Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Violent video games reduce brain response to violence and increase aggressive behavior, study suggests
Scientists have known for years that playing violent video games causes players to become more aggressive. The findings of a new study provide one explanation for why this occurs: the...
OCD: Compulsions lead to obsessions, not the other way around
New scientific evidence challenges a popular conception that behaviors such as repetitive hand-washing, characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are carried out in response to disturbing obsessive fears.
The spirituality of the stage
Amy Brenneman ’87 knows what life is like in the spotlight. Famous for starring roles in the television series “Judging Amy” and “Private Practice,” the actress is well versed in the glamour, glitz,...
Social networking may prove key to overcoming isolation of older adults
The University of Sydney is leading an investigation into the use of online social networking tools and other information technologies by older Australians as a means of combating social isolation...
Children feel hoplessness when depressed
Kids Help Phone has noted a trend of hopelessness among children using its services and has developed a tipsheet for adults.
Sexy girls have it easy
This video follows one woman's social experiment: is an attractively made-up woman more likely to get free things than a plain-looking woman?Like many women, Caroline has long been suspicious that men are suckers...
Endeavour Astronauts Talk With Tucson Elementary Students
Endeavour astronauts Mark Kelly and Mike Fincke spoke to Tucson elementary school students Sunday.
An Ode To The Health Miracle That Is Coffee
There are perennials in the plant kingdom, flowers that bloom each year, and in culture as well. Each year, for example, there will be a new go-to cliche in football....
Smartphone app lets workers track wages
(AP) -- Workers who don't trust the boss to keep track of their wages can now do it themselves with a new smartphone application from the Department of Labor....
Video: Florida's feathered friends
This "Sunday Morning" moment of nature leaves you among some feathered friends in Augustine, Florida.
Rapture This
Folks went apeshit over Stephen Hawking speaking his belief that heaven is a fairy tale. Some crazy fool insisted the rapture was today. And the world turned on. And on it will turn.Why...
A two-for-one workout
The world of fusion exercise classes is expanding. Trainers are combining boxing and Pilates, and barre work with boot camp, to spice things up.Most people wouldn't think of combining seemingly...
DSM-5 Attempts to Sweep Porn Addiction Under the Rug
The Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders work group for the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is currently discussing whether to demote the proposed...
Children growing weaker as computers replace outdoor activity
Modern life is 'producing a generation of weaklings', claims research as physical strength declines in 10-year-oldsChildren are becoming weaker, less muscular and unable to do physical tasks that previous generations found simple, research...
Fans of Apple have 'religious' fervor
LONDON, May 20 (UPI) -- For fans of Apple devices, the brand triggers reactions in the brain that are not unlike those experienced by religious devotees, British researchers say.
Why are unhealthy people so reluctant to change their lifestyles?
It takes more than a wake-up call, even a life-threatening one, to get smokers, diabetics and obese people to give up their unhealthful ways.Nobody's perfect. We all have bad habits...
What it looks like inside a migraine
Creating art is a release for sufferers, and the resulting images provide insight for researchers.It can be hard to explain how your world looks to someone whose reality is very...
'Hypersexual disorder' might make DSM-5
At an annual meeting, psychiatrists also consider grouping compulsive gambling with substance-use disorders in the updated manual.Tiger Woods' mistresses. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secret child. Bill Clinton's sexual escapades in the Oval...
After brain damage, the creative juices flow for some
Many people who have suffered brain damage turn to creating art. Researchers are studying them to help unravel how the brain works.Artist Katherine Sherwood was just 44 when a hemorrhage...
What I'm really thinking: The cognitive hypnotherapist
'I'm there to help them change, not to hold their hand and tell them how awful it all is'I am always fascinated when I first meet a client. Three people can come...
Act your age – or your shoe size?
Age-appropriate: it's a very modern buzzword. But what happens when you don't suit your years?Christa D'SouzaMost little girls want to be older than they actually are, but me, I'd say, maybe more...
How can we corral data to reveal the big picture? | Ben Goldacre
Belief systems are backed by a variety of research but it's not nuggets of information we need but rather a view of the wholeHere's no surprise: beliefs that we imagine to be...
Shape of things to come
When the Old Quincy Test Project wraps up in the summer of 2013, undergraduates will return to a re-envisioned House that is more comfortable, more modern, and more capable of hosting academic...
University of Pennsylvania's PR2 robot learns to read (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvanias GRASP Lab have added new functionality to their Robot PR2. The Robot PR2, which has been given the nickname Graspy, has the...
The struggle for personal identity in cancer patient
We all know shorts and swimsuit season is right around the corner, but what if body image issues went past wiggling thighs and a bulging tummy to a deeper level?...
Crossing your arms relieves pain
(Medical Xpress) -- Crossing your arms reduces the intensity of pain you feel when receiving a painful stimulus on the hand, according to research by scientists at University College London.
Teen's religious commitment springs from relationships, study shows
For the 12,000 teens who participate each year, EFY is a time for game nights, dances, and cheer-offs, and now a study at BYU illustrates the programs secrets to success.
'Time' not necessarily deeply rooted in our brains
(Medical Xpress) -- Hidden away in the Amazonian rainforest a small tribe have successfully managed what so many dream of being able to do to ignore the pressures of...