Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Vital Signs: Screening: An Autism Questionnaire at Checkup Time
A questionnaire given to parents at their child’s 1-year checkup can detect signs of autism and other developmental delays but comes with a high rate of false positives.
Monkey recall memory mirrors that of humans
A new study shows for the first time that monkeys can recall and reproduce simple shapes from memory. Identifying this recall ability is critical to our understanding of the evolution...
Better body armor could reduce brain shock
BALTIMORE, April 28 (UPI) -- Better body armor to shield the chest, abdomen and back of soldiers could better protect their brains from mild "shell shock" injuries, U.S. researchers...
Taking safety personally
A year after the BP explosion and oil spill, those trying to find someone to blame are misguided, says a psychological scientist. He has spent much of his 42-year career...
Monkeys, too, can recollect what they've seen
It's one thing to recognize your childhood home when you see it in a photograph and quite another to accurately describe or draw a picture of it based on your...
Older Gaels sought for research
Gaelic speakers over 60 are being sought for research into whether speaking more than one language aids mental agility.
Social bonding in prairie voles helps guide search for autism treatments
Researchers at the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience (CTSN) at Emory University are focusing on prairie voles as a new model to screen the effectiveness of drugs to treat autism....
Early math skills predict later academic success
(PhysOrg.com) -- Continuing research by UC Irvine Distinguished Professor of education Greg Duncan has shed additional light on what constitutes school readiness and which K-5 skills and behaviors predict later...
School climate a key factor in feelings of safety
(PhysOrg.com) -- Kris Bosworth, a UA College of Education faculty member, led an investigation into the perceptions students and teachers throughout Arizona hold about campus safety, finding that each school's...
Black churches teach kids about safe sex, disease prevention
When 10th-grader Quintin Scott learned that only physicians could diagnose AIDS, he wasn't in sex education class and he wasn't overhearing locker room talk: Scott was in church.
Adult-supervised drinking in young teens may lead to more alcohol use, consequences
Allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older. In fact, such a "harm-minimization" approach may actually lead to more...
Will it fall? Scientists show how the brain's estimate of Newton's laws affects perceived object stability
Newton's laws of motion predict that an object will fall when its centre-of-mass lies beyond its base of support. But how does your brain know whether the tower will fall...
Ostracism hurts -- but how? Shedding light on a silent, invisible abuse
(Medical Xpress) -- Humans need to belong. Yet they also commonly leave others out. Animals abandon the weakest to ensure the survival of the fittest. So do kindergartners and tweens,...
Similar structures for face selectivity in human and monkey brains
(Medical Xpress) -- Face recognition and the interpretation of facial expressions and gaze direction play a key role in guiding the social behavior of human beings, and new study results...
Chinese census reveals aging population
China's population is aging rapidly, the government said Thursday, though its leaders are refusing to relax strict family planning controls that are part of the cause.
Selfless behaviour brings success for all
(PhysOrg.com) -- One possibility to spur people on to save energy: people punish selfishness more when their group is in competition with others
Divine dispatches: a religion roundup | Riazat Butt
A Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan; segregated buses in Israel; a dust-up in a gurdwara; and Dawkins hardens on 'faith-heads'This is almost a royal wedding-free zone. There will be no talk of bunting, two...
Well: Should Your Doctor Be on Facebook?
Rapid dissemination and reposting in social media make it nigh impossible to scrub unwanted images and text from the Web, so a doctor must be vigilant about what gets posted.
Brains on film
There are science writing competitions and now there's a neuroscience film competition, too! Here are several videos from that competitionThe UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience recently hosted a "Brains on Film" competition. This...
Indian newlyweds offered cash to delay having children
While countries like Japan, Canada and Australia hand out "baby bonuses" to encourage people to have children, couples in one part of India are getting cash to do just the...
Scientists looking at 'erasing' memories
LOS ANGELES, April 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a discovery could lead to the ability to "alter" traumatic memories in war veterans, rape victims and others troubled by...
Manitoba pushes defibrillators in public places
The Manitoba government wants defibrillators in public places such as schools, airports, and recreation centres, Health Minister Theresa Oswald says.
Want to Marry a Movie Star? You Might Need to Study Up
Movie stars who marry each other tend to find matches with similar educational backgrounds.
Psychologists ask how well -- or badly -- we remember together
Several years ago, a researcher noticed a strange sort of contagion in a couple she was close to. One partner acquired dementia -- and the other lost the nourishing pleasures...
People power: Social media can alter research priorities
Widespread demands in Canada for clinical trials for a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis show the growing power of the Internet and social media to influence research priorities, according to...
A director of BGLTQ student life
Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds announced on Wednesday (April 27) that she will appoint a new director to coordinate resources and develop programming in support of bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, and queer...
MIT class studies Kenyan slum's clinic quandary
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- The clinic's paperwork carried a common medical symbol - a snake coiling around a wooden rod. But that simple insignia sparked a...
Mystery donor gifts Picasso to fund scientific research
An anonymous US-based donor gives a multi-million dollar Picasso painting to the University of Sydney, stipulating that the proceeds of its sale must fund scientific research.