Psychological Science

Smile At Strangers? Study Shows Why That May Be Smart

Posted 05.28.2012

Read More: Social Relationships, People, Psychological Science, Psychology, Video, Ostracism, Strangers, Sociology, Smile at Strangers, Science News

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer Date: 25 May 2012 Time: 08:05 AM ET CHICAGO — Next time you're out walking about, you may want ...

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Male Underwear Models: Just People

Michael Kleinmann | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: Psychological Science, Université Libre De Bruxelles in Belgium, Philippe Bernard, Male Models, Study, New Research, Journal, Culture News
Michael Kleinmann

2012-05-17-underwearpull.jpg According to a new study, men and women in sexy underwear ads are processed astonishingly differently by the human brain.

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Be Careful Who You Smile At!

Barbara Greenberg | Posted 02.19.2012

Read More: Women, Men, Relationships, Romance, Sex, Flirting, Dating, Sex Cues, Carin Perrilloux, Psychological Science, Study, Attraction, Gender, Women News
Barbara Greenberg

According to a new study, men aren't on to how the other sex thinks.

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The Relationship Between Power And Infidelity

Sam Sommers | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Gender Differences, Anthony Weiner, Bill Clinton, Mars and Venus, Hard-Wired-for-Heirarchy, Biology, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marital Infidelity, Gender, Infidelity, John Ensign, Sex, Tiger Woods, John Edwards, Men and Women, Extramarital Affair, Cheating, Evolution, Newt Gingrich, Confidence, David Letterman, Status, Power, Psychological Science, Dateline NBC, Cheating Spouse, National Enquirer, Brain Science, Healthy Living News
Sam Sommers

What if the presumed sex difference in infidelity isn't as set-in-stone as we assume it is? What if power does predict unfaithfulness, but no more so for men than women?

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Great Masters vs. Six-Year-Old's Doodles

Posted 05.27.2011

Read More: Jackson Pollock, Masterpiece, Mark Rothko, Psychology, Abstract Expressionism, Painting, Freddie Linsky, Genius, Psychological Science, Boston College, Art, Cy Twombley, Ellen Winner, Jack Pezanosky, Angelina Hawley-Dolan, Hans Hoffmann, Arts News

(Via Mutual Art) Before beginning to read this article, please look at the images above. Which was drawn by a child and which by a well-known Abstr...

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Wealthy People Have Harder Time Detecting Others' Emotions: Study

The Huffington Post | William Alden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Business News, Tax Cuts, Emotions, Education, Wealthy, Income, The Rich, Psychological Science, Michael Kraus, Upper Class, Business News

Rich people don't choose to be rude. They simply can't help it. Affluent people -- in terms of income, social status and education -- have trouble de...

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Colorblindness And The Psychology Of Racism

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Color Blindness, Psychological Science, Evan Apfelbaum, Bias, Northwestern, Social Psychology, Diversity, Race Relations, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

A team of psychological scientists decided to measure the consequences of a colorblind strategy in the lives of young children. The results were dramatic and sobering.

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The Collapse of Compassion

Erwann Michel-Kerjan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Pakistan Floods, Floods, Humanitarian Aid, Psychology, Psychological Science, Natural Disasters, Haiti Aid, World News
Erwann Michel-Kerjan

In economic terms, there is a decreasing marginal capacity to care about disasters and act. To say it simply, there is a limit to what our brain and our heart can handle.

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The Psychology Of 'Purity'

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Psychological Science, Moral Psychology, Embodied Cognition, Moral Heuristics, Morality, Psychology Morality, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

This is the first study to explore the physical embodiment of virtue. Soap and water can literally salve our guilt, and soften our moral judgments of others.

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Shopping For Sexual Arousal

Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Dopamine, Psychological Science, Shopping, Sexual Excitement, Sexual Arousal, Retail Therapy, Shopping Spree, Sex, Healthy Living News
Dr. Yvonne K. Fulbright

Researchers found that giving participants a coupon or free gift induced the same level of excitement as being exposed to porn.

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Buying Time: The Pursuit Of Happiness

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Psychological Science, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Cognition, Behavioral Economics, Happiness, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

Work gives us a sense of productivity and self-esteem -- in addition to paying the bills -- but many of us work far more than we really need to in order to get these rewards.

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The Link Between Ownership and Creativity

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Squatting, Psychological Science, Moral Psychology, Heuristics, Private Property, Cognitive Psychology, Patricia Kanngiesser, Ownership, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

New research suggests that our moral judgments about property ownership may be an intuitive process--one more fundamental than society's laws and regulations.

