Feature Channels: Behavioral Science

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Not always smart to mimic a person's body language, UC San Diego study shows.

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People who are socially skilled – who are adept at metaphorically putting themselves in someone else’s shoes – generally are also more proficient when it comes to spatial skills.

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UAB social psychologist Rex A. Wright, Ph.D. explains why some people do not view phone hacking as unethical and why those that see it as unethical go along with the practice.

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Short-term and long-term psychological effects of the 9/11 attacks spread far beyond New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

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A new study by a Temple University Fox School of Business professor finds that teenage girls have a strong influence on the products their mothers buy solely for personal use, as in makeup or clothing, and that mothers have a much stronger tendency to mimic their daughters’ consumption behavior than vice versa.

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Do people believe good and bad luck can be washed away? Yes, according to an advanced online publication in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that was co-authored by Rami Zwick, a University of California, Riverside marketing professor in the School of Business Administration.

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A new study finds that teens with a positive sense of well-being are more likely to report being healthy in young adulthood.

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Study concluses that personality can contribute to people's weight fluctuation.

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A Cedars-Sinai psychiatrist who specializes in helping patients cope with stress advises Southern California drivers to protect themselves from becoming victims of road rage during the 405 freeway closure, scheduled July 15-17, and dubbed “Carmageddon.”

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A new Northwestern University meta-analysis (an integration of a large number of studies addressing the same question) shows that even today leadership continues to be viewed as culturally masculine. Thus, women suffer from two primary forms of prejudice. Women are viewed as less qualified or natural in most leadership roles, the research shows, and secondly, when women adopt culturally masculine behaviors often required by these roles, they may be viewed as inappropriate or presumptuous.

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Study concludes that no significant difference between men's and women's self-esteem occurs during adolescence and young adulthood.

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People who see the “glass as half empty” may be more willing to contribute to a common goal if they already identify with it, according to researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, University of Chicago and Sungkyunkwan University.

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Study co-authored by USC Marshall professor examines the link between posture, effectiveness and pain tolerance.

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Pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support for “everyday people,” not just individuals facing significant health challenges.

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Is your kid a “dove” – cautious and submissive when confronting new environments, or perhaps you have a “hawk” – bold and assertive in unfamiliar settings? These basic temperamental patterns are linked to opposite hormonal responses to stress – differences that may provide children with advantages for navigating threatening environments, researchers report in Development and Psychopathology.

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A new study finds that that cortisol - the "stress hormone" released when a person is under pressure in individuals immediately prior to casting a vote was significantly higher than in the same individuals in similar non-voting conditions.

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Though disclaimers at the end of advertisements may appear to be an accepted white noise by audiences, new research published in the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that those disclaimers have a greater impact on buyer behavior than previously thought.

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UCLA researchers have found that teens, regardless of their ethnic background, retained their religious identity even as their participation in religious activities, such as attending church, declined. Further, they found that adolescents' ethnic background shaped their religious identity and participation.

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That panicked feeling we get when the family pet goes missing is the same when we misplace our mobile phone, says a Kansas State University marketing professor. Moreover, those feelings of loss and hopelessness without our digital companion are natural.

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A University of Alabama at Birmingham survey of college students reveals that 35 percent use mobile phone applications while driving — even after facing the dangers firsthand.

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A little practice goes a long way, according to researchers at McMaster University, who have found the effects of practice on the brain have remarkable staying power.

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Students and young adults are highly susceptible to being contacted by internet sex offenders from the very first time a chat session is initiated, according to a study of online social networking patterns published in the July issue of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN). The study, conducted by a research team working under a United States Department of Justice grant, found that more than two-thirds (63.3%) of internet sexual offenders initiate the topic of sex with middle school and high school students during their first chat session, underscoring the significant issue of on-line risky behavior between sexual offenders and their potential victims. AJN, the leading voice of nursing since 1900, is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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News release concludes that foods containing fat substitutes causes weight gain.

