Sympathy May Be Part of a More General “Meta-Emotion”
Feelings of sympathy and compassion – what psychologists call empathic concern – may be part of a larger “communal emotion,” according to new work by researchers in Norway, Portugal...
The Cost of Internalized Stigma
One of the most insidious kinds of stigma people with mental health conditions face is self-stigma. When you’re surrounded by a culture that stigmatizes mental illness, it’s natural that...
Mental Health and Dental Health Go Together
Your teeth and your brain might not seem like they have much in common, but researchers have consistently found a relationship between mental health and oral health. For example,...
5 Life Skills Predict Health and Happiness Later in Life
If you could choose to master any life skill, optimism wouldn’t be a bad place to start. That and four other life skills have been linked to health, happiness...
Regret Over Missed Opportunities May Drive Risk Taking
Often it’s the things we didn’t do that we regret the most – not the things we did do but shouldn’t have. And when we take risks in life,...
Math Teachers Get the Worst Student Evaluations
Customer satisfaction is important, and if you work in higher education, you know that schools are no exception. At colleges, student evaluations of teachers often factor into hirings, firings,...
Newborn Babies’ Brains Are Specialized for Speech
Babies have a certain genius when it comes to learning language, and it turns out that some of the pieces of language acquisition are already in place at birth....
Should We Replace Math Classes With Chess Classes?
Chess is a game that involves critical thinking, focus, spatial reasoning, and a whole range of complex cognitive skills. It’s also a game that’s just plain fun. Put those...
Is Unethical Behavior Disgusting or Downright Infuriating?
Maybe unethical behavior makes your blood boil, or maybe it just plain disgusts you. Apparently, whether immoral actions provoke disgust or anger in you influences how you’ll respond. Psychologists...
Brief Dog Therapy Sessions Can Improve Mental Health
Forget your weekly therapy appointment. What about your weekly therapy dog appointment? A group of psychologists in the UK have found that even spending a short period of time...
