Psychology

Every year most of us make New Year’s resolutions. Eat healthier. Exercise regularly. Invest more in valued relationships. Learn a language. And so on. Often they are the same resolutions as last year. Why do our resolutions often so swiftly wither away? A prime culprit in this annual roller coaster of optimism and disappointment is overconfidence in the power of our intentions. The excitement of a new year (and perhaps the fruit of celebrating a little too hard) cloud remembering a hard fact of life: good intentions readily evaporate without a trace in the face of everyday experiences…

Christmas and the holidays are a time to relax and celebrate with family and friends. But the festive season can also be a time of unwanted weight gain that won’t budge once the holidays are over. Research (mostly from the United States) has found adults typically gain 400 to 900 grams over the holidays. No-one wants to miss out on the celebrations. But knowing more about the kilojoule content of your favourite Christmas treats can help you make conscious decisions about which foods and drinks to have and enjoy, and what portion sizes to choose. Check the comparisons below, and how much…

As many as three million Americans, an alarming one percent of the U.S. population, get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder each year. That is a fantastic amount, bordering on unbelievable, 12,000X as many gun murders that will occur.  If being "bipolar" is over-diagnosed then it may well be that something as simple as yogurt will fix it. And that is the claim of a pilot study unveiled today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology meeting - people who suffer damaging shifts in moods, from mania to depression, may not need expensive, antipsychotics, depressants or even therapy…

A new paper in Health, Risk&Society reports that women concerned about breast cancer often go to "Dr. Google" first but how much they trust it varies - more educated women, for example, trust it more, while less educated women would rather see a doctor. This was a tiny survey, 27 women between 47 and 67 years of age, so the results are scientifically meaningless, but it is at least interesting that they found different levels of engagement with the internet for health information and those were driven by a range of attitudes and levels of trust. Women with little or no educational…

Fake news has become a common claim, and for good reason. The Russians, for example, have been caught using environmentalists, food activists, "journalism" professors, and trade groups to promote fear and doubt about American science and technology.But organic food shoppers and people scared of natural gas are not alone in believing fake news. A new study shows that dogmatic individuals, fundamentalists and delusional people of all kinds are more likely to believe fake news. The less open-minded a person is, the more likely they are to be swayed by fake news claims. To find answers to why…

Does your base personality change over time? Psychologists are conflicted over that, but Galileo once claimed the Moon did not impact the tides, so without a science foundation, or with poor data gathering, anything is possible.  And we get both in surveys, which is why a new paper by social psychologists does little to advance psychological science - it declares personality is somewhat hard-wired and somewhat shaped by environment. Which everyone knew 4,000 years ago. Personality is described by some social psychologists (psychology itself has no underlying theoretical foundation so…

Young religious Americans are more concerned about the environment than older parishioners, and that may be thanks to religious leaders. They talk about caring for the world given to them and avoid the political activism.  Lukas Szrot, a University of Kansas doctoral candidate in sociology, examined data from the 1973-2014 General Social Survey to determine whether and to what extent environmental concern has been fostered among diverse religious groups in the United States, because of a 1967 argument from historian Lynn White Jr. who claimed Western Christianity was the most…

While cats are generally regarded as being aloof and uncaring, dogs are called "man's best friend." They are in tune with our emotions, it is said. "Lassie" had a level of connection with her humans that only television could write, but there has always been anecdotal evidence that dogs will do whatever they can to help. A new experiment shows that not only do dogs care if their owner is upset, they will overcome obstacles in a hurry to provide aid. The results in Learning&Behavior showed that dogs with strong bonds to their owners hurried to pushed through a door when they heard…

Gender bias against women is nothing new, especially when it comes to seeking venture capital financing for business start-ups,  but in modern crowdfunding -  where a "crowd" of amateur investors make small investments in new companies - culture it is just the opposite; female entrepreneurs are considered more trustworthy. There are numerous ways to get a business off the ground. Friends and family financing, private equity, bank financing, venture capital, but the difficult road for entrepreneurs has meant that business leaders should be tough - and that has meant more masculine.…

Worldwide poverty has dropped dramatically, we are in the Long Peace when it comes to war, the old cycles of famine boom and bust have leveled off, science has made it possible for everyone to live better for longer and spend less on basic necessities. The world continues to improve. Why, then, do polls consistently show that people believe otherwise? The answer may lie in a phenomenon called "prevalence induced concept change." That means that each generation feels the need to 'live in important times.' If things are good, then a poorly written article can be spread Twitter as a reason only…