Category Archives: Psychology News

Breaking news in the world of Psychology

Depression More Common Among Stroke Caregivers

Stroke caregivers and depression

A stroke is a health condition where the flow of blood to specific sections of the brain is interrupted. This predicament results in a reduction in the levels of oxygen and glucose that reach the brain cells, ultimately causing the death of these cells.

Researchers at Loyola University claim that caregivers for persons who have survived a stroke are at a higher risk of becoming diagnosed with depression than individuals without similar responsibilities. Continue reading

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Seasonal Changes in Music Preferences and Implications for the Music Industry

psychology of musicSummer, winter, autumn, spring

Oh what changes the seasons bring!

From falling leaves to an icy sting

To a sudden shift in the songs we sing

We all know the common saying: “For everything there is a season.” A season to laugh, a season to cry… and apparently a season to listen to certain types of music.  At least that’s what the findings of two studies conducted by Pettijohn, Williams and Carter (2010) seem to suggest. Both studies, conducted in the United States, were designed to examine how seasonal conditions influence music preferences in a sample of male and female college students. Continue reading

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Surprising Biological Markers of Autism

biological markers of autism

Autism is a disorder which impacts greatly upon a baby’s ability to mature and acquire normal social skills; the condition causes children to communicate in odd speech patterns such as speaking repetitively or echoing the speech of others. For some time scientists believed that autism could only be detected when a child had grown old enough to be able to speak with others. However recent studies conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas have suggested that autism may soon be detectable even before a child learns the alphabet. Continue reading

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Police Officers and Stress Related Health Problems

police and stress related health problemsThere is no doubt that policing is an extremely dangerous job. Policemen are regularly involved in perilous situations that might result in the deaths of the persons they are trying to serve, the deaths of the persons they are trying to stop or even the loss of their own lives. However recent research is now highlighting the fact that the inherent dangers associated with the job do not solely lurk out in the streets.

John Violanti, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions, is leading an experiment to study the correlation between the stress of being a police officer and the occupation’s psychological and health related outcomes. The assumption that the exposure to death, the exposure to human suffering and the high demands experienced by police officers in the line of duty contribute to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases and other chronic ailments prompted the initiation of the five year experiment known as the buffalo cardio- metabolic occupational police stress (BCOPS) study. Dr. Violanti insists that this is the first police population based research to test such an association. Continue reading

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The Perception of Attractiveness – Alcohol Makes You Hotter

Alcohol increases attractiveness

Attractiveness is one of the most important signals of mate quality as it suggests the presence of good genes and good physical health. However, it is often claimed that drunken individuals perceive members of the opposite sex as being more attractive than they would when sober. This has resulted in a number of experiments being carried out to investigate the apparent shift in perception. Continue reading

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Cognitive Dissonance: How Bullies Rationalize Their Behavior Toward Their Victims

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuCNQFZ-H4E

By now, you’ve heard (and were probably outraged) by the kids who mercilessly bullied Karen Klein, a 68-year-old New York bus monitor, this past June. The students tormented Karen mercilessly and after the video was posted to YouTube (shown above), the story gained international attention and left most folks shaking their heads in utter disbelief. Continue reading

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