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OCD Linked With Broad Impairments in Executive Function
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), characterized by intrusive and persistent thoughts that are often accompanied by repetitive or ritualized acts, is a serious clinical disorder that can significantly impact a person’s ability to function and go about daily life. Neuroimaging data have hinted at a link between OCD and brain areas that contribute to executive function (EF), a group of critical cognitive abilities that regulate lower-level cognitive processes.
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Typical Items Facilitate Fear Learning, Atypical Items Don’t
Have you ever recoiled at something because it reminds you of something else that you’re genuinely afraid of? Research indicates that people have a propensity to generalize their fear — so, for example, a person afraid of doctors might also feel uneasy at the sight of a hospital or medical equipment. Moreover, typical items in a category seem to lend themselves to generalization more than atypical items do. For instance, we’re more likely to generalize information about mice and apply it to bats rather than the other way around, since mice come to mind more easily when we think of mammals. Bringing these different areas of research together, psychological scientists Joseph E.
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Conference to Focus on Milgram Paradigm
The Obedience to Authority Conference will be held December 9–11, 2014, in Kolomna, Russia. The conference will focus on discussion of research in the field of Stanley Milgram's experimental obedience paradigm. Russian and international researchers with diverse academic backgrounds and career levels are encouraged to register. For more information, visit www.milgram.ru/en.
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The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care
Read the Full Text (PDF, HTML) Mental illness has wide-reaching effects on people’s education, employment, physical health, and relationships. Although many effective mental health interventions are available, people often do not seek out the care
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Higher Implicit Self-Esteem Linked to Positive Evaluation of Spouses
It’s often said that we can’t love others unless we love ourselves. According to a new study, this may be true, but perhaps in a different way than we expect -- while our reported self-esteem doesn’t predict changes in our implicit, or underlying, feelings about a significant other, our implicit attitudes about ourselves do. Research has suggested that self-esteem influences how people behave in their relationships: Those with higher self-esteem believe that their partner views them positively and so are more inclined to work at their relationships. In other studies, however, self-esteem didn’t seem to predict relationship satisfaction down the road. Psychological scientist James K.
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AAAS, George Mason Seek Diverse Scientists to Test Crowdsourcing Accuracy
The AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy is helping George Mason University recruit scientists with a diverse set of expertise to assist in a science and technology forecasting project called SciCast. The purpose of this project, which is funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), is to determine whether crowdsourcing can be used to accurately predict the future of science and technology questions. These questions vary by discipline and focus area, and range from the more applied science and engineering advancements to the highly technical, basic science achievements.
