Feature Channels: Behavioral Science

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Flirtation may seem largely visual – the preening, the coy eye contact – but voice plays a role, too.

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The distraction -- even irritation -- that you feel when someone near you is chatting on the ubiquitous cell phone is only natural, according to peer-reviewed research.

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Arthur Stone, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Vice Chairman of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University and colleagues have produced an analysis of how Americans perceive well-being at various ages.

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The face looks familiar but… Just as humans don't always know their neighbors, new research at the University of Michigan shows even the most social of animals don't always recognize individuals they regularly encounter, the first known evidence of "missing social knowledge" in non-human primates.

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Changes in a virtual human’s photorealism and motion quality had no significant effect on female viewers, but did influence decisions of male viewers.

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Moderate to severely depressed clients showed greater improvement in cognitive therapy when therapists emphasized changing how they think rather than how they behave, new research has found.

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What Madison Avenue knew decades ago has been observed in brain chemistry. A simple phone call from mom can calm frayed nerves by sparking the release of a powerful stress-quelling hormone, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Immigrant Latinos display strong parenting practices and raise socially agile children, but these early gains are likely to be eroded by mediocre schools and peer pressure in poor neighborhoods, according to findings published by the American Psychological Association.

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Biologists have discovered that, contrary to their name, hermit crabs may find new housing using previously unknown social networking skills. These behaviors may shed light on other animals that rely on discrete, reusable resources, from hole-nesting woodpeckers to city apartment dwellers.

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Jealousy really is "blinding," according to a new study by two University of Delaware psychology professors. They found women who were made to feel jealous were so distracted, they could not spot targets in a computer test.

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K. Anders Ericsson has spent much of his career studying what makes the world’s best musicians and athletes the best. It turns out the old adage is true: Practice — 10,000 hours of it, to be precise — really does make perfect.

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A Dalhousie University researcher argues that promoting individual learning and innovation over cultural conformity isn’t just valuable to a society’s success, it may be essential to its very survival.

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The new book, The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development, dispels many common myths about adolescence with the latest scientific findings on the physical, emotional, cognitive, sexual and spiritual development of teens. Authors Clea McNeely and Jayne Blanchard from the Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, provide useful tips and strategies for real-life situations and experiences from bullying, to nutrition and sexuality.

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A Baylor University study that is the first to scientifically test the effect of religion on racial prejudice has found people primed with Christian concepts led to increased expression of racial prejudice.

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Why people put off important tasks until the last minute: five questions for Joseph Ferrari, PhD.

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Questions for Susan Swearer, PhD, an associate professor of School Psychology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) in the Department of Educational Psychology.

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Self-esteem rises steadily as people age but starts declining around the time of retirement, according to a longitudinal study of men and women ranging in age from 25 to 104.

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When faced with a choice that could yield either short-term satisfaction or longer-term benefits, people with complete information about the options generally go for the quick reward.

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A professor at Westfield State College has conducted bullying workshops for area schools and has advice for victims and school administrators, alike. Bullying is in the national news following a tragic case in South Hadley, Mass. where a high school student committed suicide and nine students are being prosecuted.

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When dealing with tantrums, the golden rule for parents is to set reasonable expectations and to stick to your guns when enforcing them.

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A new study from University of Utah psychologists found a small group of people with an extraordinary ability to multitask: Unlike 97.5 percent of those studied, they can safely drive while chatting on a cell phone.

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A new study carried out by Prof. Rachel Lev-Wiesel and Dr. Tzachi Ben Zion has found that women who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood reported higher levels of depression and symptoms of post-trauma during pregnancy.

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Darden School of Business Offers Course on Markets in Human Hope

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A study of 100 teen bloggers from around the United States found that the vast majority use blogs to nurture relationships with their peers and build a sense of community -- rather than to admit misbehavior.

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Humans have long been advised to “know thyself,” but new research suggests we may not know ourselves as well as we think we do. While individuals may be more accurate at assessing their own neurotic traits, such as anxiety, it seems friends, and even strangers, are often better barometers of traits such as intelligence, creativity and extroversion.

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The gift of “seeing ourselves as others see us” comes in handy when judging how we’ve made a first impression. Yet many come away with little or no clue about how that first impression was perceived. A new study suggests confidence is a key indicator of how well we've assessed impressions left behind.

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UC San Diego and Harvard deliver the first experimental findings that cooperative behavior spreads person to person to person in a social network.

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Amber J. Belcher, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Delaware, has won the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The fellowship will support Belcher's research on how couples cope with breast cancer.