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A New Psychological Method: Metaphor Therapy

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Metaphor Therapy, Psychological Science, Cognitive Science, Emotional Regulation, Emotional Healing, Healing, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

Many healing traditions make use of jars--variously called God jars, or worry jars. The idea is that you can literally compartmentalize your troubles, and thus take away their emotional power.

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The Psychological Benefits of Wilderness

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Inner Life, Psychological Science, Cognitive Psychology, Health, Nature, Unplug and Recharge, Mindfulness Meditation, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

A group of scientists at the University of Washington ran a series of experiments to see what benefit--if any--people get from high-quality technological versions of nature.

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Dog Tired: What Our Hounds Can Teach Us About Self-Control

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Cognitive Psychology, Self-Control, Self-Discipline, Delayed Gratification, Psychological Science, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

New research is now suggesting a much more primitive explanation for our powers of self-discipline--one that brings us down a notch or two in the animal kingdom.

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Social Psychology: How to Read Minds Like a Wizard

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Association for Psychological Science, Harry Potter Legilimency, Psychological Science, Cognitive Science, Construal Theory, Mapmaker Heuristic, Mind Reading, Mental Telepathy, University of Chicago, The Inner Life, Ben-Gurion University, Tal Eyal, Nicholas Epley, Occlymency, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

We may not have supernatural powers, but we do have untapped cognitive powers that might be harnessed to help us more accurately assess what others think of us.

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The Psychology of Depression, Sex, Movies and Brains

Dr. Hendrie Weisinger | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Personal Psychology, Psychological Science, Positive Psychology, Psychology, Social Psychology, Behavioral Psychology, Healthy Living News
Dr. Hendrie Weisinger

When people come to my office they are distressed and fearful. Healers understand the importance of sustaining hope and courage. This wisdom was passed down from my parents.

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Are Restless Americans Unhappy Americans?

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Psychological Science, Population Genetics, Alexis De Tocqueville, Pursuit of Happiness, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Positive Psychology, University of Virginia, Novelty Seeking, Happiness, Oishi, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

Psychologist Shigehiro Oishi has for some years been studying the mental and emotional consequences of residential mobility. He shows that mobility shapes our identities, friendships and even our happiness.

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The Psychology of Knock Offs: Why 'Faking It' Makes Us Feel (and Act) Like Phonies

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Self Psychology, Fransesca Gino, Prada, Dan Ariely, Duke University, Harvard Business School, Heuristic Mind, Ray Ban, Chloe, UNC-CHapel Hill, Psychological Science, Moral Psychology, Michael Norton, Versace, Counterfeit Brand Names, Knockoffs, Predictably Irrational, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

That's why we buy knockoffs, isn't it? To polish our self-image--at half the price? But new research suggests that they may not work as magically as we'd like--and indeed may backfire.

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Refocusing the Mind's Eye: What Does 20/20 Vision Really Mean?

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Vision, Association for Psychological Science, Psychological Science, Harvard University, Mindfulness, Snellen Eyechart, Visual Acuity, Perception, Placebo, Ellen Langer, Mind-Set, The Inner Life, Positive Psychology, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

New research is beginning to focus on the psychological dimensions of vision--with some surprising results.

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Suicide Prevention: Can a New Technology Help?

Wray Herbert | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Psychological Science, Clinical Depression, Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, Death & Dying, Emotional Wellness, Healthy Living News
Wray Herbert

Even experienced clinical judgment often misses the mark. As a result, suicide experts have long hoped and searched for a clear behavioral marker of suicide risk. Now they may have found one.

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Study: Watching People Do Good Makes You Want To Do Good

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Do Good Psychology, Inspiratin Psychology, Psychological Science, Pay It Forward, Karma, Video, Impact News

It's easy to feel all warm and and fuzzy when you watch an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show", but according to a study just published in Psychologic...

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Getting Over a Friendship Drought

Dr. Irene S. Levine | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Friendship, Women, Drought, Loneliness, Living News, Relationships, Female Friendship, Coping Mechanism, Nostalgia, Making Friends, Psychological Science, Sense of Belonging, Tim Wildschut, Friendship Study, Psychology, Psychological Coping Mechanism, Healthy Living News
Dr. Irene S. Levine

The more lonely people are, the more nostalgic they tend to become as a way of increasing their self-perceived feeling of social support.

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How Should Obama Respond? A Third Way to End the Sliming

Joel Weinberger | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Psychological Science, Obama Nation, Attack Ads, Barack Obama, Corsi, Swiftboating, Obama Swiftboat, Obama Muslim, Obama Osama, Drew Westen, Obama Smears, Politics News
Joel Weinberger

Obama is refuting charges against him in an effort not to repeat the mistake of the Kerry campaign -- but this just substitutes a new mistake for the old one.

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