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Race/Ethnicity Moderates Associations Between Childhood Weight Status and Early Substance Use
Identification of risk-factors for early drinking, smoking, and illicit drug use is essential for targeted substance abuse prevention. Few studies have examined associations between weight during childhood and early substance use, with mixed results. Some research has linked childhood obesity to higher rates of alcohol, cigarette, and/or cannabis use during adolescence, while others have found no associations. The present study examined the role of race/ethnicity as a potential moderator of relationships between childhood weight status and early use (by age 15) of alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis.
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science and Clinical Psychological Science: Immediate Effect of Internal Reward on Visual Adaptation David Pascucci and Massimo Turatto Can exposure to rewards influence our visual experiences? To answer this question, the authors had participants perform a discrimination task during an adaptation period meant to induce the tilt aftereffect -- a visual illusion in which prolonged exposure to an oriented stimulus affects the perception of subsequent stimuli orientations.
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Humans Get the Gist of Complex Sounds
When faced with many different sounds, such as notes in a violin melody, the brain quickly summarizes individual pitches to get an overall gist of what is being heard.
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Putting a Little Personality Into Social Psychology (and Vice-Versa)
The personal and the social intertwine inextricably. In a 2011 paper published in the European Journal of Personality, a group of psychological scientists note that when we talk about an individual’s personality, part of what we are talking about is how that individual interacts with others. Furthermore, the scientists write, “social relationships would not be such a challenging part of our lives if all people were equal in how they act, think, and feel” — that is, if all people were equal in their personalities (90). Over time, social experiences play an important role in shaping personality, and personality shapes social experiences, too. Yet, according to lead author Mitja D.
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People Anticipate Others’ Genuine Smiles, But Not Polite Smiles
Smile and the world smiles with you -- but new research suggests that not all smiles are created equal. The research shows that people actually anticipate smiles that are genuine but not smiles that are merely polite. The differing responses may reflect the unique social value of genuine smiles. “These findings give us the first clear suggestion that the basic processes that guide responses to reward also play a role in guiding social behavior on a moment-to-moment basis during interactions,” explains psychological scientist and lead researcher Erin Heerey of Bangor University (UK).
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Perfect Pitch May Not Be Absolute After All
People who think they have perfect pitch may not be as in tune as they think, according to a new study in which people failed to notice a gradual change in pitch while listening to music.
