News

Personality

Why Personality Matters in This Pandemic

By Sanna Balsari-Palsule, Ph.D. on June 04, 2020 in What’s Mind Is Yours

Early research highlights personality differences in lockdown behaviours.

Anxiety

The Merkel Effect: How Leadership Reduces COVID-19 Anxiety

By Sebastian Ocklenburg, Ph.D. on June 03, 2020 in The Asymmetric Brain

Political leaders have diverse approaches to guide citizens through a crisis. A new study reveals positive psychological effects of the German chancellor's approach.

Evolutionary Psychology

Beyond Wealth and Fame: 9 Things That Boost Social Status

By Christopher Bergland on June 03, 2020 in The Athlete's Way

New research identifies a checklist of universal character traits that can increase (or diminish) someone's social status.

Autism

Do Environmental Changes Explain the Rise in Autism Diagnoses?

By Abigail Fagan on June 03, 2020 in Brainstorm

A new study suggests changes in awareness and diagnostic practices are more likely answers.

Resilience

The Impact of COVID-19 on College Students

By Jamie D. Aten Ph.D. on June 03, 2020 in Hope + Resilience

The mental health of college students can be overlooked, especially during a pandemic. It is important moving forward to check in on these students.

Health

COVID-19 Is Harming Mental Health in Prisons

By Alexandra Brewis and Amber Wutich Ph.D. on June 02, 2020 in Diagnosis: Human

A new study points to ways the COVID-19 pandemic is harming the mental health of prisoners and those working in the prison system.

Behavioral Economics

How Do Americans Feel About Returning to Work?

By Victor Lipman on June 02, 2020 in Mind of the Manager

A recent workforce survey paints a complicated, none-too-optimistic picture.

Memory

The Human Brain Has a “Ready-to-Remember” Mode

By Christopher Bergland on June 02, 2020 in The Athlete's Way

New research advances our understanding of how the brain prepares to encode information and create memories.

Psychiatry

A Potentially Powerful Treatment for Refractory Depression

By Eugene Rubin M.D., Ph.D. on June 02, 2020 in Demystifying Psychiatry

Treatment with an intensive form of TMS may lead to improvement for patients with severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Media

The Personal Test of the Pandemic: Thinking for Ourselves

By Anthony Silard Ph.D. on June 01, 2020 in The Art of Living Free

Does the news intake before bed often keep you tossing and turning? Learn new strategies to take control of the news you consume and create a healthy state of mind.

Happiness

Young People Are Lonelier and More Suspicious of Others

By Rob Henderson on June 01, 2020 in After Service

Why is there so much social unrest among young people? These surprising findings help to explain.

Law and Crime

A Free Press Finds Itself At Odds With Police

By Cathy Scott on June 01, 2020 in Crime, She Writes

Journalists are targeted by police and troopers at George Floyd protests. Is it open season on the media?

Neuroscience

How the Brain Resolves Ambiguity

By Nicolas Davidenko Ph.D. on May 31, 2020 in Illusions, Delusions, and Reality

A new study sheds light on how the brain categorizes ambiguous visual images as faces or hands.

Neuroscience

The Science Behind Our Need for Variety in Activities

By Christopher Bergland on May 31, 2020 in The Athlete's Way

New brain imaging research helps to explain why being under lockdown and not having new and diverse daily experiences may be harder for some people.

How do population numbers and densities impact disaster vulnerabilities?

Environment

What Makes an Area Vulnerable to Disasters?

By Ilan Kelman Ph.D. on May 31, 2020 in Disaster By Choice

Disasters are influenced by a location's population and density. Much more comes from societal choices for dealing with people.

Health

Neuropsychiatric Implications of COVID19

By Odelya Gertel Kraybill Ph.D. on May 31, 2020 in Expressive Trauma Integration

Some people sickened by COVID19 display post-infection symptoms that are similar to some neuropsychiatric conditions.

Resilience

How We Can Mitigate the Psychological Impact of Quarantine

By Jamie D. Aten Ph.D. on May 30, 2020 in Hope + Resilience

An evidence-based look at the stressors of quarantine and how to address them.

Depression

The Most Effective Treatments for Depression

By Arash Emamzadeh on May 30, 2020 in Finding a New Home

A paper examined 15 psychotherapies, and concluded that all were effective. However, after considering bias, only two remained significant.

Sport and Competition

The Vicious Cycle of Concussion Ignorance in Combat Sports

By E. Paul Zehr Ph.D. on May 30, 2020 in Black Belt Brain

Accessible concussion information that promotes good practices and efforts from all parties can break the vicious cycle of ignorance in combat sports.

Social Life

Awessssommmeee! Stretchable Words Make Language More Emotive

By Christopher Bergland on May 29, 2020 in The Athlete's Way

New research deconstructs how stretched words like "hahaha" and "hehehe" are changing the way we communicate.

Happiness

Are You More Positive Than You Think You Are?

By Camille Sweeney and Josh Gosfield on May 29, 2020 in The Art of Doing

Surprising results from our pandemic survey.

Media

Cyber-Politics on Social Media

By Neil Farber M.D, Ph.D., CLC, CPT on May 28, 2020 in The Blame Game

The air is politically charged. It seems that every post on social media has something to do with politics. You want to share your opinions and insights. But should you?

Health

Overweight Youth May Face Increased Risk From COVID-19

By Edward Abramson Ph.D. on May 27, 2020 in It's Not Just Baby Fat!

Are you concerned about your weight but otherwise healthy? Even if you're young, you still need to protect yourself from the coronavirus.

Gender

Are Meat-Eating Men More Masculine?

By Kevin Bennett Ph.D. on May 27, 2020 in Modern Minds

Both men and women strongly associate meat with masculinity, but new research shows that not all men see meat the same way.

Diet

What We've Learned About Emotional Eating

By The Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research on May 27, 2020 in Evidence-Based Living

Emotional eating is more complex than was once believed, and depends on a wide range of variables that can be difficult to measure.

Environment

4 Self-Nudging Tricks That Make Doing the Right Thing Easier

By Christopher Bergland on May 26, 2020 in The Athlete's Way

Self-nudging is a relatively easy way to make healthier lifestyle choices on a daily basis and break bad habits.

Resilience

Could Coronavirus Anxiety Be a Good Thing?

By Jamie D. Aten Ph.D. on May 26, 2020 in Hope + Resilience

Emotional intelligence serves a purpose, but could anxiety and fear actually be functional? That is what a team of researchers in the UK recently set out to discover.