psychology – News Stories About psychology - Page 12

OPINION

Jan 6, 2009 11:31 AM CST

To Halt Hamas, Win 'Confidence War'

Psychology is at center of current struggle

(Newser) - The Arab-Israeli conflict was once about reaching some kind of long-term land settlement—but for extremist groups like Hamas, a “handshake on the White House lawn” is no longer a goal, writes David Brooks in the New York Times. Now, “both sides seek the destruction of the other,...

What Your Xmas
Lights Say About You

Dec 20, 2008 10:16 AM CST

What Your Xmas Lights Say About You

They say you're a pretty princess

(Newser) - Your neighbor’s yard is strewn with lit-up Santas, blinking stars, and a waving snowman. Think he’s trying to tell you something? It turns out he is, psychologists tell the Chicago Tribune. They consider decorations a manifestation of our need to communicate. “It’s a very basic tendency...

4-Star General Confesses
to Post-Traumatic Stress

Nov 25, 2008 10:45 AM CST

4-Star General Confesses to Post-Traumatic Stress

4-star general seeks PTS treatment, speaks out about it

(Newser) - The trauma associated with combat is a hushed topic among troops returned from Iraq—but a four-star general’s fight off the battlefield could help usher in a new attitude, USA Today reports. After witnessing the scene of a suicide bomb in an American mess hall at a base near...

Warning Labels Can Be
Hazardous to Your Health

Nov 18, 2008 1:59 PM CST

Warning Labels Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Prescription labels, doctor's cues can trigger symptoms

(Newser) - Ignorance truly is bliss when it comes to prescription drugs. The side effects listed on warning labels have a self-fulfilling quality, researchers tell the Wall Street Journal. People sensitive to this "nocebo effect" should think twice before reading that their pills can cause nausea, vomiting, irritability, or difficulty concentrating....

Live Longer: Be Conscientious

Nov 1, 2008 10:35 AM CDT

Live Longer: Be Conscientious

Researchers find industrious types live lengthier and less stressful lives

(Newser) - The key to a longer life could lie in an individual's personality, the Los Angeles Times reports. University of California researchers analyzed 20 studies and discovered that conscientious people—disciplined, hardworking, and responsible folks—tend to live an average of 2 to 4 years longer than their more slapdash counterparts....

Sure, I'm Offended—
I'm Human!

ANALYSIS

Oct 18, 2008 7:30 PM CDT

Sure, I'm Offended— I'm Human!

People are extra sensitive these days, and science knows why

(Newser) - From Larry David to John McCain, we’re all getting a little touchy these days, writes Emily Yoffe in Slate: “People are like tuning forks, ready to vibrate with indignation.” While economists argue humans are rational, “it seems we live in a culture devoted to retribution on...

TV Makes Us Dream in Color

Oct 18, 2008 5:50 AM CDT

TV Makes Us Dream in Color

Research suggest childhood TV-watching affects whether dreams are in color or not

(Newser) - The advent of color TV may have injected color into generations of dreams, the Daily Telegraph reports. A study finds that people who grew up watching black-and-white TV often dream in monochrome—as people are believed to have done before the dawn of television—while those who grew up with...

Face Facts: People Prefer Mean-Looking Cars

Oct 6, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Face Facts: People Prefer Mean-Looking Cars

Car buyers attach human traits to vehicles, research shows

(Newser) - Friendly is out and angry is in—for cars, at least. When people look at cars, they tend to see human faces and characteristics, LiveScience reports. A new study found that "power" traits such as dominant, masculine, and angry—think BMW's 5 Series—top the list. And the results...

Lack of Control
Breeds Superstition

Oct 5, 2008 10:35 AM CDT

Lack of Control Breeds Superstition

(Newser) - Superstitions and conspiracy theories all boil down to control issues, a new study says. When subjects in a University of Texas test were made to feel out of control, they saw more patterns that did not exist—whether images in a fuzzy picture or links between unconnected actions. Which is...

Scare Easily? You May Be a Conservative

Sep 19, 2008 1:27 PM CDT

Scare Easily? You May Be a Conservative

Study suggests political leanings could be hard-wired

(Newser) - People who startle more easily at loud noises or frightening images may be more prone to taking conservative political stances, reports the Washington Post. A new study suggests that there may be a biological basis for people's stands on contentious issues, with those who react less strongly to perceived threats...

