Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Crafting Your Image For Your 1,000 Friends On Facebook Or MySpace
Students are creating idealized versions of themselves on social networking websites -- Facebook and MySpace are the most popular -- and using these sites to explore their emerging identities, psychologists...
ADHD diagnosis? Try medication, support groups, mom says
When Gina Dunn's two sons were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder earlier this year, she kept it private for fear they would be labeled as lacking intelligence.
Stress Hinders Rats' Decision-making Abilities
A single exposure to uncontrollable stress impairs decision making in rats for several days, making them unable to reliably seek out the larger of two rewards.
Skinny clothing models not superior
Research using mock advertising has found that models of average weight worked as well as thin models – and also made people feel better about their bodies.
Media Violence Cited As 'Critical Risk Factor' For Aggression
You are what you watch, when it comes to violence in the media and its influence on violent behavior in young people, and an article provides new evidence that violent...
New Theory Of Visual Computation Reveals How Brain Makes Sense Of Natural Scenes
Computational neuroscientists have developed a computational model that provides insight into the function of the brain's visual cortex and the information processing that enables people to perceive contours and surfaces,...
Scientists are high on idea that marijuana reduces memory impairment
The more research they do, the more evidence Ohio State University scientists find that specific elements of marijuana can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation there and...
Prognosis after attempted suicide impaired by psychiatric disorder
People who have attempted suicide at some point in their lives are more likely to actually succeed in committing suicide at a later date. The risk is particularly high for...
Survey shows significant education discrepancies among second generation immigrants in the Netherlands
No less than one quarter of second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands drops out of school. This is the most alarming result of a recent survey conducted among the second generation...
Professor Finally Publishes Controversial Brain Theory
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the late '90s, Asim Roy, a professor of information systems at Arizona State University, began to write a paper on a new brain theory. Now, 10 years...
Darwin 200: The needs of the many
The idea that natural selection acts on groups, as well as individuals, is a source of unending debate. Marek Kohn reports on what the two sides disagree about #20; and...
More at-risk teens and young adults engaging in anal intercourse
A new study by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center suggests that the incidence of heterosexual anal sex is increasing among teens and young adults – particularly those...
High rate of chronic pain in women separated from abusing partners
Many women separated from abusive partners still experience high-disability chronic pain after almost two years, according to Canadian researchers writing in The Journal of Pain, the peer review journal of...
Opening arguments set for fatal MySpace hoax case
Opening arguments will begin Wednesday in the case of a Missouri woman accused of using an internet social networking site to harrass a teenage girl who later committed suicide.
Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers
A Bush administration proposal would protect health care providers who cite religious or moral objections.
Well: A Call for Caution in the Rush to Statins
Is it time to put cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in every medicine cabinet?
Mind: In Psychiatry, Can a Punch Line Be a Lifeline?
When is it safe -- let alone useful -- to joke with a psychiatric patient?
Findings: In Bias Test, Shades of Gray
Are there problems with the way researchers have been using split-second reactions on a computer test to diagnose an epidemic of racial bias?
The Dead Tell a Tale China Doesn’t Care to Listen To
The Tarim mummies have become protagonists in a political dispute over who should control the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
God and Evolution Can Co-exist, Scientist Says
A Christian scientist is going public with his belief in God and acceptance of evolution.
Woman receives tailor-made trachea without need for anti-rejection drugs
A Colombian woman has received the world's first tailor-made transplanted trachea, grown by seeding a donor organ with her own stem cells to prevent her body rejecting it, an international...
Letters: Clash of rights over medical research and privacy
Letters: How disappointing it was to read your article on the NHS medical research plan, which appeared to reject proposed changes to the present situation
Bible gets a reality check
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A prime-time TV show about biblical archaeology presents findings that will annoy believers as well as skeptics — which suggests the show just might be...
Sleep makes room for memories
Study shows sleep reduces harmful buildup of too many connections in the brain
Falling home ownership, equity, affect college enrollment
Sagging college enrollments may be the next symptom of the sub-prime mortgage mess, according to a University of Michigan economist.
Methamphetamine abuse linked to underage sex, smoking and drinking
Teens who have never done drugs, but engage in other risky behaviours such as drinking, smoking and being sexually active, are more likely to use crystal meth, medical researchers at...
Controversy over sex studies found to have lasting impact
When then-Rep. Patrick Toomey criticized a small group of federally funded sex studies - demanding "Who thinks this stuff up?" on the floor of Congress - his proposal to yank...
Anti-same-sex marriage amendments spark distress among GLBT adults and families, says new research
Amendments that restrict civil marriage rights of same-sex couples - such as Proposition 8 that recently passed in California - have led to higher levels of stress and...