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Inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS)
Inaugural International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS) 12-14 March 2015 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands Call for Submissions Open Symposium Deadline: 17 September 2014 Poster Deadline: 30 September 2014 The Association for Psychological Science and the members of the Initiative for Integrative Psychological Science invite the international community of psychological scientists and related disciplines to a major new event: the International Convention of Psychological Science.
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People Sensitive to Criticism May Be Biased Toward Focusing on the Negative
Being on the receiving end of criticism from loved ones is unpleasant for anybody, but for some people, it may go so far as to affect their mental health. Research has shown that people who rate their loved ones as being highly critical of them are more likely to suffer relapses and face poorer outcomes when dealing with illnesses such as depression, substance abuse, OCD, agoraphobia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Researchers believe that high sensitivity to criticism may be caused in part by cognitive biases toward interpreting ambiguous information negatively.
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Disrupting the Cycle of Negative Thoughts With Computerized Training
People who tend to ruminate — engaging in a cycle of negative, repetitive thoughts — are at risk for depression and other psychological disorders. Is there a way to stop the broken record? Research published
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The Benefits of Belonging
Julie L. Martin, Duke University, presented her research on "The Benefits of Belonging: State Belonging and Motivation for Social Reconnection Following Rejection" at the 2014 APS Annual Convention in San Francisco. Martin received a 2014 APSSC Student Research Award for this work. According to the Social Reconnection Hypothesis, social exclusion increases the motivation to forge new social bonds in an effort to restore belonging.
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Pinpointing Patient Needs
Rachael Wandrey, with the support of her mentor, Katie E. Mosack, is studying the unique experiences and social support needs of a virtual community of lesbian breast cancer patients. She believes not only that lesbian women experience higher incidence of and mortality from breast cancer than their heterosexual counterparts, but that they also likely experience breast cancer differently from heterosexual women given the context of homophobia and heterosexism. Data were collected from the lesbian-specific discussion forum found on breastcancer.org.
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“Out, Damned Spot!”: Obsessive-Like Behavior Linked to Specific Type of Guilt
If you’ve ever watched the T.V. show Monk, you know that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by a fixation on certain thoughts and a need to engage in repetitive behaviors, such as excessive hand washing or checking multiple times if a door is locked. Research has shown that guilt motivates checking behavior by saddling people with feelings of responsibility. For instance, someone who checks a locked door repeatedly fears being held responsible in the case of a break-in.
