Psychology

Animal hoarding is a psychological disorder where a person accumulates a large numbers of animals at home, usually cats and dogs, without providing them with a minimal standard of care. Details about the cause of the disorder remain largely unknown and but it obviously has a negative effect on the health of both the people who suffer from it and the animals involved.  Researchers from Hospital del Mar Research Institute writing in Animal Welfare have tackled the first European study to compile data on this disorder    Currently, when a case is detected, the animals are…

Is "gaydar" real? Though scientists dismiss it as being in the same vein as psychics or palm reading, some papers have claimed it is legitimate and that people can make reliable predictions of sexual orientation simply by hearing a voice or seeing a face, without there being an obvious 'tell'. If it's real, then who has better gaydar, lesbian women or straight, can be just as validly determined. The expectation is that lesbians will have superior gaydar due to their experience of choosing partners would be more tuned in to others orientation - but that could be a negative filter.…

Mass outreach and awareness of bullying isn't doing much to stop bullying, it is mostly just teaching bullies what to watch out for and what buzzwords to use if they are accused. There's another good reason to stop them, including throwing them out if they are caught; when victims feel like the system does not protect them, they protect themselves.  A new presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver saus that an estimated 200,000 high school students who are bullied bring weapons to school. Youths who have been victimized in multiple ways are up…

E-cigarettes are bad, marijuana is good, according to the latest culture war. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution. The user inhales the vapor created and ingests the nicotine. Some e-cigarettes are flavored, some have been found to contain toxic chemicals. They have been sold in the United States since 2007 and are marketed as an option to help smokers kick the habit.  While science requires evidence of harm, e-cigarette critics insist on proof of safety, a standard that can't be met by any product. A presentation at the Pediatric Academic…

Given a choice, it's better to be miserable in a heated jacuzzi than be homeless on the streets of New York City during a blizzard. But that 'money can't buy happiness' saying arose because some people just can't be happy - and money won't help. Psychology is subjective and relative so we're only left with averaging surveys but, generally, people who spend more on life experiences are happier than people who just buy stuff. Plenty of people are happy when they buy a new phone or a TV but it quickly becomes commonplace. If you are a football fan, and finally buy that trip to the Super…

Physically active kids who spend a lot of time outdoors are not only healthier, they have a stronger sense of self-fulfillment and purpose than those who don't - and more spirituality too. In the Journal of the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture paper, children who played outside five to 10 hours per week said they felt a spiritual connection with the earth and felt their role is to protect it. Children's aesthetic values were also tallied, and showed that those who engage in free play outside on a regular basis have a deep appreciation for beauty (i.e. balance, symmetry and…

While smokers are the primary addictive personality it remains okay to demonize, obesity is not far behind.  And if smokers tried to quit before and gained weight, they are less likely to try again, according to scholars at Penn State College of Medicine.  Weight gain is a predictable occurrence for smokers who have recently quit. Within the first year after quitting, people  gain from eight to 14 pounds on average. Some smokers report that they keep smoking simply because they do not want to gain weight from quitting.  This is more attractive than being fat.Image…

Yes, you like "Frozen", everyone liked "Frozen". And Idina Menzel blew up the musical "Wicked" when she sang "Defying Gravity" so it's no surprise she blew up "Let It Go" when the catalyst in the Disney hit cartoon came to terms with her arcane gifts - but it's just a cartoon. Much as we might like to think it's permissible to do the same if the reasons are valid, there is a time and a place for such displays. A corporate board room is likely not that place. A new paper discusses how the interpretation of facial expressions can impact economic decision making such as negotiation. It outlines…

A famous Grouch Marx comedy bit goes that he wouldn't want to be part of any club that would have him as a member. Elitism sells has value. In a famous "Seinfeld" episode, customers dutifully lined up for lunch and if they deviated from protocol, the Soup Nazi banished them. Such high-falutin' behavior works, according to a new paper in the Journal of Consumer Research. At least when it comes to luxury brands, the ruder the sales staff the better the sales, say scholars from the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.  Consumers who get the brush-off at a high-…

Americans are caught in a contradictory cultural schism. If a girl is thin, parents feel like they need to have an intervention. But we are in a war on obese people and politicians are responding to that by banning everything that looks like it can pass the legislature. Pressure to be thin may be making girls fat - except in Europe, where impossibly attractive naked women are on public billboards. Are Americans so fat because of too much pressure to be thin? A JAMA Pediatrics paper believes so, and finds that girls who are told by a parent, sibling, friend, classmate or teacher that they are…