psychology

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Florida Says AP Psychology Course Is Illegal

Education Department demands removal of gender and sexuality topics, taught for 3 decades

(Newser) - After blocking the Advanced Placement course on African American Studies, Florida has now "effectively banned" AP Psychology, too, according to the College Board, which oversees the AP program. It says the Florida Department of Education instructed superintendents on Thursday "that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender...

Clown Fear Stems From What Their Makeup Conceals
What Makes Us
Fear Clowns Isn't
Past Encounters
NEW STUDY

What Makes Us Fear Clowns Isn't Past Encounters

Emotional intent hidden under makeup, negative pop culture portrayals cited in new research

(Newser) - You're not alone in your coulrophobia—far from it, in fact. A stunning 53.5% of people are afraid of clowns, a phobia that doesn't generally seem to stem from bad encounters with clowns at all, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of South Wales...

How Acts of Kindness Help Heal Depression
How Acts of Kindness
Help Heal Depression
NEW STUDY

How Acts of Kindness Help Heal Depression

Unlike some therapeutic techniques, it relieves symptoms and boosts social connection: study

(Newser) - People experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression will likely feel better in performing acts of kindness for others, which distract from their own feelings, new research shows. "Social connection is one of the ingredients of life most strongly associated with well-being," study co-author David Cregg, a PhD candidate...

A Patient's Lawsuit Shook the Field of Psychiatry
A Patient's Lawsuit Shook
the Field of Psychiatry
longform

A Patient's Lawsuit Shook the Field of Psychiatry

Book excerpt explores how case pitted psychoanalysis vs. new world of antidepressants

(Newser) - In 1979, a 41-year-old kidney doctor named Ray Osheroff checked into the renowned Chestnut Lodge psychiatric institution in Maryland because he was suffering from depression. As Rachel Aviv recounts in her book Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us—excerpted in the Guardian —there was...

The 'Mandela Effect' Is Real
Researchers
Stumped by
Our Collective
False Memories
NEW STUDY

Researchers Stumped by Our Collective False Memories

Experts can't explain why so many of us recall Curious George with a tail

(Newser) - Picture the popular children's book character Curious George. Does he have a tail? If so, you are one of many people to suffer from the Mandela Effect—the name given to describe the phenomenon of collective false memories that are taken by many to be the real deal. Named...

Researchers Find 'Powerful Weapon' in 'Flirtation Arsenal'
Flirters, One Trait
Trumps Them All
new study

Flirters, One Trait Trumps Them All

Humor, according to science

(Newser) - What’s the world’s most effective flirting tactic? Naturally, the answer may be of interest to anyone preparing for a night on the town. However, to evolutionary psychologists who focus on behaviors that sustain the species, “the stakes of flirting are the survival of the human race,”...

Psychologists Warn About 'Traditional Masculinity'

APA report says old-school traits could be wreaking havoc on male mental, physical health

(Newser) - There's an ideology out there affecting boys and men, and the American Psychological Association says it's "harmful." The Los Angeles Times reports on the APA's first official warning on the toxicity of "traditional masculinity," which "has been shown to limit males' psychological...

Self-Centered? Scientists Say There's Hope
Scientists Pinpoint
4 Personality Types
in case you missed it

Scientists Pinpoint 4 Personality Types

Study refers to reserved, self-centered, role model, and average categories

(Newser) - Northwestern University psychology professor William Revelle spent years trying to show there are no real personality types. His latest research published Monday in Nature Human Behavior points to the opposite conclusion. Using data from 1.5 million survey respondents, it identifies four clear personality types—average, reserved, self-centered, and role...

His Name May Not Be Familiar, but His Famous Test Endures

Walter Mischel created the marshmallow test to gauge kids' self-gratification; he's dead at 88

(Newser) - A psychologist by the name of Walter Mischel died this month at age 88, and if the name doesn't ring a bell, a test he concocted in the 1960s just might. It's the "marshmallow test," and the premise is simple: Mischel presented young children with a...

Le Pen: I'm Defying Order for Psych Evaluation

Far-right leader in France says it shows how far her political opponents will go

(Newser) - A firebrand politician of the far right in France has been ordered by a court to undergo a psychiatric evaluation—and Marine Le Pen is daring the court to force her to do so. The leader of the National Rally broke the news herself in a (French-language) tweet , saying that...

