-
I Was A Skeptic Of Mindfulness … Until I Tried To Make My Case
Sometime around, oh, my 60th panic attack last year,1 I figured it was time to see a therapist. On top of weekly cognitive-behavioral therapy, she mentioned that I should really try this mindfulness thing people keep talking about. It sounded simple — you sit, you concentrate on your breathing, and you try to find some solace in the modern world. My therapist told me that meditation could make me feel better and that it had been shown to change the physiology of the brain. Hmmmm, I thought. Skepticism is a FiveThirtyEight staffer’s currency.
-
Screen Addiction Among Teens: Is There Such A Thing?
Look up from this screen right now. Take a look around. On a bus. In a cafe. Even at a stoplight. Chances are, most of the other people in your line of sight are staring at their phones or other devices. And if they don't happen to have one out, it is certainly tucked away in a pocket or bag. But are we truly addicted to technology? And what about our kids? It's a scary question, and a big one for scientists right now. Still, while the debate rages on, some doctors and technologists are focusing on solutions. "There is a fairly even split in the scientific community about whether 'tech addiction' is a real thing," says Dr.
-
We took the world’s most scientific personality test—and discovered unexpectedly sexist results
Personality tests are both incredibly popular and largely bogus. BuzzFeed made its name in part by publishing quizzes telling readers which ‘90s kid they are, which Friends character they are, which Disney princess they are, and…well…which Disney princess they are, really. None of these have any scientific basis. Then there’s the somewhat more reputable Myers-Briggs test, inspired by Jungian theories about personality types. Some 2.5 million people take it every year, and 88% of Fortune 500 companies use it. Despite its reputation, however, the Myers-Briggs has poor scientific validity.
-
Is Loneliness a Health Epidemic?
Last month, Britain appointed its first “minister for loneliness,” who is charged with tackling what Prime Minister Theresa May called the “sad reality of modern life.” Public-health leaders immediately praised the idea — and for good reason. In recent decades, researchers have discovered that loneliness left untreated is not just psychically painful; it also can have serious medical consequences. Rigorous epidemiological studies have linked loneliness and social isolation to heart disease, cancer, depression, diabetes and suicide.
-
Cognitive Ability and Vulnerability to Fake News
“Fake news” is Donald Trump’s favorite catchphrase. Since the election, it has appeared in some 180 tweets by the President, decrying everything from accusations of sexual assault against him to the Russian collusion investigation to reports that he watches up to eight hours of television a day. Trump may just use “fake news” as a rhetorical device to discredit stories he doesn’t like, but there is evidence that real fake news is a serious problem. As one alarming example, an analysis by the internet media company Buzzfeed revealed that during the final three months of the 2016 U.S.
-
New Research From Clinical Psychological Science
A sample of articles exploring neuropsychological assessment, gender differences in stress reactivity and its relationship with depression, and social-support figures and fear extinction.