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Coming out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual increases emotional well-being even more than earlier research has indicated. But the psychological benefits of revealing one’s sexual identity -- less anger, less depression, and higher self-esteem – are limited to supportive settings, shows a study published June 20 in Social Psychology and Personality Science. The findings underscore the importance of creating workplaces and other social settings that are accepting of all people, but especially gay, lesbian or bisexual individuals.

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A new illusion that took second place in the 2011 Best Illusion of the Year Contest—a competition held annually by the Neural Correlate Society—illustrates that our brains can organize what we see based on changes in contrast.

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Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have zeroed in on the dose levels of the “sacred mushroom” chemical psilocybin yielding positive, life-changing experiences, while minimizing transient negative reactions. Former U.S. "Drug Czar" comments.

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A University of Iowa study found that women who make their sexual debut as young teens are more likely to divorce, especially if "the first time" was unwanted, or if she had mixed feelings about it.

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News release concludes that freedom and personal autonomy are more important to people's well-being than money.

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After becoming a full professor, Jackie Gilbert felt the need to purge her office (and her life) of papers, files, notebooks and artifacts--all those things that were cluttering her life and mind. It was liberating, she says.

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News release concludes that women are as resilient as men in combat.

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People may judge the quality and qualifications of psychotherapists simply by what their offices look like, a new study suggests.

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While violent video games may lead to more aggression and anger in players, a new study shows that the opposite is also true: relaxing video games can make people happier and more kind.

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Instead of feeling stressed by the money they owe, many young adults actually feel empowered by their credit card and education debts, according to a new nationwide study.

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Do those lightening fast disclaimers at the end of radio and television advertisements scare you away or simply seem like white noise required by regulatory agencies? According to Northwestern University and Wake Forest University research now online in the Journal of Consumer Research, fast disclaimers can give consumers the impression that an advertiser is trying to conceal information. However, trusted brands (versus trust-unknown or not-trusted brands) are immune to the adverse effects of fast disclaimers.

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When humans see red, their reactions become both faster and more forceful. And people are unaware of the color’s intensifying effect, finds a study in the latest issue of the journal Emotion.

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Divorce is a drag on the academic and emotional development of young children, but only once the breakup is under way, according to a study of elementary school students and their families.

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Children whose parents get divorced generally don’t experience detrimental setbacks in the pre-divorce period, but often fall behind their peers—and don’t catch up—when it comes to math and interpersonal social skills after their parents begin the divorce process, according to a new study.

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Eric Vernberg found that it is not only victims of bullying who make more visits to the school nurse — it is the aggressors as well.

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People’s moral responses to similar situations change as they age, according to a new study at that combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioral measures to understand how the brain responds to morally laden scenarios.

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Despite growing concern about the effects of media violence on children, violent television shows and movies continue to be produced and marketed to them. An Indiana University research study concludes that violence doesn't add anything to their enjoyment of such programs and their characters.

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Whites believe they are the primary victims of racial bias in America. Whites and blacks agree that anti-black racism has decreased. But whites now believe "reverse racism" has increased and is a bigger problem than anti-black bias.

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News release study concludes that Americans have increased prayer about their health.

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Working with healthy adult mice, McMaster researchers showed that disrupting the normal bacterial content of the gut with antibiotics produced changes in behaviour.

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An Indiana University of Pennsylvania psychology professor has found that only 90 minutes of exposure to pro-eating disorder websites can have significant affects on caloric intake of college-aged women with normal eating behaviors.

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News release research finds that one may live longer if he or she gets along with co-workers.

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Tornado victims experiencing "survivor guilt," University of Alabama at Birmingham experts say. They offer tips to healing.

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How can some people respond to a question without answering the question, yet satisfy their listeners? This skill of “artful dodging” and how to better detect it are explored in an article published by the American Psychological Association.

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Dr. Marlene Huff shares information and tips for parents on child development and the use of social media.

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Sadness, apathy, preoccupation: those traits come to mind when people think about depression, the world’s most frequently diagnosed mental disorder. Yet, forthcoming research in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology provides evidence that depression has a positive side-effect.

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Promising behaviourial therapy can give homeless youth a new lease on life: Canadian study