Psychology News and Research

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

Intravaginal surface electromyography (SEMG) being used to treat vaginal pain

The diagnosis and treatment of vulvovaginal pain disorders are progressing through the advancement of intravaginal surface electromyography (SEMG).

27 Mar 2006

Marital strain appears to matter for health as individuals age

Researchers have found that marital strain accelerates the typical decline in self-rated physical health that occurs over time and that this adverse effect is greater at older ages.

27 Mar 2006

Children with mild cognitive delays show modest or no improvement from early childhood to early grade school in their ability to interact with peers

The researchers examined peer interactions in 63 four-to-six year-old children with mild developmental delays to evaluate their social interactions with other children. They then reevaluated them two years later.

23 Mar 2006

Divergent behavioral roles of angiotensin receptor intracellular signaling cascades

Researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Pennsylvania were the first to demonstrate that two intracellular events, both stimulated by the same cell receptor, can provoke different behaviors in mammals.

23 Mar 2006

Study first to document cumulative effect of racial, sexual harrassment

New research at the University of Toronto is the first to empirically document that women who are visible minorities face a double dose of harassment in the workplace, based on both sex and ethnicity.

23 Mar 2006

Poor children at greater risk for exposure to toxic pollutants

Poor and ethnic minority children in the United States have a significantly greater risk for exposure to toxic pollutants that can affect their cognitive development and other health indicators than higher income and non-minority peers, and current local, state and federal policies appear to be failing to address these inequities.

23 Mar 2006

Researchers find potential new mechanism for how the brain's reward system works

Amid reports that a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease has caused some patients to become addicted to gambling and sex, University of Pittsburgh researchers have published a study that sheds light on what may have gone wrong.

23 Mar 2006

Extreme personality poses risk of ADHD

Children with personalities marked by aggressiveness, mood swings, a sense of alienation and a need for excitement may be at greater risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder, according to a new Florida State University study.

23 Mar 2006

Children's earliest words stem from what interests them

A child's first word is always a time for celebration. Whether it's "ma," "da," or "cookie," the fact that your child has begun to communicate verbally represents a significant step in his or her development - and your role as a parent.

22 Mar 2006

The birth of words: Ten-month-olds learn words through perceptual salience

Infants are listening and learning their first words as young as 10 months, but they are only learning the words for objects that are of interest to them, not for objects of interest to the speaker, according to researchers at Temple University, University of Delaware and University of Evansville.

22 Mar 2006

Study uncovers variations in service on UK's psychiatric wards

A groundbreaking study to assess the state of the nation’s acute psychiatric wards has uncovered substantial variations in service provision and delivery.

21 Mar 2006

The effect of mood on how people process information changes greatly as they age

The study, which offers a window into the changing nature of the aging mind and the way it handles emotion and information, appears in the latest edition of the journal Psychology and Aging.

19 Mar 2006

Viewing a person as dishonest or immoral can distort memory

Viewing a person as dishonest or immoral can distort memory, a Cornell study suggests. So much so, that when we attempt to recall that person's behavior, it seems to be worse than it really was.

15 Mar 2006

Nature play before age 11 fosters adult environmental appreciation

If you want your children to grow up to actively care about the environment, give them plenty of time to play in the "wild" before they're 11 years old, suggests a new Cornell University study.

14 Mar 2006

Link between learning results and working memory

This three-year project has concentrated on basic research into the essence of memory and learning, and its results can be applied to such things as predicting learning difficulties or successes and understanding their related factors, which within working memory hinder or promote learning at an individual level.

13 Mar 2006

Strategies help keep memory fit in elderly

Believing that you can retain a good memory even in your twilight years is the first step to achieving that goal. Those who believe they can control their memory are more likely to employ mnemonic strategies that help keep memory fit despite the march of time.

13 Mar 2006

D-cycloserine helps patients learn how to conquer their fears

The fear of public speaking is the most common among individuals with SAD, as well as in the general population. The results of the study are published in the March issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

13 Mar 2006

Anxiety restricts blood flow in some patients

The fear of public speaking might cause some people to do more than just break out in a cold sweat and battle stomach-churning butterflies - it could prove to have consequences for their heart health.

13 Mar 2006

Expressing anger in the moment is not healthy

According to a new book, Getting Control of Your Anger: A Clinically Proven, Three-Step Plan for Getting to the Root of the Problem and Resolving It (McGraw-Hill, 2006) by Dr. Robert Allan, a noted clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, for most people and in most circumstances, directly expressed anger will only make a bad situation worse.

9 Mar 2006

Research challenges theories on the organization of the visual system

Neuroscientists from the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota have found that the first area in the cortex of the human brain that receives information from the eyes processes the perceived size, rather than the actual size, of an object.

9 Mar 2006