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Exposure to Sexual Content in Popular Movies Predicts Sexual Behavior in Adolescence
Intuitively it simply makes sense: exposure to sexual content in movies at an early age probably influences adolescents' sexual behavior. And yet, even though a great deal of research has shown that adolescents who watch more risky behaviors in popular movies, like drinking or smoking, are more likely to drink and smoke themselves, surprisingly little research has examined whether movies influence adolescents' sexual behaviors. Until now. Over six years, psychological scientists examined whether or not seeing sex on the big screen translates into sex in the real world for adolescents.
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Reaching Olympic Heights – Insights on Sports Performance from Psychological Science
The 2012 Olympics in London are about to start, and millions around the world will admire and ponder the mysteries of athletic performance. Psychological scientists are no exception. Researchers have examined how visual illusions improve sports performance, how attitudes and beliefs about competence determine performance and what exactly happens when we indulge in silly sports rituals. These and other pieces of cutting edge research can be found in the journals published by the Association for Psychological Science.
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about new research on memory recently published in Psychological Science. A Short-Term Testing Effect in Cross-Language Recognition Peter P. J. L. Verkoeijen, Samantha Bouwmeester, and Gino Camp Researchers know that repeated testing leads to better long-term memory for information than does repeated study; however, they are still unsure of why this occurs. Researchers had Dutch-English bilingual participants learn several lists of words in Dutch. In some instances they were tested after an initial study period (test condition), and in others they were told to study the list again (restudy condition). Participants' memory for the words was then tested in Dutch or English.
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Giving Time Can Give You Time
We all know that our objective amount of time can’t be increased, but a new study suggests that volunteering our limited time—giving it away— may actually increase our sense of unhurried leisure.
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Want to Get Teens Interested in Math and Science? Target Their Parents
Efforts focused on increasing students’ interest in STEM often take place within the classroom, but findings suggest that parents can play an important role in these efforts.
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Supporting Patient Autonomy Is Critical to Improving Health
Even as we spend more on healthcare every year, the number of people with chronic health problems continues to rise in developed countries like the United States. Most of these chronic health problems – such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – can be addressed through lifestyle changes. But knowing that we should make a lifestyle change to improve our health and actually making that lifestyle change are two very different things.