Cruel TV Makes for Crueler Viewers: Study

Sep 16, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

Cruel TV Makes for Crueler Viewers: Study

Meanness of Mean Girls as influential as killing in Kill Bill

(Newser) - Psychologists have long known about the link between on-screen violence and real-life aggression, but a new study suggests video cruelty has much the same effect, USA Today reports. Groups of subjects shown either footage from Mean Girls of the hands-off hostility known as "relational aggression" or a knife fight...

You Are Your Music: Study

Sep 6, 2008 6:11 PM CDT

You Are Your Music: Study

Study says music reflects our personalities

(Newser) - Our favorite music speaks volumes about who we are, according to a new psychological study. It turns out that Indie fans are miserable, and metal heads act a lot like classical music lovers. The Independent breaks down personalities by genre:

Indie: Low self-esteem and lazy, not to mention selfish

...

Doc, I Think I'm on Reality TV

Aug 28, 2008 12:17 PM CDT

Doc, I Think I'm on Reality TV

Psychiatrists see Truman Show delusion so often it's got its own syndrome

(Newser) - In The Truman Show, Jim Carrey's life was nothing more than a reality TV program, with actors playing his friends and family and millions of viewers watching his every move. Those themes of surveillance and artificiality pervade the lives of a growing number of psychiatric patients—people who think they...

Children Can Count Without Numbers

Aug 19, 2008 8:30 AM CDT

Children Can Count Without Numbers

Study suggests that kids have innate math abilities

(Newser) - A study sure to fan a fiery disagreement among developmental psychologists has found that children can count objects even if their language lacks words for the numbers involved. Researchers found that Australian Aboriginal children, who know words for only a few small numbers, did just as well as English-speaking children...

Bronze Medalists Happier Than Silver Winners

Aug 18, 2008 4:46 AM CDT

Bronze Medalists Happier Than Silver Winners

2nd place a letdown, 3rd is a thrill

(Newser) - Newly minted gold medalists are ecstatic, second-place finishers slightly less so, and bronze winners the least happy—or so conventional wisdom would have it. But psychologists find that bronze medalists are usually happier than those who finish with silver, the Washington Post reports. Why does this Olympic paradox play out...

Drugs Shrinking Psychiatrists' Talk Time: Study

Aug 5, 2008 8:15 PM CDT

Drugs Shrinking Psychiatrists' Talk Time: Study

Cost-conscious managed care also seen behind decline

(Newser) - Psychiatry is increasingly focused on prescribing drugs and less on psychotherapy, a study published in the Archives of General Psychology finds. A reluctance by insurance firms to pay for therapy is one factor, HealthDay reports, along with the wide variety of drugs now available to treat various conditions.

Age Is Just a Number; for Guys, It's 31

OPINION

Aug 5, 2008 4:14 PM CDT

Age Is Just a Number; for Guys, It's 31

If it's really all in your head, show your head your birth certificate

(Newser) - Most men have two ages, theorizes author Douglas Coupland of Generation X fame: "the age we really are, and the age we are in our heads," which he pegs at "about 31 or 32." Coupland explains in in Best Life magazine: "When middle-aged men look...

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

Aug 2, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Shopaholics Trying to Buy Self-Esteem

They love fawning clerks and attention, study says

(Newser) - Shopaholics crave the self-esteem boost they get from interaction with retail staff far more than the actual goods they buy, new research shows. Psychiatrists believe the findings will lead to a new course of therapy, rather than the usual treatment of prescribing antidepressants, Deutsche Welle reports. The disorder affects up...

Archery's Terrifying Secret

Aug 1, 2008 7:09 AM CDT

Archery's Terrifying Secret

Experts can't even say the name of biggest fear: target panic

(Newser) - The greatest fear of elite archers is something called "target panic"—an affliction that keeps some from releasing their bow, and causes others to shoot wildly as soon as the bull's-eye comes into sight. Many archers won't even say the words, although the condition has at some time...

A Lefty Will Be President

OPINION

Jul 4, 2008 8:07 PM CDT

A Lefty Will Be President

Dissecting 'handedness' in politics

(Newser) - No matter what happens in November, a left-hander will take the White House. In fact, five of the last seven presidents have been southpaws. While left-handedness has been taken as a sign of everything from artistic talent to brain damage, ambidexterity may be a desirable quality in a leader. Left-handedness...