Psychology

I wrote this letter in response to his1 December 19 column. The letter sank without a trace, despite that it was admirably concise and pithy - if I do say so myself. Sir - Schumpeter's defense of business (The silence of Mammon, December 19) considers no alternatives, and is thus weak. Business as a “remarkable exercise in cooperation”? Religious institutions have a far longer track record in this regard. "Creatively redefining the limits of the possible?" Scientific research and education do that, and are the strong suits of the universities. A “check on the power of governments”? No, the…

How To Model A Smoking Gun Conspiracy theorists just love to get hold of a piece of new information and claim that it is the 'smoking gun'  that 'conclusively proves' their pet theory.  The psychology behind this mode of argument is so subtle that a 'smoking gun' proponent may not just fool many ordinary members of the public.  They may fool themselves also. The Importance Of Context.It is so obvious as to be fairly trite to say that words have meanings modified by the other words with which they appear: the linguistic context.  There is a rule of law that any statement…

Conventional wisdom says that children who are especially sensitive to stress are more vulnerable to adversity and have more behavior and health problems than their peers. But a new study in the journal Child Development suggests that highly sensitive children are also more likely to do well when they're raised in supportive environments. The researchers looked at 338 kindergarteners, as well as their teachers and families, to determine how family adversity and biological reactivity contribute to healthy development. They found that children who had significantly stronger biological…

According to a study of how people evaluate and act on online health advice, information written by a doctor is considered more credible when it appears on a Web site than on a blog or a homepage. The findings, published in the Journal Communication Research, highlight the relative importance of different online sources to people who seek health information on the Internet. "Most people look for health information online by keying disease symptoms into various search engines," said S. Shyam Sundar, distinguished professor of communications, Penn State. "But the results of that search could…

From an evolutionary perspective, same sex attraction doesn't make much sense. But a pair of psychologists writing in Psychological Science say the "kin selection hypothesis" may explain why the trait has persisted for eons without conferring any discernible reproductive advantage. The new study suggests that homosexuality may convey an indirect benefit by enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives. Specifically, homosexual men might enhance their own genetic prospects by being "helpers in the nest." By acting altruistically toward nieces and nephews, homosexual men would perpetuate…

The uplifting emotion we experience when watching others perform a virtuous deed--known as "elevation"--may be enough to get us to go out and perform good acts ourselves, say new findings reported in Psychological Science. During the study, volunteers viewed either a neutral TV clip (showing scenes from a nature documentary) or an uplifting TV clip (a segment from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" showing musicians thanking their mentors) that was designed to induce feelings of elevation and then wrote an essay describing what they watched. As they received their payment and a receipt, they were to…

Psychologists at the University of Leeds say people who spend a lot of time browsing the internet are more likely to show depressive symptoms. In a study to be published in the journal Psychopathology next week, researchers documented evidence that some users have developed a compulsive internet habit, whereby they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. The results suggest that this type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health.  The internet use and depression levels of 1,319 people aged 16-51 were evaluated for…

Children and young adults are more likely to pursue sports, music or other pastimes when given an opportunity to nurture their own passion, according to a three-part study Published in the latest Journal of Personality. As part of the study, the research team evaluated 588 musicians and athletes from swimmers to skiers. Participants were between six and 38 years old and practiced hobbies at different levels: beginner, intermediate and expert. Kids were recruited from high school or specialized summer camps, while adults were recruited at training camps and competitions. The scientific team…

An Experiment In The Causes Of Warfare The President of Europe has not been elected; he was appointed in a secret meeting of the heads of government of the 27 EU member states. They chose one of their own. Herman Van Rompuy was the Prime Minister of Belgium.http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/4181 Many a nation has had a civil war in order to remove an unelected leader - most usually a king. King Charles I of England comes readily to mind. Many nations have gone to war with another nation rather than be ruled and taxed from afar by an unelected leader - most usually a king.  I cannot…

Here is an article relating to a discussion about the qualifications of mental health professionals in assessing the long-term effects of torture. There is extensive research, they argue, that torture causes long-termmental health problems. However, "we do not yet have the scientificknowledge to predict with any precision what the psychological outcomewill be for an individual." I'm not sure why anyone is having this discussion amongst countries that so loudly proclaim that they do not endorse nor participate in torture.  The simple reality is that this is not only stupid, but for any…