Latest science news in Psychology & Sociology
Religion Distinct From Human Evolutionary Genetics: Garners University Professor Ayala Templeton Prize
University Professor Francisco Ayala, UC Irvine's esteemed researcher in evolutionary genetics, ecology and a former Dominican priest was awarded the Templeton Prize 2010 for his body of work spanning decades...
Lawmakers Face Fallout at Home From Health Vote
Around the country, members of Congress found on-the-ground evidence of how the issue has divided the country.
Widely used screening scale may misidentify borderline personality disorder as bipolar disorder
A widely-used screening tool for bipolar disorder may incorrectly indicate borderline personality disorder rather than bipolar disorder. Researchers question the effectiveness of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire.
Pursuit of status and affection drives bullies' behavior
A longitudinal study of almost 500 Dutch elementary-school children ages 9 to 12 finds that bullies generally choose to gain status by dominating their victims and that, at the same...
Life span may be as wide as your smile
A study looks at smiles in pictures of baseball players and compares death rates. The bigger the smile, the longer the life, they found. People who smile a lot are usually happier,...
Exorbitant Fees Offered to Human Egg Donors, Study Finds
Fertility companies are paying egg donors high fees that often exceed guidelines, especially for donors from top colleges and with certain appearances and ethnicities, a new study finds.
In brain-injured children, early gesturing predicts language delays
A new study has found that gesturing at 18 months (but not early speech) predicted which children with pre- or perinatal brain lesions had vocabulary delays a year later. The...
Many factors contribute to adolescents' decision-making autonomy
Decision making within families is an important way for young people to gain independence and responsibility, and adolescence is a time of increasing autonomy. A longitudinal study by Penn State...
Memory decline linked to an inability to ignore distractions
One of the most common complaints among healthy older adults relates to a decline in memory performance. This decline has been linked to an inability to ignore irrelevant information when...
Child sexual abuse: A risk factor for pregnancy
A new study carried out by Prof. Rachel Lev-Wiesel and Dr Tzachi Ben Zion has found that women who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood reported higher levels of...
When will children disobey parents? It depends on the rule
A study of 60 4- to 7-year-olds that considers the connections between control over issues within children's personal domain, identity, and emotional well-being has found that children make important distinctions...
Words influence infants' cognition from first months of life
Researchers have found that even before infants begin to speak, words play an important role in their cognition. For 3-month-old infants, words influence performance in a cognitive task in a...
Mother-son relationship key to emotional development
New research shows that children, especially boys, who have insecure attachments to their mothers in the early years have more behavioral problems later in childhood.
Smallpox feared in Uganda is chickenpox: WHO
Suspected cases of smallpox in Uganda are chickenpox, the World Health Organization says.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder knows no international boundaries
The diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder has come a long way since the 1970s, with research now showing it is both more common and more treatable than once...
Autism susceptibility genes identified
Two genes have been associated with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in a new study of 661 families. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's newly launched journal Molecular Autism found that...
Quarter of Republicans Think Obama May Be the Anti-Christ
Americans have extreme views of Obama, believing the president may be the anti-Christ, a socialist, racist and even resembling Hitler in his ways, according to a new Harris Poll.
Teenagers programmed to take risks
Risk-taking peaks in adolescence, according to scientists at UCL (University College London)...
Guinea pigs not 'dumbed down' by domestication
Despite reductions in brain size, domestication has not reduced the ability of guinea pigs to navigate a water maze. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology...
Notion of 'group think' questioned
A University of Alberta researcher is questioning the notion of 'group think' - a common psychological phenomenon - that has been used to explain some of the extreme things people...
Colo. and N.M. Differ on Medical Marijuana for PTSD
Supporters want Colorado, like New Mexico, to allow medical marijuana use for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Multitaskers may be falling behind
As writer and editor of a biology journal, it's not unusual for Liza Gross to perform several tasks at once. "I'm thinking about articles that are right in front of...
Labrador reserve to vote on alcohol ban
A debate about lifting a two-year-old alcohol ban at the Natuashish Innu reserve, in Labrador, is triggering some bad memories for a resident who lost five children when a house...
Video: Old Navy Tactic Soars Again
CBS News' David Martin reports from Fighter Attack Squadron 211, where he gains first-hand access to U.S. Navy jets which are training for new missions using an effective but retired...
Diabetes at epidemic proportions in China, study suggests
A large population-based study of diabetes in China has concluded that the disease has reached epidemic proportions in the adult population of China.
Could robots help older people look after themselves
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) are taking part in a European project aimed at creating an intelligent system comprising a robot and...
Counteracting teens' logo lust: Supportive parents can reduce materialism in teens
Today's adolescents have been characterized as the most materialistic generation in history: a brand-oriented and consumer-involved group who derive self-worth from owning luxury handbags and the latest technology devices.
NIH's Mental Health Chief Speaks Out on Drug Money in Psychiatry
Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, weighs in this week...