Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
TV series on Amazon tribe was not faked, say producers
Show's makers reject academics' claim that Mark & Olly: Living with the Machigenga was 'staged, false, fabricated and distorted'The makers of a TV series about an Amazon tribe have rejected claims that it...
UK journalists use social media despite fears of impact on quality
According to a major new survey by Canterbury Christ Church University and Cision, the leading provider of PR software and services, 90% of journalists regularly use social media, but most...
How language transformed humanity [video]
In this fascinating video, biologist Mark Pagel argues that humanity's destiny is to become one world with one language Language is very probably the one character separates us from the chimpanzees, our closest...
TV time: Why children watch multi-screens
New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, examines the relationship children have with electronic viewing devices and their habits of...
Drug may increase cognition for people with Down syndrome
A researcher is conducting a clinical trial with a drug that may increase cognition in those with Down syndrome.
Most would use genetic depression test results to reduce risky behavior, survey shows
Eight out of ten Australians would radically change their behavior if tests showed they had a genetic susceptibility to depression, a national study has found.
Gender-based violence associated with lifetime risk of mental illness and disability, research shows
Women who experience gender-based violence such as rape, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking have a higher lifetime prevalence of mental health disorders, dysfunction and disability, new research shows.
A true challenge for any superhero: Can comic books combat childhood obesity?
New research challenges kids to develop comic book characters who communicate healthy messages. The results indicate those messages were inspiring.
Treatment intervention for former child soldiers in Uganda associated with reducing symptoms of PTSD
Former child soldiers from Northern Uganda who received a short-term trauma-focused intervention had a greater reduction of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder than soldiers who received other therapy, according to...
Why diets don't work? Starved brain cells eat themselves
A new report might help to explain why it's so frustratingly difficult to stick to a diet. When we don't eat, hunger-inducing neurons in the brain start eating bits of...
News in Brief: Body & Brain
Sour news for cranberries, libido-sapping drugs, the social brain and more in this week’s news
Feminism's misdirected targets | Jennifer Abel
You bet I want equality for women, but I despair to see academic feminists waste time defining such crimes as 'benevolent sexism'There's no diplomatic way to say this: contemporary feminism – especially in...
Neighborhood status influences older women's cognitive function, study finds
Older women who live in a lower socioeconomic status neighborhood are more likely to exhibit lower cognitive functioning than women who live in more affluent neighborhoods, according to a new...
Parents’ conflicts affect adopted infants’ sleep
When parents fight, infants are likely to lose sleep, researchers report. “We know that marital problems have an impact on child functioning, and we know that sleep is a big...
A toss of the dice reveals the truth
In a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers show how a simple toss of the dice can help to bring out honest answers when...
What Makes You Happy? It May Depend on Your Age
Turns out, younger people get more bliss from excitement, while older individuals prefer peacefulness.
Israeli scientists develop date-rape drug detector
The days of having to cart your cocktail to the ladies room may be over: two Israeli scientists say they have developed a sensor that can accurately detect date-rape drugs...
B.C. assisted suicide group heads to court
A group called the Farewell Foundation is in a B.C. court today setting off what's expected to be a long legal fight for the right to assisted suicide.
Experts: Opportunities Increasing for Space Engagement with China
Recent developments hint at better chances of China-U.S. cooperation in space.
Bilingual school counselors help narrow achievement gap
he fastest growing group of students in America's K-12 schools are Latino. Evidence-based programs addressing the unique language and cultural needs of that population are successful in narrowing the traditional...
Taking vitamin pills may undermine motivation to reduce smoking
A new study has found that smokers who take multivitamins offset their healthy behaviour by smoking more cigarettes. This is an example of what psychologists call the licensing effect,...
Study finds smoke-free laws don't impact rural or urban economies
In a recent study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, Ellen Hahn, professor in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing and Mark Pyles, assistant professor of finance in the...
Should Californians Continue to Subsidize ‘Prison-happy’ Counties?
Should the state of California continue to pay equally for counties that send disproportionately large numbers of inmates to prison, relative to the counties’ rates of violent crime? The issue...
Withdrawal from heavy cigarette smoking associated with brain imaging changes in regions related to mood regulation
Findings from a brain imaging study may provide clues for why some individuals with heavy cigarette-smoking habits experience depressed mood upon withdrawal from smoking, according to a new study.,
Britain must resist Tea Party thinking | Polly Toynbee
As unreason triumphs in the US, a similar paranoia and refusal to accept scientific fact threaten to invade British politicsTea Party madness has brought the US to the brink of economic mayhem,...
Study Says Dyslexia May Have Auditory Tie
Scientists have come to believe that the reading difficulties of dyslexia are part of a larger puzzle: a problem with how the brain processes speech and puts together words from...
Essay: Who Falls to Addiction, and Who Is Unscathed?
Who can experiment uneventfully with drugs and who will be undone by them results from a complex interplay of genes, environment and psychology.
Opposing the Health Law, Florida Refuses Millions
Florida’s leaders have rejected grants and sought deferrals in carrying out the 2010 health care law.