Psychology News and Research

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

Simulated relationships offer insight into real ones

Is it me, or are you a less than ideal partner? For psychologists studying how people manage romantic relationships, that's not an easy question to answer.

8 Aug 2007

Parents' depression impacts child's symptoms of depression

A parent's struggle with stress or depression can lower a child's quality of life -- and it could hinder an overweight youngster's attempts to lose weight, too, University of Florida researchers say.

8 Aug 2007

Men with masculine faces seen as bad choice for long-term love

Women see masculine men as unsuitable long-term partners, new research suggests. Conversely, the psychologists from Durham and St Andrews Universities found that men with feminine facial features are seen as more committed and less likely to cheat on their partners.

8 Aug 2007

Which brain processes enable humans to rapidly access their personal knowledge?

What happens if humans perceive either familiar or unfamiliar objects? The answer to these questions may lie in the direction of information flow transmitted between specialized brain areas that together establish a dynamic cortical network.

7 Aug 2007

Genetic factors strongly shape how peers are chosen

As we develop, the company we keep may be increasingly influenced by our genes, according to a new study led by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

7 Aug 2007

Can people mentally impose arbitrary spatial category boundaries?

When explorers like Magellan and Columbus sailed from Europe to the New World 500 years ago, they amazingly managed to navigate the open sea without terrestrial landmarks, natural boundaries or the navigational technology we have today.

6 Aug 2007

Autistic intelligence

Autistic children are doubly stigmatized. On the one hand, they are often dismissed as low functioning or mentally retarded, especially if they have poor speaking skills as many do.

6 Aug 2007

Intuitive mind-reading in infants

One of the unique characteristics of humans that distinguish us from the animal kingdom is the ability to represent others, beliefs in our own minds.

6 Aug 2007

Physical exercise is known to be good for the aging brain, but what about mental stimulation?

Does enrichment that helps older people work well for the young and middle aged, or do they need something else?

6 Aug 2007

Aging adults have choices when confronting perceived mental declines

Aging adults may joke about memory lapses and early Alzheimer's. They may worry when they can't understand a drug plan or lose track of the characters in a novel.

3 Aug 2007

Music moves brain to pay attention

Using brain images of people listening to short symphonies by an obscure 18th-century composer, a research team from the Stanford University School of Medicine has gained valuable insight into how the brain sorts out the chaotic world around it.

2 Aug 2007

Innovative new psychological treatment program for obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be a nightmare. People with the condition may find it hard to work, hard to maintain relationships, and even hard to leave the house, because of the time and effort involved in dealing with their compulsions.

1 Aug 2007

Many different reasons for having sex

Many scientists assume people have sex for simple and straightforward reasons such as to experience sexual pleasure or to reproduce, but new research at The University of Texas at Austin reveals hundreds of varied and complex motivations that range from the spiritual to the vengeful.

1 Aug 2007

Understanding how humor comprehension functions in older adults

It's no laughing matter that older adults have a tougher time understanding basic jokes than do younger adults.

1 Aug 2007

New report on HIV/AIDS globally

Thirty-nine million people have been infected by the HIV virus, and seventeen million have died as a result, mostly in the developing world.

1 Aug 2007

New study on phonics

Reading specialists have often pitted phonics against holistic word recognition and whole language approaches in the war over how to teach children to read. However, a new study by researchers at New York University shows that the three reading processes do not conflict, but, rather, work together to determine speed.

31 Jul 2007

New framework for patient dignity

Clinicians are being offered a new guide to help them maintain patients' dignity, according to this week's British Medical Journal.

27 Jul 2007

Malt liquor linked to marijuana use

The cheap, high-alcohol beverage often marketed to teens -- may put young adults at increased risk for alcohol problems and use of illicit drugs, particularly marijuana, according to a new study of malt liquor drinkers and marijuana use by scientists at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

27 Jul 2007

Women more prone to brain damage from alcohol abuse than men

Alcoholism has traditionally been considered a male disease because there are many more alcoholic males than females.

27 Jul 2007

Circumcision may not actually effect sensation

According to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, sexual sensation in circumcised and uncircumcised men may not be so different after all.

27 Jul 2007