According to a Rutgers study, palliative care — specialized medical care focused on quality of life for people with serious illnesses such as cancer or heart failure — is unlikely to reduce psychological distress. The study combined the findings of 38 previously published studies to examine the average effect of interventions on psychological distress. The…
Category: Psychology
In a recent randomized clinical trial, exercise and mindfulness failed to improve cognitive function in older adults. For up to 18 months, researchers studied the cognitive effects of exercise, mindfulness training, or both in older adults who reported age-related memory changes but had not been diagnosed with dementia. “We know beyond any doubt that exercise…
According to a recent study by a group of psychologists and data scientists, infants are better than artificial intelligence at determining what motivates other people’s behaviour. The results show that there are important differences between cognition and computation. They also show where technology needs to improve if AI is to behave more like humans. Adults,…
“The game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired or strengthened by it, so as to become habits, ready on all occasions…we learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in…
A kleptomaniac is not the same as a thief. They steal for different reasons, and their brain activities also show different patterns. Kyoto University researchers recently discovered that when patients with kleptomania are shown images with environmental cues relevant to their symptoms, they exhibit distinct patterns of gazing and brain activity. Such characteristics were not…
A new study from the University of Montreal identifies the factors that promote children’s observational fear learning. During childhood, many fears begin to appear. The scientific literature on this is quite straightforward: fear is commonly acquired through observation, particularly in children who imitate their parents and learn to fear a stimulus without direct exposure to…
Female selfie posting is associated with intimidatory self-presentation strategies, which are linked to higher levels of aggression, new Swansea University research indicates. Professor Phil Reed of the University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, along with academics from the University of Strathclyde, conducted the research. The researchers looked at 150 people’s social media posts of selfies…
According to new research conducted in the United Kingdom, mental health issues such as depression are most common in the hospitality and real estate sectors. Still, they were rising across the board before the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and University College London discovered significant gender disparities in common mental health problems…
Many studies have shown that being in nature can improve one’s mental health and well-being. A new Cornell Lab of Ornithology study went a little deeper, looking at what kinds of nature experiences were associated with a higher sense of well-being during the COVID pandemic. The findings suggest that experiencing nature close to home is…