Psychology

Narcissistic children feel superior to others, believe they are entitled to privileges and crave admiration from others. When they don’t get the admiration they want, they may lash out aggressively. Why do some children become narcissistic, whereas others develop more modest views of themselves? We have undertaken research into this question and we found socialization plays a significant role. I’m special (and more special than everyone else)! Narcissism is well known for the Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but narcissism itself is not a disorder; it is a normal personality trait that…

Remember the social media storm about the color of the dress? Did you see blue and black or white and gold? It was some harmless fun that drew in millions of online commenters. But clothes are not frivolous, flippant or foolish. In telling and talking about clothes, we reveal much about ourselves, our lives, and the experiences that we drape around our bodies. Whether bought or handmade, passed down or reconstructed, clothes help us to construct meaning as we remember those things in our lives that matter. Apart from their aesthetic value, clothes have the ability to evoke issues of identity…

Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma are among the leading causes of death across the world. Killing over 30 million people each year, these conditions are often referred to as “non-communicable” diseases because they are not passed directly from person to person like an infectious disease. But a growing body of evidence is showing that lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity and obesity – which all increase the risk of dying of non-communicable…

America is the most tolerant country in the world and nothing evidences that more than the constant hand-wringing about tolerance. Every minority and special interest can control the cultural discourse by shouting down anyone they happen not to like. Is that progress? Rather than being an accurate representation of society, media instead amps up every tolerance issue into a crisis - race, endorsing or desiring to suppress free speech, same sex marriage versus those who don't want to do business with someone the same way they can refuse service for any other reason - San Diego State University…

"A personal redemption narrative sustains motivation to engage in prosocial behavior," write psychologists at Northwestern University. Since it is St. Patrick's Day, that is a fancy social science way of saying that is why some people "do good works", while "redemptive stories sustain hope that sacrifices today may produce future dividends" is Catholic guilt for secular middle-aged people who don't like religion but do feel like they perhaps haven't earned what they got. Is any of that real? Sure, things can be real even if they are subjective. What is certain is that once basic needs are met…

Moral decisions can be influenced by movements of the eyes during deliberation, according to new research which challenges the notion that the decisions people make, from whether to give money to a homeless person to whether to separate recyclables from the trash, are rooted in a pre-existing moral framework.  In an experiment, researchers used remote eye trackers to monitor the gaze of participants while they pondered complex moral questions, such as, “Is murder sometimes justifiable?” The participants were presented with two alternatives to each question and were asked to consider…

A survey on the experience of auditory hallucinations, commonly referred to as hearing voices, found that the majority of voice-hearers hear multiple voices with distinct character-like qualities, with many also experiencing physical effects on their bodies. In other words,voices in people's heads may be more varied and complex than previously thought. Or they are so subjective as to defy science. Auditory hallucinations are a common feature of many psychiatric disorders, such as psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but are sometimes experienced by people without a diagnosed…

A history of psychedelic drug use is associated fewer suicidal thoughts, planning and attempts, according to survey results analyzed by Johns Hopkins and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In a national survey of over 190,000 U.S. adults, lifetime use of certain psychedelic drugs was associated with a 19 percent reduced likelihood of psychological distress within the past month, a 14 percent reduced likelihood of suicidal thinking within the past year, a 29 percent reduced likelihood of suicide planning within the past year and a 36 percent reduced likelihood of attempting suicide…

A new paper says they can detect sexism in a smile.  A man’s true attitude towards the female sex can be detected according to how he smiles and chats to her, according to Jin Goh and Judith Hall of Northeastern University writing in Sex Roles.  Isn't that too subjective, you may ask? Certainly a woman who has used the term 'sexist douchebag' more than once probably sees sexism in a lot of places that mentally stable women do not, but like with tests that set out to show how racist you are, saying that all men are sexist but some are just more overt about it doesn't seem to work…

Sad movies are bad news for diets. A newly reported study from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab showed movie-goers watching tearjerkers ate between 28% and 55% more popcorn both in the lab and in a mall theater during the Thanksgiving holiday. According to findings published in a JAMA Internal Medicine research letter, movie goers ate 28% more popcorn (125 versus 98 grams) when watching the tragedy Love Story than when watching the comedy Sweet Home Alabama. Dumpster diving analyses of discarded mall movie popcorn in seven cities across the US, showed similar results over a Thanksgiving weekend…