Psychology
Mindfulness as a psychological aid is very much in fashion. Recent reports on the latest finding suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is as effective as anti-depressants in preventing the relapse of recurrent depression.
While the authors of the paper interpreted their results in a slightly less positive light, stating that (contrary to their hypothesis) mindfulness was no more effective than medication, the meaning inferred by many in the media was that mindfulness was superior to medication.
Mindfulness is a technique extracted from Buddhism where one tries to notice present…
The buzz in the press and on social media about TV costume dramas Poldark and Outlander has been formidable.
Adapted from hugely popular novels, they have drawn fans of the books (and, in the case of Poldark, of the original TV series) as well as newcomers. The shows aired within months of each other. Both are set within the 18th century and both occupy peripheral, Celtic territories – Cornwall in Poldark and the Scottish highlands in Outlander.
Much of the talk around these programs has focused on their display of the naked male body. Poldark in 1975 was much more intent on the corseted…
Earlier in the year the world was finally treated to some good news from science: a report was published that claimed to show that eating chocolate could help you lose weight faster.
Although it all seemed too good to be true, the story was reported in news outlets around the world. Europe’s largest daily newspaper, Bild, ran it on the front page. It made TV news in Australia and the US,
it landed on the Irish Examiner, The Times of India, and the Huffington Post in various languages.
But it was too good to be true. Or, if you’re an aficionado of the work of trolls, it was even better.
Last…
Hallucinations and delusions in the general population are more common than previously thought, according to a study which found that hearing voices and seeing things others cannot impacts about five percent of the general population at some point in their lives.
Queensland Brain Institute researcher Professor John McGrath said the study, involving more than 31,000 people from 19 countries, was the most comprehensive ever completed.
"We used to think that only people with psychosis heard voices or had delusions, but now we know that otherwise healthy, high-functioning people also report these…
Why do good people do bad things? It's a question that has been pondered for centuries, and new research may offer some insight.
In a series of experiments with undergraduates, participants who anticipated a temptation to act unethically were less likely to then behave unethically, relative to those who did not. These participants also were less likely to endorse unethical behavior that offered short-term benefits, such as stealing office supplies or illegally downloading copyrighted material.
In one experiment, 196 business-school students were divided into pairs as the buyer or…
In the world of online dating, nothing is as it seems. But that doesn’t stop many of us from leaping to the wrong conclusions about people. A recent paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association and reported on in the press suggested that when evaluating photographs from online dating profiles, men and women judge enhanced and un-enhanced photos somewhat differently.
Enhanced photos, those in which a person has used makeup, hair styling, filters, or post-editing, were rated by both men and women as more being attractive. But while women also rated men…
For most British people the Dunkirk evacuation between May 26 and June 4 1940 was the most significant early event of World War II.
And in the 75 years since those momentous events it has come to occupy, in Penny Summerfield’s words, “an iconic place in British culture”.
As the Wehrmacht relentlessly progressed through the Netherlands, Belgium and France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with sections of the French and Belgian armies, was driven back to the beaches of northern France.
Trapped and at the mercy of imminent German attack on Dunkirk’s beaches, it seemed…
When people do terrible things, it seems reasonable to believe we should have taken steps to identify them beforehand. If we can do that, then surely we can prevent them from doing harm.
The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in March, which appears to have been an intentional act, is an example. It shocks us (and understandably so) when a trusted professional harms those who have entrusted their lives to him or her.
So why not identify pilots at risk and take steps to prevent similar events from ever occurring again?
Because it is likely impossible, and maybe even counterproductive.
And that’…
Women are a lot more likely to put up with misbehavior in a man if he looks like Ryan Gosling, but if he is ugly, shunning will happen much quicker, according to a paper by Jeremy Gibson and Jonathan Gore of Eastern Kentucky University, who found that a woman’s view of how law-abiding a man is can be influenced by how handsome he is.
'First impressions' are a popular field of study because of their role in forming relationships, but it is often based on physical appearance and adherence to social norms. First impressions can be misleading and when someone is getting a positive reaction, a “…
A recent World Health Organization report points to depression as the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide in 10- to 19-year-olds. Suicide by teens is ranked as the third leading cause of death in this age group.
A question that comes up time and again is whether schools should be involved in screening adolescents. But many parents and students find schools' involvement in mental health to be a violation of their privacy.
As a University of Texas Arlington professor and a pediatric nurse practitioner in private practice, I have found that teens do not consider “prying” questions…