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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: psychology

psychology stories: 107 news summaries

21 - 40 of 107 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

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(Newser) - Psychologists are seeing red in a row over Rorschach's famous inkblots, the New York Times reports. The original series of 10 inkblot images, whose interpretations are used to gain insight into a viewer's mind, have been posted on Wikipedia along with the most common responses. Psychologists fear that some people... More »

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Wikipedia • psychology • psychologist • diagnostic test • Rorschach test

(Newser) - Confidence is key to the banking game, but an overabundance of it seems to have made the industry’s titans so delusional they blundered into the financial crisis, Malcolm Gladwell writes in the New Yorker. “The roots of Wall Street’s crisis were not structural or cognitive so much... More »

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Wall Street • Bear Stearns • Malcolm Gladwell • psychology • financial crisis • Jimmy Cayne • overconfidence

Girls Bond,
Boys Compete:
Brain Study

Scans confirm gender split on one-on-one interaction

Jul 17, 09 4:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ever wonder why girls are so fixated on swapping friendship bracelets? They may just be wired that way, according to a new study. Using MRIs to look inside tweens' and teens' brains, researchers found that one-on-one interactions got girls’ synapses firing, Time reports. Boys focused less on other individuals than... More »

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gender • study • psychology • neuroscience • girls • fMRI • teenager • tween • boys

The Power
of Negative Thinking

Better to acknowledge bad feelings than recite phony good ones

Jul 8, 09 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Deliberate positive thinking—from Norman Vincent Peale to Stuart Smalley—has long been touted as a way to overcome feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt. But a new study suggests that repeating positive mantras may often backfire, making people with low self-esteem feel even worse about themselves. For many, it may... More »

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study • psychology • mind • self-help • psychotherapy • psychological research • positive thinking

Positive Thinking Can Make You Feel Worse: Study

Affirmations don't help low self-esteem

Jun 22, 09 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - It turns out the Little Engine That Could had it all wrong. Repeating positive statements to yourself doesn’t appear to help people with low self-esteem, according to a new study. Researchers asked students to repeat statements like “I am a lovable person” to themselves, then measured their mood.... More »

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study • psychology • experiments • self-help • positive thinking • self-improvement • Norman Vincent Peale

The Way You Hold Your Drink Speaks Volumes

A gossip? Fun-lover? Psychologist sees
clues in how you booze

May 30, 09 2:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - The way you hold your drink says a lot about you, psychologist Glenn Wilson tells the BBC. Wilson studied 500 drinkers at the behest of a bar chain, and discerned a series of notable types. Among them:
  • The gossip: Will hold a wineglass by the bowl, often gesticulating with
... More »

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entertainment • drinking • psychology • bar

ANALYSIS

 Uncertainty, Not 
 Poverty, Behind 
 Recession Blues 

It's not the lack of funds, it's the lack of knowing that brings us down

May 21, 09 8:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans are worrying more than they were last year, and happiness is down while sadness is up, writes Daniel Gilbert in the New York Times. But it’s not the lightness of our pocketbooks that’s weighing on us; it’s the uncertainty of the times. While most of us... More »

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depression • recession • psychology • happiness • Great Depression • financial crisis • recession depression

OPINION

'Healthy' Fast Food Eaters
Mull the Salad, Buy the Fried

Companies like KFC know how to play to customers' cravings

May 17, 09 9:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - KFC's grilled chicken giveaway may have been a bust, but the company actually got what it wanted—luring health-conscious eaters back to the franchise, argues Steve Almond in the Washington Post. The chicken chain's CEO appeared on Oprah to apologize for pulling the plug on the offer, yet "... More »

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McDonald's • fast food • Oprah Winfrey • psychology • fast food industry • KFC • fried food • Kentucky Fried Chicken

(Newser) - The secret to a happy life? It's ... complicated. Joshua Wolf Shenk of the Atlantic examines an extraordinary and still continuing 72-year study of 268 Harvard men—JFK and Ben Bradlee are two of the well-known participants—designed to shed light on how to lead a successful life. The subjects were... More »

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psychology • Harvard • happiness • George Vaillant

(Newser) - Sean Stephenson is 30 years old, 3 feet tall, and can’t walk without help. And that’s why he is a successful motivational speaker, psychologist, and former Bill Clinton staffer, the Chicago Tribune reports. When he broke his leg at age 10—his condition, osteogenesis imperfecta, makes him vulnerable... More »

