Feature Channels: Psychology and Psychiatry

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People with psychopathic characteristics are less likely to be affected by “contagious yawning” than those who are empathetic, according to a Baylor University psychology study.

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Having friends who suffer from depression doesn’t affect the mental health of others, according to research led by the University of Warwick.

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For the first time, scientists have seen evidence of where the brain records the time and place of real-life memories.

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Violent video game play is linked to increased aggression in players but insufficient evidence exists about whether the link extends to criminal violence or delinquency, according to a new American Psychological Association task force report.

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Alcoholism inflicts a heavy physical, emotional and financial toll on individuals and society. Now new discoveries and promising animal studies are offering a glimmer of hope that a new class of drugs could treat the disease without many of the unwanted side effects caused by current therapies. The scientists are presenting their work today at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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Confusing reality with imagination and losing contact with reality are two key characteristics that could play a role in the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is what we learn from a study conducted by researchers at the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal) and the University of Montreal, the results of which were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Research from the University of Warwick indicates that the IQ of adults born very premature or of very low birth weight can be predicted when they are just a toddler.

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Troubling behaviors exhibited by abused children can be predictors of later criminal activity, and that those indicators differ between boys and girls.

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When most people think of eating disorders, they think of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. But there’s another condition that has nothing to do with concerns over weight, shape or body image, and it has been recognized in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

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The study shows that there is growing awareness many subgroups of youth experience high levels of chronic stress, to the extent it impedes their abilities to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and fosters risk behavior. Furthermore, this chronic stress appears to persist into the college years, and researchers warns it may contribute to academic disengagement and mental health problems among emerging adults.

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Some depressed patients may be hoping for answers from their therapists, but a new study suggests questions may be the key.

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The brains of people with epilepsy appear to react to music differently from the brains of those who do not have the disorder, a finding that could lead to new therapies to prevent seizures, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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Women experience more emotional pain following a breakup, but they also more fully recover, according to new research from Binghamton University.

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While recently published parenting books have preached the effectiveness of positive parenting and “no drama” discipline, psychologists presenting at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention said don’t put timeout in timeout yet.

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Men’s and women’s ideas of the perfect mate differ significantly due to evolutionary pressures, according to a cross-cultural study on multiple mate preferences by psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that more than one in four female sex workers in two Mexican cities on the U.S. border entered the sex trade younger than age 18; one in eight before their 16th birthday. These women were more than three times more likely to become infected with HIV than those who started sex work as adults.

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Researchers at McGill University have clearly identified, for the first time, the specific parts of the brain involved in decisions that call for delayed gratification. They demonstrated that the hippocampus (associated with memory) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with pleasure) work together in making critical decisions of this type, where time plays a role.

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When people feel or act negatively toward a group, they may explain their feelings or behavior by saying, “I felt threatened.” However, new research reveals how easily people can be conditioned to feel prejudice -- and that unrecognized prejudice can be the source of a perceived threat. The study by Angela Bahns, a social psychologist and professor at Wellesley College, is published this month in the journal Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.

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When it comes to making decisions involving others, the impression we have of their character weighs more heavily than do our assessments of how they can benefit us, a team of New York University researchers has found.

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Attention control training reduces attention bias variability, improves PTSD symptoms

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Researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine report that a nuanced, targeted version of parental control over gene expression, is the method of choice over classic genomic imprinting. Published in Cell Reports, so-called noncanonical imprinting is particularly prevalent in the brain, and skews the genetic message in subpopulations of cells so that mom, or dad, has a stronger say. The mechanism can influence offspring behavior, and because it is observed more frequently than classic imprinting, appears to be preferred.

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A little recognition for a job well done means a lot to children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – more so than it would for typically developing kids.

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Climbing a tree and balancing on a beam can dramatically improve cognitive skills, according to a study recently conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Florida.

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This online press kit includes media advisories and press releases for specific convention sessions or events. All press releases are embargoed for the time of presentation unless otherwise noted.

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As concerns about police bias continue to affect communities, the psychology of racial bias and interracial distrust will be the focus of various presentations at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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A little more than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide, psychologists will present research into such families at the American Psychological Association’s 123rd Annual Convention.