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When people say they "had sex," what transpired is anyone's guess. A new study from the Kinsey Institute found that no consensus existed when a representative sample of 18- to 96-year-olds was asked what the term meant to them.

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Scientists are beginning to find out why people with Parkinson’s disease often feel socially awkward. Parkinson’s patients find it harder to recognize expressions of emotion in other people’s faces and voices, report two studies published by the American Psychological Association.

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Consumers found that satisfaction with “experiential purchases” – from massages to family vacations – starts high and increases over time. In contrast, spending money on material things feels good at first, but actually makes people less happy in the end, says Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University professor of psychology and Travis J. Carter, Cornell Ph.D. ’10. (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).

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It seems to make perfect sense: happy people are trusting people. But a new study suggests that, in some instances, people may actually be less trusting of others when they are in a pleasant mood.

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People talk to their plants, pray to humanlike gods, name their cars, and even dress their pets up in clothing. We have a strong tendency to give nonhuman entities human characteristics (known as anthropomorphism), but why? A new report examines the psychology of anthropomorphism.

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Higher intelligence is associated with liberal political ideology, atheism, and men’s (but not women’s) preference for sexual exclusivity. More intelligent people are statistically more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences novel human evolutionary history.

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There is something about the rhythm and texture of early cinema that has a very different “feel” than modern films. But it’s hard to put one’s finger on just what that something is. New research may help explain this elusive quality.

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A sick or sad child might cling to mom’s leg. But that same child – fed, rested and generally content – will happily toddle off to explore every nook and cranny of the known world. Or: You’re chipper and you decide to check out the new restaurant across town. You’re blue and you turn to comfort foods.

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A Dalhousie University researcher is studying how restricting sleep affects the behaviors, cognition and emotions of children aged eight to 12 years old.

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UC Berkeley business management professors find counterfactual thinkers are more analytical in organizational settings.

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Perception of second language speech is easier when it is spoken in the accent of the listener and not in the 'original' accent of that language, shows a new study from the University of Haifa. The study was published in the prestigious Journal of Psycholinguistic Research.

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With the national trend toward quitting smoking flat, psychologists are finding some success with treatments aimed at helping smokers from underserved groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and those with psychiatric disorders.

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Pam and Jim on The Office. Meredith and McDreamy on Grey’s Anatomy. Television shows depict many workplace romances, but in the real world how do co-workers view love on the job? According to one Ryerson University professor, most colleagues aren’t bothered by office romances as long as they don’t negatively affect the workplace.

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Members of a group or team will work harder when they’re competing against a group with lower status than when pitted against a more highly ranked group, according to a new study.

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A fictional television drama may be more effective in persuading young women to use birth control than a news-format program on the same issue, according to a new study.

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Male homosexuality doesn’t make complete sense from an evolutionary point of view. One possible explanation is what evolutionary psychologists call the “kin selection hypothesis.” Homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives.

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Seeing someone perform a virtuous deed makes us feel good--an uplifting emotion known as “elevation.” New findings suggest that elevation may lead to helping behavior: Participants who viewed an uplifting TV clip spent almost twice as long helping a research assistant than participants who saw a neutral TV clip or a comedy clip.

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Questions for Col. Tom Kolditz, PhD: Col. Kolditz is a social psychologist, soldier and skydiving instructor. As a professor, APA fellow and chairman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point, Col. Kolditz studies human behavior and leadership in dangerous and extreme contexts. He has examined research conducted in Iraq during active combat operations and applies it to the challenges of leadership in business and daily living.

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Your facial expression may tell the world what you are thinking or feeling. But it also affects your ability to understand written language related to emotions, according to research that was presented today to the Society for Personal and Social Psychology in Las Vegas, and will be published in the journal Psychological Science.

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Sleepless nights. Missed work days. As anyone with insomnia will attest, the condition can lead to intense personal suffering. But combine insomnia with anxiety, depression and chronic pain, and sleeplessness can become even more troubling. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), however, may be a remedy for this multi-faceted problem, says a Ryerson University professor.

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A study published January 28 in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that women with higher exposure to phthalates during their pregnancy report more disruptive and problem behaviors in their children, using standardized measures. The study included 188 children whose mothers enrolled in Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s New York Children’s Environmental Health Study during their third trimester of pregnancy.

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Question and Answer with Jonathan Bricker, PhD, a psychologist who helps people overcome a wide variety of challenges, including anxiety, fear of flying and unhealthy behaviors. In 1999, he developed the Air Travel Stress Scale, which suggests that air travel stress has unique emotional components.