Psychology News and Research

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

New research into human vision

Researchers from the Psychology departments of Queen's University Belfast, University College London and Saint Andrew's University have made an important finding which will inform research aimed at the development of intelligent robots capable of seeing in a similar way to humans.

18 Feb 2007

Nagging spouse? nonconscious relationship reactance

New research findings now appearing online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology began with a professor's desire to understand why her husband often seemed to ignore her requests for help around the house.

13 Feb 2007

Cravings for chocolate increased by dieting

Those planning to break New Year's dieting resolutions with a feast of chocolate on Valentine's Day, should think again, according to researchers at the University of Hertfordshire.

13 Feb 2007

Sniff of male sweat kick starts female hormones

According to a new study all a healthy heterosexual woman needs to give their hormone levels a kick start is the smell of a man's sweat.

8 Feb 2007

Marital conflict and conduct problems in children

Children's conduct problems--skipping school, sneaking out of the house, lying to parents, shoplifting, or bullying other children--are a major source of concern for parents and teachers.

7 Feb 2007

Study highlights importance of students' beliefs for their academic progress

Research on how junior high school students' beliefs about intelligence affect their math grades found that those who believed that intelligence can be developed performed better than those who believed intelligence is fixed.

7 Feb 2007

Link between eating disorders and certain personality traits

Among the young women diagnosed as having anorexia or bulimia, 48.5% also suffer from a personality disorder.

23 Jan 2007

Doubt cast on the psychological health gains from orthodontic treatment

A major 20-year study by psychologists and dentists has cast doubt on the assumption that orthodontic treatment improves psychological well-being.

From The University of Manchester 23 Jan 2007

Lap band surgery effective in combating obesity in adolescents

It is the first study to evaluate the lap band in patients under the age of 17, and it revealed that patients on average lost about 50% of their excess weight by one year after surgery.

23 Jan 2007

New study examines the influence and impact of conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana

In their forthcoming paper, "The hidden impact of conspiracy theories: Perceived and actual influence of theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana", Dr Karen Douglas and Dr Robbie Sutton from the University of Kent show that people are persuaded by conspiracy theories about Princess Diana’s death even though they do not necessarily know it.

14 Jan 2007

New study on Body Dysmorphic Disorder

In a new study on Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) - a distressing or impairing preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance - researchers from Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School found that individuals who are concerned about their weight are more impaired than those whose appearance-concerns are not weight-related.

10 Jan 2007

Trust your gut feelings!

A UCL (University College London) study has found that you are more likely to perform well if you do not think too hard and instead trust your instincts.

8 Jan 2007

Homesickness prevention and treatment

A new report urges parents and children's doctors to change their thinking about homesickness among children, to see it as a nearly universal but highly preventable and treatable phenomenon -- rather than an unavoidable part of childhood.

2 Jan 2007

Successful lung cancer surgery not enough to break nicotine dependence in many smokers

A new study has found that close to half of 154 smokers who had surgery to remove early stage lung cancer picked up a cigarette again within 12 months of their potentially curative operation, and more than one-third were smoking at the one year mark. Sixty percent of patients who started smoking again did so within two months of surgery.

12 Dec 2006

Forget about being fat and just get fit!

Researchers in Britain say that obese people can become healthier without losing weight.

6 Dec 2006

Case studies examine role of hormones, psychology in false pregnancy

Recent case studies of pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, as well as studies of similar conditions in animals, suggest that hormones and psychology might contribute to the condition, the New York Times reports.

5 Dec 2006

Why we all carry on with those bad habits

If you have ever wondered why so many people continue to ignore public warnings and advertisements about the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol and other habits that we know to be bad for us, a Canadian researcher may have the answer.

13 Nov 2006

Anxiety disorders linked to thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis and migraine headaches

Anxiety disorders appear to be independently associated with several physical conditions, including thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis and migraine headaches, according to a report in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. This co-occurrence of disorders may significantly increase the risk of disability and negatively affect quality of life.

23 Oct 2006

Mobile phone use should be banned in cars altogether

Hands-free mobile phones have failed to make the roads safer according to a University of Sussex psychologist.

23 Oct 2006

Bias and accuracy of children's perceptions of peer acceptance

Children who can accurately assess how their classmates feel about them -- even if those feelings are negative -- are less likely to show symptoms of depression, according to Florida State University researchers.

23 Oct 2006