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Dr. Oz Says Drinking Is a ‘Social Lubricant.’ Some Experts Worry About That.
The psychologist first became intrigued by the phenomenon decades ago, while he was setting up an experiment about the effects of drinking on anxiety and heart rate. Women had been excluded from many such studies, so Michael Sayette, a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, asked five female volunteers to come into the lab and drink, allowing him to set blood alcohol benchmarks for his experiment. ... “Dr. Oz is right — it is really about talking and smiling and connecting,” said Kasey G. Creswell, an associate professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
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Dissociation Is Not the Coping Mechanism It’s Assumed to Be
A new study highlights that most adults experience little to no dissociation, but it is frequently present in clinical populations, particularly people with dissociative disorders, PTSD, and BPD.
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New Research From Psychological Science
A sample of recent research covering language, friendships, misinformation, and more.
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What It Means to Be ‘Touch-Starved’
... Touch communicates connection and caring “with crystal clarity to your brain in ways that words don’t,” said James A. Coan, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and author of the forthcoming book “Why We Hold Hands.” ... “Touch is part of flirting — you bump into each other, and you assess each other’s interest with touch,” said Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies touch and emotion. “When you flirt with someone you’re figuring out: Is this a good partner?” ...
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Let Your Kids Fail
... Ann S. Masten, a developmental psychologist, describes resilience as “ordinary magic,” the result of normal developmental processes rather than extraordinary personal qualities. But those processes require what she calls “adaptive systems,” one of the most important of which involves the capacity to learn to cope with stress. Children who are consistently shielded from everyday challenges don’t get to practice this coping. When they inevitably encounter larger disappointments—a college rejection, a romantic breakup—they might lack the psychological fortitude to handle it.
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Psychiatrists Plan to Overhaul the Mental Health Bible—And Change How We Define ‘Disorder’
A massive reference book of mental health conditions known as the “bible” of psychiatry is going to change. ... “I’m not sure [this new model for diagnosis] will have any strong utility at this point,” says psychologist Ashley Watts. “I’m worried that by trying to please everyone, we please no one.” The proposed changes would allow mental health professionals to give more nuanced diagnoses. Currently, people are diagnosed with named conditions, such as major depressive disorder or bipolar I disorder, with very specific criteria—partly because health insurance needs these for accurate billing.
