations for patients undergoing knee and hip joint replacements, a new study reveals that doctor and patient expectations are sometimes not aligned.

11 Mar 2010

Risk-free psychological treatment can be better alternative to drugs in treating women with low sexual desire

According to the Journal of Sexual Medicine, people who engage in regular sexual activity gain several health benefits, such as longer lives, healthier hearts, lower blood pressure, and lower risk of breast cancer. However, approximately 33 percent of women may not receive these benefits due to low sexual desire.

10 Mar 2010

Psychology News and Research

Further Reading

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

University of Tennessee CST effectively detects cognitive abnormalities associated with Alzheimer's disease

Flu infection during pregnancy may increase risk of schizophrenia in offspring

Study explores incidence of eating disorders among type 1 diabetic patients

Restrictions on physician work hours may lead to more miscommunication

Auditory cortex development becomes vulnerable if it does not receive appropriate stimulation at right time

Study examines discrepancies in patient and physician expectation with joint replacement surgeries

Risk-free psychological treatment can be better alternative to drugs in treating women with low sexual desire

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 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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