We are born with basic visual biases, which make us look at faces, as if by reflex (nature). By regularly looking at a parent who talks, smiles, and looks back affectionately at us, we come to understand more about each of these things (nurture). Through this combination of brain-wiring and early experiences, we are set…
Category: Psychology
People have probably always known about the psychological effects of experiencing life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, or violent assault. Literature through the ages – some of it thousands of years old – provides many vivid portrayals of these internal struggles to recover from horrific experiences which we know call post-traumatic stress disorder.…
Eleven percent of new mothers experience significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms compared to two to three percent in the general population. These symptoms, including fear of injuring the baby and worry about germs, are usually temporary and could result from hormonal changes or be an adaptive response to caring for a new baby, researchers says. But if…
Social anxiety disorder treatment has entered the personalized medicine arena. Brain imaging can provide neuromarkers to predict whether traditional options such as cognitive behavioral therapy will work for a particular patient, reports a January 2013 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study. Social anxiety disorder (SAD), the fear of being judged by others and humiliated,…
Specific personality traits are associated with a person’s susceptibility to the placebo effect from fake pain medicine, new research finds. Will you help others without expecting anything in return? Do people call you a straight-shooter? Are you good at coping when life gets tough? Those personality traits might do more than help you win a…
The tumor that appeared on a second scan. The fourth-quarter comeback to win the game. The guy in human resources who was secretly accepting bribes. The situation may vary each time, but we hear ourselves say it over and over again: “I knew it all along.” The problem is that too often we actually didn’t…
It has been a basic assumption of language scientists for more than 50 years, that sentence structure is fundamentally hierarchical, made up of small parts in turn made of smaller parts, like Russian nesting dolls. But a new study from Cornell University suggests language use is simpler than they had thought. Co-author Morten Christiansen, Cornell…
Dysthymia, sometimes also called neurotic depression, dysthymic disorder, or chronic depression, is a mood disorder consisting of the same cognitive and physical problems as in depression, with less severe but longer-lasting symptoms. The concept was coined by Robert Spitzer as a replacement for the term “depressive personality” in the late 1970s. According to the fourth…
“Variety is the spice of life”, they say. And “happiness isn’t getting what you want, but wanting what you get”. Cliches? Maybe, but both sayings appear to have a psychological basis, according to a new study by an University of Missouri Columbia psychologist who identified two keys to becoming happier and staying that way. “Although…