Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Facebook's '3.74 degrees of separation' is a world away from being significant | Matt Parker
Data sets are fun. But it doesn't mean much that a friend of your friends is buddies with an acquaintance of someone else's palThis week Facebook announced that there are on average...
Parenting and the Holidays: Professors Offer Advice for the Season
For the holidays, professors offer expertise on parenting-related topics such as gender and toys, sharing family history, video games and children, encouraging generosity, and how to make the holidays happier...
150 per week equals better sleep
People sleep significantly better and feel more alert during the day if they get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, a new study concludes. A nationally representative sample...
Seals' personalities affect pups
Grey seals have different types of personality that affect how they guard and care for their young, according to new research.
Former N.H.L. Stars Cheer New Rules on Hits to the Head
Some former N.H.L. players, all of whom sustained concussions during their careers, said the league’s new rules to stem hits to the head will help skill players like Sidney Crosby.
Inmate Mikovits Meets Judge
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA—Judy Mikovits has been on trial of sorts ever since she led a team...
Why it pays to taste words and hear colors
A mysterious phenomenon called synesthesia occurs when stimulating one of the five senses triggers experiences in an unrelated sense. Now researchers suggest this unusual trait can provide numerous mental benefits,...
DARPA Shredder Challenge sizzling but no winner yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- With only days left until the December 4 Shredder Challenge deadline, DARPA is still asking the sharpest-minded computer scientists and simply the curious if anyone among them has...
Stigma among HIV-positive women complex and overlapping
In this week's PLoS Medicine, Mona Loutfy of the University of Toronto, Canada and colleagues report their study examining experiences of stigma and coping strategies among HIV-positive women in Ontario,...
Awareness biases information processing
How does awareness influence information processing during decision making in the human brain? A new study led by Floris de Lange of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour...
Anorexia nervosa study finds inner conflicts over the 'real' self that have treatment implications
"It feels like there's two of you inside like there's another half of you, which is my anorexia, and then there's the real K, the real me, the logic...
A season of helping
The 2011 campaign for Harvard Community Gifts is under way, with a blend of Harvard traditions and new opportunities. The campaign — a workplace giving program that dates back to World War...
Drug laws fail to protect children, experts say
“Would legal regulation and control of drugs better protect children?” is a question posed by former President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso in a new editorial.
Olympic Villages: Public Good Works Or Wasted Spending?
Nearly anything can be rationalized if the value is subscribed to an intangible like 'good will.' The Olympic Games are big business and generate substantial amounts of revenue for the International...
Lying is more common when we email
A new study by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers finds that communication using computers for instant messaging and e-mail increases lying compared to face-to-face conversations, and...
The Science Behind an Oops Moment
Over the last week or so, the phrase “brain freeze” has taken on a new meaning and caused a bit of media frenzy – first over Rick Perry’s debate flub...
Girls feel more anger, sadness than boys when friends offend
Girls may be sugar and spice, but "everything nice" takes a back seat when friends let them down. Researchers found that pre-teen girls may not be any better at friendships...
Why does religion keep telling us we're bad? | David Lahti
Evolution has carried us a long way, but we can become complacent, which is where religious admonitions come inWhen I told my father I was going to Cambridge to give a talk...
How dangerous is pepper spray?
Studies suggest the use of pepper spray on peaceful protesters, such as the UC Davis students, is likely to make them more violentThe controversy of the policing of student protests at University of...
Optimism helps females achieve higher grades - males score lower when overconfident: study
Female students who were more optimistic achieved significantly higher grades than their less optimistic peers, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers. For male...
How we (should) decide: Philosopher aims to develop theories of practical rationality
Caspar Hare is interested in your choices. Not the ones youve already made, but the ones you will make, and how youll go about making them. The more important, the...
Cells' life and death decisions: lessons from a social amoeba
Life is full of choices, not only for people but also for the cells that were made of. Scientists in Manchester are studying a simple life form to uncover the...
How Israel became a high-tech hub
How the country is giving birth to a generation of high-tech risk takers
Post-traumatic stress risk to police officers lower than previously thought
Although police officers are at a high risk of experiencing traumatic events (TE) in their work, they are no more likely than the general population to suffer from post-traumatic stress...
Satellites respond to humanitarian needs
A review of crisis response using Earth observation techniques is now available online. The Respond Atlas outlines global events where remote sensing assisted in preparing for and responding to disasters...
Findings: A Serving of Gratitude Brings Healthy Dividends
A new series of experiments and studies shows, for the first time, that the feeling of gratitude is linked to lower rates of aggression.
Thanksgiving a newcomer to fall festivals
Autumn festivals, including American Thanksgiving, East Asian Mid-Autumn Festival and Jewish Sukkot, celebrate family and the Earth's bounty in similar ways despite cultural differences.
Observatory: Presentation Trumps Knowledge in Starling Study
In a study on European starlings, researchers found that in certain instances, the birds make better choices when they have less information to work with.