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Romantic Jealousy and Self-Esteem
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the 23rd APS Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Jessica L. Bowler from Pitzer College present her poster session research on “Self-Esteem and Components of Romantic Jealousy.” Bowler distributed a survey that described four scenarios designed to induce romantic jealousy. Then she analyzed participants’ responses in relation to self-esteem. She found that participants with high self-esteem were less likely to be jealous after reading the scenarios. Participants with low self-esteem were likely to become more insecure, more anxious, more distressed, and less trusting in response to hypothetical infidelity situations.
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Why Relationships End
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Judith Biesen from the University of the Pacific present her poster session research on “Sexual Satisfaction and the Decision to Terminate a Romantic Relationship.” Biesen and her coauthors assessed how two factors — the ascription to certain life roles (i.e. marital role, occupational role, parental role) and topics chosen for a problem-solving discussion) — moderated the relationship between sexual satisfaction and relationship termination.
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A Conversation About Music, Mind, and Health
What effect does music have on the brain, and what can music teach us about the brain? In this video 24th APS Annual Convention Speaker Aniruddh Patel and music therapist Barbara Reuer speak with David Granet of the University of California's Health Matters about music, cognition, and health. Scientists are just beginning to understand music’s implications for language acquisition, emotions, social skills, learning, and memory. Watch the interview to learn more about music and the mind, including research published in Psychological Science showing that music and other synchronized activities encourage cooperation.
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When Kids Know Better
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Alia Martin from Yale University and Kelcey Wilson from Quinnipiac University present their poster session research on “When Kids Know Better: Paternalistic Helping in 3-Year-Old Children.” One challenge we face in helping others is that sometimes the best way to help is by not doing what is requested. Martin, Wilson, and collaborators showed that 3-year-old children can override a communicated request and, as a result, provide the most useful means of helping another person to achieve her goal.
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Better Treatment for PTSD
What happens when fear — a psychological mechanism that protects us from harm — becomes unmanageable after a traumatic event? APS Fellow Edna Foa, one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2010, is an expert in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders. She is known for designing “prolonged exposure” or PE, a groundbreaking therapy for PTSD that has been embraced by the US military. PE involves helping patients overcome their fears by gradually facing painful thoughts, memories, and environments. In this video excerpt from CMI Education Institute, Inc. Foa discusses treatment for PTSD.
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Learning by Reflection
In case you missed it, the cameras were rolling at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC. Watch Meera Komarraju from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale present her poster session research on “Learning Styles and Academic Motivation in College Students From India.” Komarraju and her coauthors — Steven J. Karau, Corey Tincher, and Varsha S. Godbole — studied the learning and information-processing strategies used by students at two universities in India. The scientists found that student with reflective learning strategies (i.e., strategies that connect course material with personal experiences and outside knowledge) also displayed more intrinsic motivation.
