Psychology News and Research

RSS

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

Pay cuts lead to worker insomnia, workplace accidents and lowered productivity

When workers take a pay cut, money is not the only thing that is lost - they may also lose sleep, according to new research.

23 Jan 2006

Sensory attenuation

Anticipating our own touch - for example in tickling oneself - reduces its impact, says Queen's psychologist Dr. Randy Flanagan, a member of the university's Centre for Neuroscience Studies. This is evidence of an important human adaptation that helps us interact with objects in our environment.

18 Jan 2006

The sweet answer to a poor memory

Sweet tooth types out there will be delighted to learn that those sweet and sugary drinks may improve the memory.

16 Jan 2006

Face perception is mediated by a distributed neural system in the human brain

New research indicates that an area of the brain thought to act in reward circuitry may represent a phase in visual processing during which sexual orientation modulates how we perceive individual faces. The findings are reported by Felicitas Kranz and Alumit Ishai of the University of Zurich.

11 Jan 2006

Caring for cancer carers: Are women's needs different from men's?

A cancer diagnosis can be a devastating experience for the person concerned, but for families and loved ones, who later become the primary source of support and care, it can be a stressful, life changing experience.

10 Jan 2006

British research says daughters turn parents to left, sons to right

New research by economists Professor Andrew Oswald at the University of Warwick, and Dr Nattavudh Powdthavee at London University's Institute of Education, reveals that the more daughters a family has the more likely the parents are to vote for left of centre parties. Sons, by contrast, make people more right-wing.

10 Jan 2006

Specialised care for early psychosis

A new study has found that specialised care for early psychosis can achieve better outcomes than standard care.

10 Jan 2006

Risk of puerperal psychosis highest after birth of first baby

The risk of bipolar affective puerperal psychosis - a severe mental illness following childbirth - is highest after the birth of a first baby, a new study has confirmed.

10 Jan 2006

Caffeine does it for female rats

According to recent research, something as simple as caffeine may be the female version of Viagra.

10 Jan 2006

Violent video games create aggression

Many parents have expressed concern that violent computer games may make their children more aggressive and there has been in the past research suggesting there may be a link between violence and game playing.

9 Jan 2006

Study establishes two forms of mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal cognition and Alzheimer's disease, exists in two different forms, according to a study published today by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles in the Archives of Neurology.

9 Jan 2006

Exercise helps elderly heal

The body's ability to heal even small skin wounds normally slows down as we age. But a new study in older adults finds that regular exercise may speed up the wound-healing process by as much as 25 percent.

5 Jan 2006

Brain cell activity influences formation of brain plaque ingredient

Increased communication between brain cells increases levels of amyloid beta, the key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

22 Dec 2005

Cocaine abuse may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

Adults who abuse cocaine might increase their risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD), and pregnant women who abuse cocaine could increase the risk of their children developing PD later in life, according to results of laboratory studies performed by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

13 Dec 2005

Surprising autism finding

New brain imaging research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that when people with autism look at a face, activity in the brain area that responds is similar to that of people without autism.

13 Dec 2005

Adult children can be clueless regarding their parents wishes and desires later in life

A psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis is conducting research that shows two adult siblings may have radically different views on what their parents would want. In fact, he says that a random stranger might have the same chance at guessing parental wishes as some children would.

13 Dec 2005

When trouble occurs good samaritans can be relied on to help

How often does that happen - a person appears to be in trouble in a crowded place, but no-one goes to help.

11 Dec 2005

Effects of mobile phones on attention

Seeking to bring clarity to the debate on mobile phone use, researchers from the University of Essex have published the results of an investigation into the effects of mobiles on attention.

7 Dec 2005

Risedronate prevents bone loss and periodontal disease

Drugs that reverse and prevent bone loss due to osteoporosis also significantly ward off periodontal disease, according to a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine who reports in the current Menopause journal article, "Periodontal Assessments of Postmenopausal Women Receiving Risedronate."

7 Dec 2005

The evolutions and functions of laughter and humor

In an important new study from the forthcoming Quarterly Review of Biology, biologists from Binghamton University explore the evolution of two distinct types of laughter - laughter which is stimulus-driven and laughter which is self-generated and strategic.

7 Dec 2005