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Hormones play a two-part role in encouraging and reinforcing cheating and other unethical behavior, according to research from Harvard University and The University of Texas at Austin.

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Psychologists at the University of York have revealed new evidence showing how specific language used by parents to talk to their babies can help their child to understand the thoughts of others when they get older.

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Findings are the first to shed light on the genetic differences between DiGeorge syndrome patients with autism and those with psychosis.

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Other topics include ethnic disparities in pain treatment, colon cancer and IBD, halting Liver cancer, and more...

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New research indicates that adults born very premature are more likely to be socially withdrawn and display signs of autism.

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Other topics include nursing research, treating hep C and HIV, and more

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Advertisers hoping to sway consumers might want to rethink running spots within media with violent or sexual themes, and might do better if the ads themselves have a G-rating, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. Instead, violent and sexual media content may impair advertising’s effectiveness and ultimately deter purchasing, the research found.

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If there’s one thing advertisers think they know, it is that sex and violence sell. A new analysis, however, provides some of the best evidence to date that this widely accepted adage just isn’t true.

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College women who are more emotionally invested in Facebook and have lots of Facebook friends are less concerned with body size and shape and less likely to engage in risky dieting behaviors. But that’s only if they aren’t using Facebook to compare their bodies to their friends’ bodies, according to the authors of a surprising new study at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

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No one likes to lose a friend, especially adolescents. Adolescent friendships are fleeting. The majority dissolve after a year or two. But why do friendships end? Researchers sought to answer this question by examining whether adolescent friendships end because of undesirable characteristics of friends, because of differences between friends, or both. They tracked friendships over six years, measuring the effect of both dissimilarities and undesirable individual attributes in predicting when an adolescent friendship would end.

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A team of NYU neuroscientists has identified the “acoustic signature” of screams, a study that points to the unique attributes of this form of expression and suggests we are able to generate sounds reserved exclusively for signaling distress.

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In a recent study conducted by Prof. Micah Leshem of the University of Haifa, no correlation was found between salt intake and an increased sense of thirst or more drinking of water – “Tavern owners can reduce the amount of salt in their bar snacks without fear of a cutting down their customers’ consumption of drinks,” says Prof. Leshem

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It is mind over matter and here are tips to improve or maintain health this summer, says Allison Grupski, PhD, psychologist at Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care.

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A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology finds that whites aware of their biases are better equipped to address contemporary racial challenges, where prejudice is often expressed in subtle, unintentional and unconscious ways, than those who claim to have no racial preferences.

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Benzodiazepine drugs are widely used in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but available evidence suggests that they are not effective—and may even be harmful, concludes a systematic review and meta-analysis in the July Journal of Psychiatric Practice. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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A new Florida State University study has found that just receiving a notification on your cell phone can cause enough of a distraction to impair your ability to focus on a given task. The distraction is comparable to the effects seen when actually using a cell phone to make calls or send text messages.

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Developing any habit starts with a routine. The trick is making exercise a habit that is hard to break. A new Iowa State University study shows that may be easier to accomplish by focusing on cues that make going to the gym automatic.

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Research by Cornell food scientists reveals how a person’s emotional state – particularly in the competitive, wide world of sports – affects the perception of taste. In particular, people in negative emotional states tend to crave sweets more than those in a positive frame of mind.

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New research by a Baylor University professor shows that licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), who account for the largest number of clinically trained helping professionals, believe that discussions about their clients’ religion and spirituality can often lead to improved health and mental health, but practitioners are not integrating these conversations into their counseling sessions.

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Applying mild electrical stimulation to an area of the brain associated with cognitive control helps people with schizophrenia recognize errors and adjust their behavior to avoid them.

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Technology has fueled the fascination with selfies. Two Iowa State professors talk about the selfie trend and why more entertainment venues will follow Disney's lead to ban selfie sticks.

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How much a child’s pupil dilates in response to seeing an emotional image can predict his or her risk of depression over the next two years, according to new research from Binghamton University.

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Other topics include repairing injured nerves, busted heart attack treatment, decorative brain molecules, and more...