Psychology News and Research

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

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

Researcher studying sarcasm for insight into child development

"Sarcasm is something that we don't 'get' until a certain point in our childhood stage of development, late in our primary years," she notes. "It's a learned thing, and takes time to develop."

26 Jul 2007

Prenatal alcohol exposure alters brain activity in the frontal-striatal areas

Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure does not always lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); sometimes it can lead to cognitive and behavioral deficits in the absence of craniofacial features needed to make an FAS diagnosis.

25 Jul 2007

Guilt plays a vital role in the regulation of social behavior

That worried feeling in our gut often serves as the impetus for our stab at redemption. However, psychologists have trouble agreeing on the function of this complex emotion.

25 Jul 2007

Incarcerated girls fare worse than boys

A new study reveals that girls in juvenile detention centers face surprisingly different psychological issues than average teen girls and, in some ways, more severe than problems incarcerated boys.

25 Jul 2007

Double depression

There's depression, and then there's double depression.

24 Jul 2007

How do newcomers make changes in long-standing groups?

Virtually everyone who joins a new group is sensitive to the fact that, as a newcomer, he or she must tread carefully for a while, keeping a low profile until becoming sufficiently integrated into the group.

23 Jul 2007

Non-suicidal self-injury common in high-school students

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury the deliberate, direct destruction of body tissue without conscious suicidal intent is a relatively common occurrence for adolescents in high school, a new study suggests.

20 Jul 2007

New study on breast feeding and post natal depression

The commonly held belief that mothers suffering from post natal depression will not be able to breastfeed has been challenged by research from the University of Leicester, which also suggests that the manner in which current breastfeeding promotion strategies are communicated may contribute to feelings of guilt and fears of inadequacy by mothers suffering from depression.

20 Jul 2007