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Chicago • disability • psychology • motivational speaker • Sean Stephenson • osteogenesis imperfecta

(Newser) - If you're ignoring your kid or getting divorced because of Facebook—it's happened—you might have a problem. CNN outlines five telltale signs of Facebook addiction.
  • Losing sleep: If you're tired every morning because of late-night-friending, take a break, a UCLA psychologist advises: "You shouldn't be neglecting
... More »

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entertainment • social networking • Internet • Facebook • psychology • therapy • Internet addiction

CIA Tactics Can Cause Mental Harm: Doctors

Bush-era interrogation memos understated long-term effects

Apr 20, 09 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Experts disagree with Bush-era rulings, made public in memos released last week, that interrogation techniques the CIA used on terror suspects don’t cause lasting psychological damage, the Los Angeles Times reports. “There’s absolutely no question they are going to lead to permanent mental harm,” one psychology... More »

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torture • mental health • psychology • brain damage • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • neurons

2 Languages Better Than 1 for Baby's Brain

Bilingual kids may talk later but excel at 'executive functions'

Apr 18, 09 5:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some teachers complain that children raised in bilingual households tend to lag behind their peers in school, but a new study suggests multilingual kids' brains may be better organized, the Economist reports. Polyglot babies have stronger "executive function": processes in the brain that help humans plan, prioritize, and switch... More »

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parenting • Italy • brain • baby • psychology • language • bilingual education

Herd Mentality Moves Many to Needless Penny-Pinching

Psychology has everyone spending less, even those who don't need to

Apr 16, 09 10:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Amid the economic distress, many people who can spend as freely as they could before aren’t, the Washington Post reports. Such consumers, economists say, take psychological cues from friends and the media and pinching pennies needlessly—which only helps deepen the downturn. Upper-income consumers cut spending from $185 in... More »

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recession • psychology • consumer spending • consumer psychology • financial crisis • economic crisis

(Newser) - At Harvard and labs across the country, researchers are turning to dogs for clues on how their brains—and ours—work, the Boston Globe reports. “Psychologists have been ignoring animals that were sleeping quietly at their feet,” one professor said, but no longer. Dogs understand pointing better than... More »

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domestication • psychology • Harvard • dog • scientific research • canines • laboratory

(Newser) - When you wolf down a box of cookies at midnight, it only shows you're being human and relinquishing your self-control, Meredith Small writes on LiveScience. A recent study supports your habit, showing that subjects following the story of a waiter who resists gourmet dishes finally have to eat the same... More »

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evolution • study • psychology • overeating

 In Hard Times, Pride 
 Can Keep You Afloat 

Can help you function better and raise you in others' eyes

Apr 7, 09 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Swallowing your pride might not be so healthy—especially in times like these, psychologists say. While the emotion historically hasn’t meant much to psychologists, new studies are showing that pride can help us function and improve how others perceive us, the New York Times reports. “It’s the... More »

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layoffs • recession • psychology

A Rose by Any Other Name Might Smell
... Manly?

Language influences perception, study finds

Apr 6, 09 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Think of the Golden Gate Bridge. Would you describe it as fragile, elegant, and slender? Or strong, dangerous, and sturdy? When they pictured a bridge, a group of German speakers offered the first group of words, while Spanish speakers offered the second, NPR reports. The difference, believes the psychologist behind... More »

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gender • study • psychology • language • German • Spanish

 Sorry, Brother, 
 Sisters Are Good for You 

Researchers say female siblings encourage communication while brothers clam up

Apr 3, 09 7:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's not quite "girls rule, boys drool," but it's close. A new study says growing up with a sister turns people into happier and better-balanced adults. University of Ulster researchers studied hundreds of families and found that female siblings encouraged healthy communication and family cohesion, while brothers tended... More »

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families • mental health • family • psychology • siblings • brother • sister

(Newser) - Spanking your partner may ratchet up their stress hormones, but they’ll thank you when it’s over, according to a new study. Researchers measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 13 men and women at one S&M party, and testosterone levels at another. Those on... More »

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stress • psychology • relationship • spanking • sado-masochism • cortisol • bondage

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