Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Ethical Failures Found on 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'House'
Grey's Anatomy and House are rife with ethical dilemmas, study finds.
News Analysis: With or Without Health Reform, We Pay for Others’ Bad Habits
The majority of Americans say it is fair to ask people with unhealthy lifestyles to pay more for health insurance. But personal responsibility is a complex notion.
Widely used screening scale may misidentify borderline personality disorder as bipolar disorder
A widely-used screening tool for bipolar disorder may incorrectly indicate borderline personality disorder rather than bipolar disorder. Researchers question the effectiveness of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire.
Motherhood appears to protect against suicide, study finds
Motherhood appears to protect against suicide, with increasing numbers of children associated with decreasing rates of death from suicide, found a new article.
Obama Chooses Health Policy Scholar as the Director for Medicare and Medicaid
The expected nominee, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, has challenged hospitals and doctors to provide better care at lower cost.
Social media undermines publication ban
The dramatic escape of a Moncton grandmother after nearly a month in captivity has stunned the province but it has also highlighted the problems of court-ordered publications bans being obeyed...
Sleep differences among ethnic groups revealed in new poll
Significant differences have been found in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics and whites.
For families, caring from a distance takes effort
Relatives can have questions but can’t always attend appointments for elderly patients. One doctor sees firsthand the need and shares her advice. ...
On Peer Review
In Adventures in Ethics and Science, Janet Stemwedel asks some questions about peer review — its purpose and its effect — prompted by strong online criticism of a peer-reviewed paper...
What I'm really thinking: The couples counsellor
'When I hear the husband has "accidentally" sent his wife an amorous text meant for his lover, I secretly think, what a plonker'I see a lot of common themes – mishearing each...
Feeling powerful leads to more optimistic and less accurate time predictions
When people feel powerful they become more optimistic and less accurate in predicting the completion time of forthcoming tasks. New research examined for the first time the planning behavior of...
The sound and the query: Why do questions take the form they do?
In linguistic terms, a question is largely the re-ordering of a statement. Shuffle the words around, make a couple of other changes, and "John rode a horse" becomes "What did...
Getting families and friends together again, virtually
(PhysOrg.com) -- A fireside chat, sharing photos with granddad, a family get-together to play Monopoly on a Sunday afternoon? Digital media designed for the individual has hastened the demise...
Spelbots
RoboCup is the Olympics of college-level robotics and artificial intelligence contests. The team from Spelman College, a historically black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, has positioned themselves...
Research confirms that some forms of massage help against low-back pain
Most people have experienced back pain - and many hope that massage will relieve it. But not all forms of massage have been scientifically proven to help against low back...
Study pinpoints causes of child death in China
Pneumonia is the leading cause of death amongst Chinese children, accounting for 17 per cent of deaths in under-5s, according to a new study...
Could Hong Kong teach China to quit smoking?
(AP) -- Nearly one in three smokers worldwide lights up in China, where cigarettes - commonly given as gifts - are so tightly woven into the culture, some believe it's...
UK schools find time pressures slash practical science
Science teachers questioned in a survey say they are not able to carry out as many experiments as they would like.
Legal-Marijuana Advocates Focus on a New Green
The effort to legalize the drug in California will not dwell on effects or social acceptance, but on economic benefits.
Researchers identify secrets to happiness, depression among oldest of old
(PhysOrg.com) -- Neva Morris of Ames officially became America's oldest person and the second-oldest person in the world this month at the age of 114. And researchers from her community...
The Drunk History of Nikola Tesla, Father of Western Technology
Nikola Tesla, pioneering inventor, died penniless and unrecognized. We have previously mentioned his hipster cred, but it has taken until 2010, almost 70 years after his death, for the man...
Media memories help people with dementia to unlock the past
(PhysOrg.com) -- People with dementia are to be given help to unlock their memories, thanks to academic research by teams at the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee.
Scientist studies emotion in psychology, art and acting to help autistics
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes our deepest emotions are written all over our faces. Stanford researcher David Wilkins is studying how people can be trained to better recognize facial emotions. He is...
Trends: From Anxiety to Depression and Back Again
Poet W.H Auden dubbed the post-World War II nuclear era the `age of anxiety` and indeed, at the time, anxiety disorders were the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses. Yet, by...
US newspaper ad revenue down 27% in 2009: NAA
US newspaper advertising revenue plunged more than 27 percent last year, with both print and online registering double-digit declines, the Newspaper Association of America said.
Psychologists Say "Fast Food Culture" Promotes Impatience
Not only do evil fast food companies makes us fat and tempt our children with deceptive advertising, they also make us impatient, according to a new study in Psychological Science....
China to cement grand African research plans
China may fulfil its African promises at a meeting next week, but concerns remain about who is benefiting from these science collaborations.
Eye Computer: Turning Vision Into A Programmable Computer
Our everyday visual perceptions rely upon unfathomably complex computations carried out by tens of billions of neurons across over half our cortex. In spite of this, it does not “feel”...