A blog about human brains and behavior for students of psychology.
We all know that given the choice, we’d all rather have high self-esteem than low self-esteem. But why do we take it for granted that low self-esteem is so bad? In practical terms, how does having low self-esteem impact people’s
It’s tempting to deal with problems by not thinking about them and instead distracting yourself with other activities. But is this a healthy way of coping? That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s a question researchers from Sweden actually posed as
There’s plenty not to like about stress. The worrying. The tension. The not being able to relax and enjoy yourself. But one of the worst parts of stress might be the sheer pointlessness of it. Stress can attack your basic
Psychology research has many applications. Treating mental illness. Improving your quality of life. Getting people to do what you want. One area of study that looks at the latter is research into compliance techniques. Compliance techniques are little tricks that
Social media makes a lot of things easier. Keeping up with old friends. Sharing your vacation pictures. Comparing yourself to other people. It’s that last one that could be causing problems, according to two new studies published in the journal
Cooking at home is the best of both worlds, according to new research: it’s healthier and cheaper than eating out! The downside, of course, is that you have to cook. The study asked 437 Seattle-area adults about their eating habits,
You know that special feeling you get when you hear the sound of nails on a chalkboard? In Spanish, it’s called grima. In English, well, we don’t have a word for it. “That feeling you get when you hear the
When people are in treatment for substance abuse, the stigma they encounter and the social support they receive may have wide-ranging effects on their mental health. According to a new study published in Psychiatry Research, stigma and social support during
Ignorance gets a bad rap, but a new study has found that most of us are firmly in the “ignorance is bliss” camp when it comes to wanting to know what the future holds. In the study, published in Psychological
The internet has raised all kinds of new possibilities in how we do things, and psychology is no exception. A big question right now is how computer-based interventions can be used to improve psychological and psychiatric care. Recently, a systematic
