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Capacity for Commitment May Start in Early Childhood
MSN Health: The ability of men and women to have staying power and a strong level of commitment in their romantic relationships can be traced back to their early childhood and adolescence, a new study finds. Researchers asked 78 people aged 20 or 21 and their heterosexual partners about their level of commitment to their relationship. The researchers already had data on the participants from when they were aged 2 and 16, including how loving and attentive their mothers were when they were toddlers, and how they dealt with a conflict with a friend as teens.
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Self-affirmation helps you excel in sports
Albuquerque Express: Positive self-talk while playing a sport is likely to improve your performance, researchers say. In fact, the study was born out of an on-field experience of one of the researchers. Back on the high school soccer field, poised to take a crucial penalty kick, sports psychologist Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis recalls: 'I was the captain and never missed those types of shots. Then I had that thought striking me that it was not going to be good. 'I knew I was going to miss,' he recalls, 'and I did miss.' Even then, he could see that his mind had a big effect on his body.
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‘Situational specificity of tolerance’ not caffeine behind Four Loko’s intoxicating effect
Yahoo News India: A new study has dismissed previous claims that caffeine in the fruity alcoholic beverage, Four Loko, is responsible for the spike in alcohol-related hospitalizations. "Four Loko didn't have the extraordinary intoxicating effect because of caffeine, but rather because of the phenomenon of situational specificity of tolerance", said Shepard Siegel of McMaster University. The 'situational specificity of tolerance' implies that alcohol will have a greater effect if administered in the presence of unusual cues, rather than in familiar settings typically associated with the drug. Read more:Yahoo India News
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Does Our Personality Affect Our Level of Attractiveness?
Part of what determines how much success you will have in the dating world is whether you have a good sense of whether people find you attractive. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that certain personality traits contribute to being a good judge of whether someone else thinks you’re worth meeting again. The study is one of a series to come out of a big speed-dating experiment held in Berlin about five years ago.
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How To Spot A Commitment Phobe
Marie Claire Australia: A new survey to be published in the June issue of Psychological Science reveals that a commitment phobe may be easier to spot than you think. According to scientists at the University of Minnesota, to determine your partner's true level of commitment, all you need to do is ask about their childhood. "Supportive, involved mothering in toddlerhood and an ability to work through conflict in adolescence are good predictors of becoming the 'strong link'—the person with the bigger stake—in adult relationships," said spokesperson M. Minda Oriña. Read more: Marie Claire Australia
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The Science Behind The Mean Girl Phenomenon
Allure Magazine: We've all seen mean girls (and no, I'm not just referring to the movie). The backhanded compliments, the whispering, even the Twitter death threats (poor Selena Gomez!)—chances are, if you've experienced junior high, you know exactly what we're talking about. But now there may just be science to back up the female tendency towards this particularly bitchy form of bullying. Read more: Allure Magazine