Dumb and Dumberer? IQ Surveys Say Yes

After steadily rising for decades, IQ scores appear to be falling

(Newser) - It's official: We're not getting any smarter. Worse, media exposure might be to blame. Researchers analyzed 730,000 IQ scores of Norwegian men entering the country's military draft who were born between 1962 and 1991, per ScienceAlert . They found that IQ scores rose almost 0.3 points...

Shkreli Thought He'd Ace Psych Test. Not So Much
Shkreli Looked Forward to
Psych Test. It Didn't Go Well
in case you missed it

Shkreli Looked Forward to Psych Test. It Didn't Go Well

He predicted press would 'squirm' when seeing great results

(Newser) - The negative headlines keep on coming for Martin Shkreli, even after his seven-year sentence over securities fraud. Newly unredacted court documents show that the 35-year-old thought he'd aced his psychiatric evaluation and hoped it would be made public to show reporters how smart he was, reports CNBC . "I...

His Message to Men to 'Grow the Hell Up' Is Resonating
Psychologist
Jordan Peterson
Is Becoming
a Phenom
the rundown

Psychologist Jordan Peterson Is Becoming a Phenom

His message to men to 'grow the hell up' is one reason

(Newser) - Heard of Jordan Peterson? If not, it seems inevitable that will happen soon, given his viral videos and headlines referring to the "Jordan Peterson Moment" and the "Jordan Peterson Phenomenon." Peterson is a 55-year-old psychologist at the University of Toronto whose latest book, 12 Rules for Life...

This Is Most-Popular Class in Yale's 316-Year History

With nearly a quarter of all undergrads enrolled

(Newser) - It turns out a whole lot of Yale students want to learn to be happier. The New York Times reports the recently offered Psyc 147—or "Psychology and the Good Life"—is the most popular course in Yale's 316 years of existence. "Students want to change...

Avoid This Mistake When Shopping Online
Avoid This Mistake
When Shopping Online
in case you missed it

Avoid This Mistake When Shopping Online

Customers are swayed by number of reviews, even for bad products

(Newser) - Quantity matters, at least when it comes to product reviews. New research finds that consumers are swayed by the number of reviews an item receives, even if it's of worse quality. Quartz reports that the study analyzing buying habits on Amazon shows that online products with the most reviews...

Scientists Pinpoint a Simple Way to Help Us Start Anew

Handwashing

(Newser) - Looking for an easy way to clear your mind and refocus? Scientists say they've found a simple activity we should all be doing daily anyway that will help get us there: clean your hands. Researchers at the University of Toronto call it "reorienting one's priorities," and...

Women Enjoy an Immediate Post-Workout Boost
Women Enjoy an Immediate
Post-Workout Boost
NEW STUDY

Women Enjoy an Immediate Post-Workout Boost

Study finds they feel stronger, more empowered

(Newser) - There appears to be a benefit to exercise for women that researchers are just now exploring more deeply—and it has more to do with what happens in their brains than in their muscles. Researchers at the University of British Columbia report in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise...

Your Dislike of Veggies Might Be a Branding Issue
This Trick May Help
You Eat More Veggies
NEW STUDY

This Trick May Help You Eat More Veggies

Try a tasty-sounding label

(Newser) - Getting yourself or your kids to eat more veggies could be as easy as coming up with a tempting name for your dish. According to psychology researchers at Stanford, people are more likely to chow down on vegetables if they have an "indulgent" name, like "sizzlin' beans" as...

These Are Our Most Common Secrets
These Are Our
Most Common Secrets
new study

These Are Our Most Common Secrets

But thinking about them alone is tougher on us than concealing them from others

(Newser) - Everyone has secrets. But new research suggests that it is the very act of having them, and being alone with one's thoughts about them, that takes a toll, as opposed to the idea of keeping them from others being the most harmful aspect of secrets. As lead researcher Michael...

Getting Fired Can Be Harder Than Losing a Spouse
Getting Fired Can Be Harder
Than Losing a Spouse
NEW RESEARCH

Getting Fired Can Be Harder Than Losing a Spouse

Unemployment is a blip on the record that doesn't go away

(Newser) - Here's something you might not want to forward to your significant other: You're likely to recover from losing him or her faster than you would recover from losing your job. So say researchers at the University of East Anglia and the What Works Center for Wellbeing in the...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser