Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Well: If You're Keen on Quinoa
Cooking with quinoa is easy and rewarding, as long as you choose the right dish, writes Martha Rose Shulman in this week's Recipes for Health.
Study shows girls increasingly aborted in India
NEW DELHI (AP) -- More and more Indian families with one girl are aborting subsequent pregnancies when prenatal tests show another female is on the way,...
News in Brief: Humans
Right is right for righties, plus trading for better decisions and the human spread to Arabia in this week’s news
U.N. decision on smallpox put off
UNITED NATIONS, May 24 (UPI) -- A U.N. decision about whether to destroy existing samples of smallpox held in Russian and U.S. labs has been postponed for another three...
Study: Memorable images feature people
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 24 (UPI) -- The most memorable photos depict people, followed by indoor scenes and human-scale objects, while landscapes are largely forgettable, a U.S. study found.
Happy guys finish last, says new study on sexual attractiveness
Women find happy guys significantly less sexually attractive than swaggering or brooding men, according to a new study that helps to explain the enduring allure of "bad boys" and other...
Love matters: Internet hookups for men don’t always mean unsafe sex
If a gay or bisexual man seeks sex or dating online, the type of partner or relationship he wants is a good indicator of whether he’ll engage in safe sex,...
Violence doesn't add to children's enjoyment of TV shows, movies
Despite growing concern about the effects of media violence on children, violent television shows and movies continue to be produced and marketed to them. A new research study concludes that...
Physicists devise new way to analyze a bloody crime scene
Don’t get him wrong: Fred Gittes is, in his words, “extremely squeamish.” But then a scientist with forensics training told him that crime scene investigators could use a better way...
CBC probe highlights drug company conflicts
The Public Health Agency of Canada is looking to make public any potential conflict of interest involving its expert advisers following a months-long CBC/Radio-Canada probe into the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
Cultured Men Are Happier, Study Finds
Attending plays, visiting museums and going to concerts is linked with happiness, especially in men.
Poorer reading skills following changed computer habits of children
Sweden and the US are two countries in which increased leisure use of computers by children can lead to poorer reading ability, according to a new analysis.
Eggs, butter, milk: Memory is not just a shopping list
Often, the goal of science is to show that things are not what they seem to be. But now, in a new article, a veteran cognitive psychologist exhorts his colleagues...
Observatory: Learning Geometry Without a Protractor
New research shows that some uneducated adults and children appear to have an almost innate grasp of geometry and its concepts.
Well: Is There a Doctor on the Plane?
Call for medical assistance on flights pose a singular challenge for physicians, who find themselves suddenly caring for a stranger whose history they don't know, often with a problem well...
What do policymakers know about the factors influencing people's well-being?
Most people would probably agree that quality of life means more than just material welfare, and it is becoming increasingly common for politicians to be interested in letting people's subjective...
Advertising can warp your memory
Advertising is everywhere people look. It's along the highway, in storefronts, and online. It can be funny or poignant; it can be annoying. New research shows it can also encourage...
'Young, disadvantaged men'
With teen moms being debated heavily in popular culture today, it's easy to neglect the effects of fatherhood. However, recent research shows that young, disadvantaged men also affect a family...
Heredity behind subjective effects of alcohol
Scientists have long known that people who have a close relative with alcohol problems themselves run an increased risk of starting to abuse alcohol. The reason for this has not...
Mind: How a Telescopic Lens Muddles Psychiatric Insights
Doctors should have deep reservations about giving very specific and damaging psychiatric opinions about people they have not examined.
New research overturns theory on how children learn their first words
New research by a team of University of Pennsylvania psychologists is helping to overturn the dominant theory of how children learn their first words, suggesting that it occurs more in...
States should be allowed to implement key health reform law provisions early, experts say
More than eight of 10 leaders in health and health care policy (82%) believe states should be allowed to implement key provisions of the Affordable Care Act early with full...
Brains on Jazz Feel the Music
Empathy helps listening musicians judge whether music is improvised or rehearsed
Personal Health: Zombie Prevention: Your Child’s Sleep
Many youngsters do not get enough sleep, which can result in serious consequences, impairing school performance and raising the risk of mood disorders.
More focus needed on mental health triage in disaster preparedness, bioethicists urge
Bioethicists say disaster-response planning has overlooked the needs of people who suffer from pre-existing, serious mental conditions. Survivors already diagnosed with schizophrenia, dementia, addictions and bipolar disorder are vulnerable long...
Whites believe they are victims of racism more often than blacks, study suggests
Whites believe they are the primary victims of racial bias in America, a new study suggests. Whites and blacks agree that anti-black racism has decreased. However, whites believe that "reverse...
Gram gives peace a chance
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvard’s stellar graduates. Danielle Gram ’11 was asleep in her Currier House dorm room on the morning of Nov....
Nine named Rappaport Fellows
Seven Harvard graduate students are among the 14 local graduate students who will spend the summer working in key state and local agencies as Rappaport Public Policy Fellows or Radcliffe/Rappaport Doctoral Policy Fellows....