Your Psychology Psychology articles and news

The expectations people have about how others will behave play a large role in determining whether people cooperate with each other or not. And moreover that very first expectation, or impression, is hard to change.

Research has found that the economic benefit of extended schools far outweighs the cost of running them, but a lack of a coherent national approach now puts them in the firing line for government cuts. Academics warn that undoing the good work of these schools through cutting future funding would be a ‘great mistake’, as keeping children and their families ‘on the right track’ can literally save thousands of pounds by avoiding unemployment benefits, early pregnancies, mental health interventions, drug counseling etc.

For the first time in a human model, scientists have discovered how anti-depressants make new brain cells. This means that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression. Previous studies have shown that anti-depressants make new brain cells, however, until now it was not known how they did it…

When it comes to picking a face out of a police lineup, would you guess that you would use some of the same processes a pigeon might use? If you said “yes,” then you’re right. A study published by two University of Iowa researchers in the March 31 issue of the Journal of Vision found that pigeons recognize a human face’s identity and emotional expression in much the same way as people do…

Each year millions of American adults visit a childhood home. Few can anticipate the effect it will have on them. Often serving several important psychological needs, these trips are not intended as visits with people from their past. Rather, those returning to their homes have a strong desire to visit the places that comprised the landscape of their childhood…

When researchers had college-age women view magazines for five straight days that only included images of women with thin, idealized body types, something surprising happened: the readers’ own body satisfaction improved. But the boost in body image came with a catch…

Pathological gambling addiction is surprisingly common in the U.S., afflicting as many as 3.4% of all adults. Like other addictions, it is highly disabling both to the individual and to society, often leading to suicide, job loss, and criminal behavior. It affects more men than women and can become worse over time…

We all move around in a protective bubble of “near space,” more commonly known as “personal space.” But not everyone’s bubble is the same size. People who project their personal space too far beyond their bodies, or the norm of arm’s reach, are more likely to experience claustrophobic fear, a new study finds. The study is one of the first to focus on the perceptual mechanisms of claustrophobic fear.

For the first time in a human model, scientists have discovered how anti-depressants make new brain cells. This means that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression.

Doctors often advise patients to opt for treatments that they would not necessarily choose for themselves if faced with the same alternatives, according to the results of a US survey published in a leading journal this week…