Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Social support post-cancer lacking among minority women
Nonwhite women reported receiving less social support than white women after cancer treatment, according to data presented at the Third AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held...
Desmond Morris: TV as good as books for toddlers
Anthropologist attacks 'cultural snobbery' in contentious new book on development of preschool childrenWhich parent hasn't done it – and not felt guilty? Your child asks to be read a story but you want...
Alcohol consumers are becoming the norm in U.S., analysis finds
More people are drinking than 20 years ago, according to an analysis of national alcohol consumption patterns in the United States. Gathered from more than 85,000 respondents, the data suggests...
After traumatic event, early intervention reduces odds of PTSD in children by 73 percent
A new approach that helps improve communication between child and caregiver, such as recognizing and managing traumatic stress symptoms and teaching coping skills, was able to prevent chronic and sub-clinical...
Children's well-being and varying degrees of family instability
A forthcoming issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family states that children today are less likely to be born into a 'traditional' family structure, defined as two biological married...
For the first time, monkeys recognise themselves in the mirror, indicating self-awareness
Typically, monkeys don't know what to make of a mirror. They may ignore it or interpret their reflection as another, invading monkey, but they don't recognise the reflection as their...
Less than half of essential workers willing to report to work during a serious pandemic, study finds
Although first responders willingly put themselves in harm's way during disasters, new research indicates that they may not be as willing -- if the disaster is a potentially lethal pandemic....
Malawi adopts UN guidelines on AIDS
(AP) -- Malawi's vice president says her AIDS-ravaged southern African country will adopt the latest U.N. health guidelines that call for putting HIV-positive people on drugs sooner.
Sir Martin Rees: Don't Listen to Hawking on Theology
Rees says since Hawking has read little to no theology, we shouldn’t "attach any weight to his views on this topic."
Coping with genetic predisposition to cancer
Kelly Metcalfe, a professor at the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, focuses her research on a unique population of women faced with some really tough decisions and helps them reach satisfactory...
U.K. study to look at lying behavior
PORTSMOUTH, England, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The common belief that people avert their gaze, blink nervously or fidget when telling lies is not true, a U.K. researcher says. ...
Government accused of manipulating science news
The federal government engages in "unacceptable political interference" in the communication of government science, says the head of a group that represents both government press officers and science journalists.
Absent mothers can cause hyperactivity and anxiety later in life
In mice, early weaning and separation from their mothers promotes long-lasting hyperactivity and anxiety. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience describe the development of this new behavioural...
'Louder at the back, please'
Playing white noise in class can help inattentive children learn. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioural and Brain Functions tested the effect of the meaningless random noise...
You Are Being Manipulated By Flowers
(maybe) In positive psychology, most theories of positive emotion have focused on discovering their relative costs and benefits to humans. These theories, to a greater and lesser degree, see positive emotions...
EmotionSense: How your mobile can interpret your mood
Cecilia Mascolo thinks of mobile phones rather differently to most of us. To her the mobile, as the most definitive, ubiquitous personal device that we carry, can give unique insights into our state...
Research integrity: Sabotage!
Postdoc Vipul Bhrigu destroyed the experiments of a colleague in order to get ahead. It took a hidden camera to expose a surreptitious and malicious side of science.
Disgraced Physicist Can Keep His Degree
Jan Hendrik Schön can keep his doctorate, a judge in Freiburg, Germany, decided on...
IVF influences baby's sex: study
Assisted reproductive technology influences male-female birth ratios, Australian researchers have found.
Stress Hormone Blocks Testosterone's Effects
High levels of the stress hormone cortisol play a critical role in blocking testosterone's influence on competition and domination, according to new psychology research at The University of Texas at...
What's your eco-attitude?
Academics at the University of Derby are using the virtual reality platform Second Life to gauge people's unconscious attitudes towards 'green' issues such as recycling.
Complexity of teen drinking cultures decoded
Many factors lead teens to abuse alcohol, but culture plays the biggest role. That is the finding of researchers at George Mason University who recently completed a study of adolescent...
Father's incarceration associated with elevated risks of marijuana and other illegal drug use, study finds
In a new study, researchers report evidence of an association between father's incarceration and substantially elevated risks for illegal drug use in adolescence and early adulthood.
Undesirable lead levels found in Montreal homes
Public health officials in Montreal have found what they call undesirable levels of lead in 18 per cent of recently tested homes with young children, CBC News has learned.
Tron: Evolution a challenge for Propaganda Games
Vancouver's Propaganda Games has the challenge of rebooting the Tron video game, a huge cult hit from the eighties.
US university’s scheme to rate faculty draws fire
Professors unnerved by internal plan to generate profit-loss statements for faculty
Video: Michael Shermer on the pattern behind self-deception | GrrlScientist
This video is Shermer's discussion about how the human tendency to believe strange things is actually due to two of the brain's most basic, hard-wired survival skillsIn this video, Michael Shermer presents some...
Buyer backlash: Why do slogans about saving money increase spending?
A new study reveals a strange facet of consumer behavior: people behave differently when they encounter companies' brands than they do when they encounter their slogans.