Life News (Social & Behavioral Sciences)

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A team of researchers from Wayne State University was awarded a $1.3 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study “Advanced wireless augmented reality-enhanced exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.”

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Bryan McLaughlin knows it’ll be an intense election year, but he is focused on the wellbeing of the voters

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A new study from the University of Florida exposes a driving force fueling the debate on voting rights

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Online video game players believe the behavior known as “smurfing” is generally wrong and toxic to the gaming community – but most admit to doing it and say some reasons make the behavior less blameworthy, new research finds. The new study suggests that debates about toxicity in gaming may sometimes be more complex and nuanced than is often acknowledged, according to the researchers.

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New sociological research that looks into how crisis conditions during the pandemic—such as poor heath and insecure housing—affected domestic abuse and victims’ interpretation of violence.

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If you tend to do other things or get distracted while eating dinner, you may be running the risk of over-consuming everyday pleasures later, possibly because the distraction caused you to enjoy yourself less, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

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Amidst rising depression rates on college campuses, SMU researchers discovered combining behavioral activation (BA) therapy with savoring (S) enhanced students' mental health. This approach improved both positive and negative moods significantly.

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A night spent dreaming can help you forget the mundane and better process the extreme, according to a new University of California, Irvine study. Novel work by researchers in the UC Irvine Sleep and Cognition Lab examined how dream recall and mood affected next-day memory consolidation and emotion regulation.

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New insights into how people perceive the human voice are challenging beliefs about which voices we find attractive. Previous studies have linked vocal averageness and attractiveness, finding that the more average a voice sounds, the higher it is rated in attractiveness.

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Actually, sometimes consumers don’t want to talk to a real person when they’re shopping online, a new study suggests. In fact, what they really want is a chatbot that makes it clear that it is not human at all.

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New research suggests that making the change to daylight saving time isn’t good for our healthy habits. Researchers found that the onset of daylight saving time is associated with increased consumption of processed snack foods and fewer trips to the gym.

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Civilized political debates may seem increasingly out of reach as democracies across the world face rising polarization, but people still want to discuss issues with people they disagree with – especially those who present themselves as balanced and willing to seek solutions that work for everyone or open to learning new information, according to two studies published by the American Psychological Association.

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A new study from the University of South Australia shows how young children learn about the concept of pain through reading, and it’s helping to promote children’s empathy, emotional development, and understand socio-cultural norms.

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Pioneering measures to tackle sedentary behaviour among children in China have proved effective, according to new research.

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A recent study out of Michigan State University found large gaps between people’s career interests and U.S. job demands. These gaps indicate that the interest demands of the U.S. labor market differ drastically from the supply of interested people, revealing how many people have unfulfilled interests at work.

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Worker rights are among the least protected human rights in the world, according to new research from faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Many parents ponder why one of their children seems more emotionally troubled than the others. A new study in the United Kingdom reveals a possible basis for those differences.

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UCLA Health is set to host a unique symposium this week to explore the evolving research in psychedelic therapies and how combining it with reconnection to natural world could help to amplify their mental health benefits.

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53% of Americans give impulsively to charities at the checkout, and certain demographics tend to give more, according to a new survey conducted by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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Forbes ranks Cal State Fullerton as one of the Top 500 Best Employers for Diversity in the country in 2024 for its efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.

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The world’s largest study of cerebral palsy (CP) genetics has discovered genetic defects are most likely responsible for more than a quarter of cases in Chinese children, rather than a lack of oxygen at birth as previously thought.

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Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be one of the most stressful, pivotal moments in an individual’s life. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, Fred Hutch social psychologist and researcher Megan J. Shen, PhD, shares tips for coping with a cancer diagnosis and how patients and their caregivers can navigate appointments with their oncologists.

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Vicky Barone, assistant professor of economics at the University Notre Dame, researched the origins and development of the opioid epidemic and found that the unregulated marketing of potent painkillers led to increased access to prescription opioids and subsequent overdose mortalities.

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For most smokers, quitting on the first attempt is likely to be unsuccessful, but a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found patients were more likely to quit if their cessation regimen was altered and doses were increased. Researchers also found that varenicline, a cessation medication, was more effective than combined nicotine replacement therapy (CNRT), such as patches or lozenges.

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A University of California, Irvine-led team has found evidence of a potential link between patterns of changes in a key pregnancy hormone – placental corticotropin-releasing hormone – and symptoms of postpartum depression.

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Nick Seaver, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Tufts University, talks about the potential TikTok ban and whether fears about the app’s addictiveness are warranted.

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Researchers have analysed more than 30 years of Canadian criminal records to shed light on intimate partner homicide indicators.

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A first-of-its-kind study sheds light on public opinion about would-be mass shooters, particularly regarding their mental health status. Willingness to “see something” and “say something,” especially when loved ones or associates are involved, hinges on whether the informant believes the criminal justice system will handle the situation effectively and fairly.

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Scientists have singled out red colobus species as a priority conservation target. Protection of these monkeys, they assert, can be expected to produce benefits throughout tropical African forests where hunting and climate change have led to dramatic wildlife and habitat loss.

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Economic researchers at the University of South Australia have examined the mental health effects on people who experienced financial setbacks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Bostock vs. Clayton County that transgender people are legally protected from employment discrimination. This came at a time of increased visibility, but also of legal and social challenges to the rights of transgender individuals. Meanwhile, there has been very little study of labor market discrimination against them.

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The American Sociological Association congratulates the eight sociologists who were recently recognizes by premier science associations for their outstanding achievements in the discipline.

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A national study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and The University of New Mexico (UNM) Comprehensive Cancer Center found major gaps in breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening use in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the U.S., relative to overall screening rates in the country.

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Virtual reality dance made easier with crowd wave technique. Open source code can be downloaded for Quest 2 and 3

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University of Miami specialists in health psychology and in mindfulness practices offer tips to help reframe how we perceive stress and shift our response to build resilience and support well-being.

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Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University’s College of Population Studies and Institute of Asian Studies, Chula Ari, and World Bank, organized a workshop on “Developing Thai Family Stability to Fight Human Crisis” on March 7, 2024, at Plenary Hall 1, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Minister of Social Development and Human Security, Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, gave the opening speech and offered his insights on the policies on the human crisis situation.

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New research points to an economic factor that might be overlooked when considering why drug-related deaths among Black Americans increased significantly after 2010 in U.S. regions reporting heightened fentanyl activity: job losses that followed the Great Recession.

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Child maltreatment is a serious public health issue in the United States, particularly affecting young children who are most vulnerable due to their dependence on caregivers. But new research from Michigan State University may have found a way to prevent this abuse: state-paid family leave.

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Acclaimed psychologist Roxane Cohen Silver of the University of California, Irvine – whose groundbreaking studies on stress and coping have advanced understanding of how traumatic incidents like terror attacks, infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters affect people – has been elected a member by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

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The study will provide insight into how pet dogs support well-being and resilience in adolescents while a parent or guardian is in the National Guard, Reserve, is a veteran or on active duty. Adolescents in military families face ubiquitous teen stressors and unique military challenges such as parental deployment and frequent relocations.