Put It On My Tab…
Picture yourself out for happy hour. You arrive at the bar and scope out the scene. If you see all your coworkers ordering drinks, are you more likely to drink yourself? Turns out the answer could be in your genes. According to new findings reported in Psychological Science, genetics may determine the extent to which you are influenced by social drinking cues, like advertisements, drinks placed on a bar, and seeing those around you drinking.
Consuming alcohol causes an increase in dopamine levels, a brain chemical that causes pleasure and makes us feel good. The dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been shown to be involved in the motivation of seeking out rewards. Research has suggested that carrying a specific form of this gene, specifically one that includes seven or more repeats of a certain section, may…
Anxious Test Taker?
Test anxiety can make even the most prepared test-taker choke. But there may be hope. A recent study published in Psychological Science, shows that simply thinking about someone competent before a test can improve test scores for those with test anxiety.
In this study, Jonas W.B. Lang, of Maastricht University, and Jessica Lang, of Aachen University, set aside the emotional component of test anxiety— the general nervousness and physical symptoms like sweating. Past studies have found that emotional test anxiety does not actually have an effect on performance. Instead, the psychological scientists concentrated on cognitive test anxiety, the specific worry that you will not do well on a test. “The problem is if you think, ‘Oh, my god, maybe I’ll fail this test,’ and then you look out of the window and you start to think…
Is Anger the Best Answer? Depends on Culture
In the early 1990s, President Clinton took an aggressive, angry stance in trade negotiations with Japan. Clinton’s aggressive stance annoyed the Japanese, and the negotiation largely failed. Could this have been due to cultural differences?
While negotiating in obvious anger can be a successful strategy with European Americans, negotiating in anger with East Asians may hurt your cause. Recent research published in Psychological Science studied how cultural differences in reactions to emotional expressions affect negotiation outcomes. Hajo Adam, the lead author of the study, is from INSEAD in France, a graduate business school which brings together people, cultures and ideas from around the world. Adam noticed differences in emotions at INSEAD, saying “I noticed that sometimes people get angry, and you see that people react differently to that. I was…
Botox: The Social Pros and Cons
To keep a youthful face, some turn to Botox. But, what seems like a harmless beauty regimen may have deeper social and emotional consequences.
In an article published in the July issue of Psychological Science, researchers tested how blocking a frown might affect comprehension of language related to emotions. In the study, patients were to read written statements before and then two weeks after a Botox treatment. The statements were angry (”The pushy telemarketer won’t let you return to your dinner.”), sad (”You open your e-mail in-box on your birthday to find no new e-mails.”) or happy (”The water park is refreshing on the hot summer day.”).
The ability to understand these sentences was gauged according to how quickly the subject pressed a button to indicate they had finished reading it. The results showed no…
Got Heartbreak? Take a Tylenol
Everyone knows that Tylenol can relieve headaches or sore muscles, but could it also ease heartbreak or broken spirits? Recent research indicates that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, may actually blunt emotional pain. A study published in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science, found that that the common painkiller serves double duty, easing not just physical pain, but also the pain of social rejection.
To explore the relationship between physical and emotional pain, C. Nathan DeWall from the University of Kentucky and colleagues conducted two experiments. In the first experiment, volunteers took either a 1,000 milligram acetaminophen pill or a placebo pill every day, and reported their social pain. Those who took the acetaminophen showed a decrease in self-reported social pain and hurt feelings. “We were very excited about these…