Psychology

No Date This Valentine's Day? Feel Better With An Evolutionary Theory Of Loneliness

Loneliness is not a gnawing, chronic disease without redeeming features, social isolation is just a different scale of organization that can't be grasped outside evolutionary time and evolutionary forces. Well, maybe. If you are alone this Valentine&# ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 14 2014 - 11:12am

A Book That Wins An Award Is Likely To Disappoint You

Looking for a good book? Then stay away from the award-winning section of the bookstore, because high standards means a greater chance for a letdown, according to Amanda Sharkey of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, who finds that a book ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 13 2014 - 2:07pm

Beauty, Not Skin Cancer, Motivates Teens To Wear Sunscreen

Health education videos tell us what really matters to people. Two videos both began by offering information about UV light and sun-protective behaviors but then one describes the increased skin cancer risk of UV exposure and the other describes effects o ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 13 2014 - 2:01pm

Reassurance: Sexy Underwear Is Not The Only Way For Women To Feel Pretty On Valentine's Day

Do television shows and magazines make you feel guilty for not wearing sexy lingerie, ladies? You may just need some marketing empowerment from academics in the humanities. Luckily, at Valentine's Day, the Internet will be filled with insipid advice ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 14 2014 - 11:23am

You Might Look Gay- And That First Impression Sticks, Say Social Psychologists

First impressions are so powerful that they can override what we are told about people, say social psychologists. A new paper presented today at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference in Austin says that even when told ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 14 2014 - 12:23pm

What Do Women Want? It Depends On Evolution, Their Menstrual Cycle- And Gray Literature

Is your significant other fickle? Blame evolution, say psychologists in a new Psychological Bulletin paper. The authors analyzed dozens of published and unpublished studies to try and determine how women's preferences for mates change throughout the ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 15 2014 - 5:30am

Risk Aversion In Gun-Shy Traders May Lead To Market Crises

Does cortisol, the stress hormone, cause risk aversion and 'irrational pessimism' in bankers and fund managers during financial crises? The authors of a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences correlate the fact that traders exh ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2014 - 5:30am

Deja Vu And Delusions Caused By Faulty 'Reality Testing' In Cognitive Functions

Why are some people are unable to break free of their delusions, despite overwhelming evidence explaining the delusion isn't real? A new paper by a philosopher offers as good an explanation as any, that dreams and delusions have a common link – they ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 19 2014 - 10:09am

Evil Genius: To Your Brain, Being Dishonest Or Creative Are A Lot Alike

Rule breakers are often more creative, because they are not bound by conventional ideas. So are liars. Yet one of those has a positive connotation and one is negative. But lying about performance on one task increased creativity on a subsequent task, by m ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 22 2014 - 11:17am

Dim The Lights And You May Make A More Rational Decision

If you want to turn down the emotional intensity before making an important decision, turn down the lights, say Alison Jing Xu, assistant professor of management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and Aparna Labroo of Northwestern University. ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 20 2014 - 1:48pm