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Sustainable Satisfaction: How Aging Makes Your Mind More Charitable
The Huffington Post: What is it that draws so many of us to community causes as we age? Is it just an excess of wealth that inspires philanthropy, or are our brains actually learning to perceive our relationships with the world around us in different ways? Part of the answer may be that as we grow older, we're also growing more satisfied with what we already have. According to one recent study, our overall opinions of our own well-being, our relationships and our career status tend to rise later in life -- and not just for those who've spent the past few decades clawing their way to the top. As the journal Psychological Science reports, a team led by Angelina R.
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New Center Aims to Make Science More Open and Reliable
National Geographic: The field of psychology is going through a period of introspective turmoil. One the one hand, it has never been more popular. Its results lead to attention-grabbing headlines, and fill books that sit happily on bestseller lists. Conversely, some of its own practitioners are starting to ask themselves a difficult question: What proportion of the field’s findings are genuine and reliable insights into the human mind, and what proportion are red herrings produced by questionable research practices and, in rare cases, outright fraud? ... Nosek’s solution launches today—the Center for Open Science, a new laboratory at Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Neuropsychological Correlates of Emotion Regulation in Women With HIV: An ERP Study
In case you missed it, Roger C. McIntosh presented his research at the APS 24th Annual Convention in Chicago, Illinois, USA. HIV-positive women are shown to demonstrate emotional deficit. The regulation of emotions is thought to require some executive function (EF) capacity. Since HIV/AIDS affects cortical areas which sub-serve EF, this study aimed to (1) use event related potentials (ERP) to determine whether HIV-positive women exhibit attenuated cortical responses while reappraising unpleasant stimuli, and (2) determine if this electrocortical activity was related to various forms of executive function.
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Freshman Funk: Is Harmful Thinking Contagious?
The Huffington Post: I know very few people who would describe first semester, freshman year of college, as a time of unqualified joy. I was certainly ready to leave home, but even so it was a disruptive time. I was disconnected from my family and close friends for the first time and, even more difficult, thrown into a dormitory full of strangers -- young men from unfamiliar places with diverse experiences and values. University of Notre Dame psychological scientist Gerald Haeffel and his colleagues have been exploring what's called cognitive vulnerability -- a way of thinking, and interpreting life's travails, that predisposes people to clinical depression.
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Reflections on Rumination: In Memory of Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Yale psychology department chair Susan Nolen-Hoeksema passed away tragically on January 2, 2013. Through her books, public appearances, and pioneering research, Nolen-Hoeksema worked to improve mental health care and educate the public about gender differences in depression. In a special symposium at the 25th APS Annual Convention in Washington, DC, five of Nolen-Hoeksema’s collaborators and past students will discuss her influence on the study of gender differences in depression, depressive rumination, and emotional regulation. Participants will include Ed Watkins, Katie A. McLaughlin, Lori M. Hilt, Blair E. Wisco, Amelia Aldao, and James J. Gross.
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Deciphering Hidden Biases During Interviews
NPR: Research suggests the timing of an applicant's interview, whether it's for a job or admittance to a school, may determine the outcome of that interview. A new study shows that interviewers who have seen a string of strong candidates are more likely to view the next applicant negatively. ... Simonsohn thinks this is exactly what's happens with interview panels, that if you're interviewing candidates and the first candidate is really weak and the second is really weak and the third is really weak, you believe, generally, that there should be an equal number of strong and weak candidates.
