-
The Science of Fatherhood
MPR News: Parenting is hard work - we've always known that. There are major biological and life changes that occur when you welcome a baby into your home. Social scientists, however, have been taking a new look at the experience of parenthood. In an article Dr Eli J Finkel in The New York Times, he said the biological changes that a man faces when he becomes a father have long been overlooked: Although many parents happily take to their new role, millions every year respond with despair.
-
Here’s One Weird Trick For Identifying Narcissists
Newsweek: How do you identify a narcissist? It might be as simple as asking "Are you a narcissist?" according to a study published today in PLOS ONE. Researchers at Ohio State University, Indiana University-Purdue University and Gettysburg College conducted 11 different experiments, with more than 2,200 subjects, to determine whether it's possible to identify a narcissist by asking a person: “To what extent do you agree with this statement: ‘I am a narcissist.’ (Note: The word ‘narcissist’ means egotistical, self-focused, and vain.)” Participants then rated their narcissism on a scale of 1 (“not very true of me”) to 7 (“very true of me”). Read the whole story: Newsweek
-
OCD Linked With Broad Impairments in Executive Function
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), characterized by intrusive and persistent thoughts that are often accompanied by repetitive or ritualized acts, is a serious clinical disorder that can significantly impact a person’s ability to function and go about daily life. Neuroimaging data have hinted at a link between OCD and brain areas that contribute to executive function (EF), a group of critical cognitive abilities that regulate lower-level cognitive processes.
-
New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Young Children Bet on Their Numerical Skills: Metacognition in the Numerical Domain Vy A. Vo, Rosa Li, Nate Kornell, Alexandre Pouget, and Jessica F. Cantlon Although metacognition has been identified as an important factor in learning, it is still unclear how this skill emerges and develops in early childhood. Children 5 to 8 years old completed a number-discrimination task and an emotion-discrimination task. After each comparison, the children indicated the confidence they had in their answer.
-
The Common Cold May Be a Traffic Hazard
Fatigue is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most dangerous driving impairments. But that drowsiness is not just the product of sleep deprivation or over-exertion. Sluggishness resulting from the common cold can also hamper driving abilities. Psychologists Andrew Paul Smith and Samantha Jamson of Cardiff University wanted to investigate if individuals with a cold performed poorly on simulated driving tasks. The researchers conducted a two part, divided-attention test on 25 English college students. These volunteers were split into either a “Healthy” or “Colds” sample based on the self-assessed severity of their cold symptoms.
-
Latest research: Why everyone should take vacation
The Washington Post: We Americans work hard. Weekends are more like workends. We sleep with our smartphones. And we think vacations are for wimps. So we don’t take them. Or take work along with us if we do. But what if taking vacation not only made you healthier and happier, as a number of studies have shown, but everyone around you? And what if everybody took vacation at the same time? Would life be better, not just for you, but for the entire society? Yes, argues Terry Hartig, an environmental psychologist at Uppsala University in Sweden. Yes, indeed. Read the whole story: The Washington Post