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Research Explores Factors That Impact Adolescent Mental Health
Research indicates that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, well before adulthood. Three new studies investigate the cognitive, genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to mental health disorders in adolescence. The studies are published in Psychological Science and Clinical Psychological Science, journals of the Association for Psychological Science. Social-Information-Processing Patterns Mediate the Impact of Preventive Intervention on Adolescent Antisocial Behavior Kenneth A.
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Obama’s Brain
The New Yorker: According to an article on the front page of this morning’s New York Times, the Obama Administration is planning to seek three billion dollars from Congress to map the human brain’s activity. What will Obama’s proposed investment in neuroscience look like? Few details have been announced. ...
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Stress-Busting Smiles
The Wall Street Journal: Smiling could be good for your health. Researchers are finding that wearing a smile brings certain benefits, like slowing down the heart and reducing stress. This may even happen when people aren't aware they are forming a smile, according to a recent study. The work follows research that established that the act of smiling can make you feel happier. ... A study published in the journal Psychological Science in November found that people who smiled after engaging in stress-inducing tasks showed a greater reduction in heart rate than people who maintained a neutral facial expression.
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Summoning the Past: Why This and Not That?
My memory baffles me. There is no rhyme or reason to what I recall and what I forget, whether it’s today’s to-do list or recollections of childhood. Important information vanishes, yet I have a random collection of odd facts and memory traces taking up space in my mind. I'm not alone in this. Everyone I know has a story about the quirkiness of memory, and scientists have been fascinated and perplexed by these oddities for years. Why isn’t memory a better system, more efficient and organized, if remembering is so crucial to daily functioning and future planning? Why do we remember so many trivial and irrelevant things? Why this and not that?
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Predicting Sexual Crime: Are the Experts Biased?
The Huffington Post: Leroy Hendricks had a long history of sexually molesting children, including his own stepdaughter and stepson. When he was 21, he was convicted of exposing himself to two girls, and he continued to prey on kids until he was sent to prison at age 50 for molesting two 13-year-old boys. He served ten years of his five- to 20-year term, with time off for good behavior, and then was set free. ... Based on these genuine case records, all the experts completed the two risk assessments on each of the four SVP cases.
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Your spouse is trying your patience. Instead of freaking out, do this
The Globe and Mail: Maybe you are outraged by the dirty socks strewn across your bedroom floor. Or you are frustrated that your anniversary has gone unacknowledged – again. Whatever the reason, your spouse is trying your patience. How do you bring back that loving feeling? ... “Not only did this effect emerge for marital satisfaction, it also emerged for other relationship processes – like passion and sexual desire – that are especially vulnerable to the ravages of time,” lead author Eli Finkel of Northwestern University said in a press release. Read the whole story: The Globe and Mail See Eli J. Finkel at the 25th APS Annual Convention.
