Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Coaching with compassion can 'light up' human thoughts
Researchers have used an fMRI to document reactions in the human brain to compassionate and critical coaching methods. Students tended to activate areas of the brain associated with openness to...
Chinese brain-imaging device suspected copy of U.S. one
A Chinese team's brain imaging device has come under question from developers of a U.S. device who say it's a near duplicate of theirs, LiveScience has learned. An article on...
Harry Potter Partly to Blame for India's Pet Owl Crisis
India is in the middle of an endangered owl crisis, and the Harry Potter may be partly to blame.
Important brain area organised by colour and orientation
A brain area known to play a critical role in vision is divided into compartments that respond separately to different colours and orientations, Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered. The findings...
Babies' nighttime sleep linked to impulse control
Young children who sleep mostly at night can control their impulses better than those who do most of their sleeping during the day, say Montreal researchers.
Rise in sexual consent age no protection: study
Raising the legal age of sexual consent was meant to prevent sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable, but B.C. researchers say that may not be the case.
Low incomes make poor more conservative, study finds
You might think that in a time when more money is concentrated in fewer hands and incomes vary wildly from billions to subsistence, poor people might increase their support for...
Studying our emotional life
Lisa Feldman Barrett, a psychology professor, says that our mood has a direct effect on our perception of the world. When were happy, she says, well see neutral faces as...
Observatory: Ability Seen in Toddlers to Judge Others’ Intent
Researchers found that when one person tried to harm another but did not succeed, children were less likely to help that person later.
Social costs of achievement vary by race/ethnicity, school features
Doing well in school and feeling accepted by your peers are both important challenges during adolescence. Sometimes these don't fit well together, as when teens are ostracized for being smart....
Brain scans detect autism's signature
An autism study by Yale School of Medicine researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified a pattern of brain activity that may characterise the genetic vulnerability to developing...
When Teachers Highlight Gender, Kids Pick Up Stereotypes
When preschool teachers call attention to gender in any way, kids pick up on it.
Pedestrians follow the herd instinct when crossing the road
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Leeds University study has discovered pedestrians are likely to act like a herd when crossing roads, blindly following other pedestrians.
Benefits of preschool vary by family income
State-funded preschool programs have historically enrolled low-income children, aiming to help them start school on a footing closer to nonpoor youngsters. Today, more and more states are expanding access to...
Strange Quarks Episode 3: Johann Hari and Conor Blevin on Faith Schools
Episode three of Strange Quarks is out! Johann Hari talks about faith schools, social cohesion in Britain, and the 1950s British utopia dreamed of by the right, while teacher Conor...
Autism treatments need proof
Researchers call for an evaluation of autism treatments, claiming that some used in education policies were unfounded and harmful.
Violent kids reject mum’s gaze
Aggressive and antisocial children have been found to have poor eye contact and lack the interest to share gazes with their mothers.
The 'bird people' of St Kilda
How an extraordinary group of men, women and children survived for centuries by eating puffins and making shoes out of gannets.
Guardian Style: from CP Scott to Lindsay Lohan | Mind your language
More than 80 years after it first appeared, a new edition of Guardian Style is publishedThe new edition of Guardian Style arrives more than 80 years after the first "Style-book of the Manchester...
Side Effects: Cats’ Superior Drinking Habits Make Me Love Dogs
If there is anything wanting in your eating or housekeeping habits, a canine is probably a better pet for you.
Why Falsifiability Is Insufficient For Scientific Reasoning
Lee Smolin claims that AP is bad and favors a Cosmological Natural Selection view instead (on grounds of falsifiability). I believe this is a false dichotomy and that they are really one...
Does the wisdom of crowds prevail when betting on football?
the number of points by which a strong team can be expected to defeat a weaker teamare supposed to reflect the "wisdom of crowds." But a new study in the...
Rational family structure dominates
Couples do not live together for traditional or romantic reasons. They do so for purely rational reasons - emotional, financial, intellectual and social. The nuclear family still holds a strong...
Vital Signs: Behavior: Too Much Texting Is Linked to Other Problems
A new study suggests that the high school students who spend the most time texting or on social network sites are at risk for a host of worrisome behaviors.
Rensselaer team shows how to analyze raw government data
Who is the White Houses most frequent visitor? Which White House staffer has the most visitors? How do smoking quit rates, state by state, relate to unemployment, taxes, and violent...
Change in drug payment rule may trigger headaches
(AP) -- A headache awaits people who use those tax-free health spending accounts to pay for over-the-counter allergy relievers, heartburn blockers and other drugstore remedies. Starting next year, you'll...
New study affirms handwriting problems affect children with autism into the teenage years
The handwriting problems that affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are likely to continue into their teenage years, according to a study from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore,...
The real happiness index
If the government wants to assess the nation's wellbeing, they have to ask the right questionsThe government wants to develop a statistical measurement of national "wellbeing" by adding a section about relative happiness...