-
Beyond Focus: How Attention Shapes Learning Differently for Children and Adults
Podcast: This episode explores whether children’s weaker selective attention is a hidden strength by addressing findings on attention, memory, and childhood learning.
-
Examining How Personality Type Influences Symptoms of Depression
Unique personality traits could be affecting how individuals manage their experience of depression.
-
The Psychology of ‘Shared Silence’ in Couples
A couple sits together on a sunny park bench. He appears to be studying the passing clouds; she’s absorbed in a novel. Some passersby might think, How sweet. Others might see them as bleak. ... Weinstein and colleagues “are really looking at a topic that has received not nearly as much attention as it deserves,” says Northwestern University psychological scientist Claudia Haase, who wrote a 2023 article in the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology on how couples become better at managing their emotions as they grow older. In her current work, she studies couples interacting in a lab.
-
Which Knot Is Stronger? Humans Aren’t Great Judges
Humans are pretty good at guessing whether a towering stack of dishes in the sink will topple over or where a pool ball will go when a cue hits it. We evolved this kind of physical reasoning to navigate our changing and sometimes dangerous environments. But a new study highlights one area of intuitive physics that’s deceptively difficult: judging how strong a knot is. ... If you’re surprised, you’re in good company. Researchers recently asked volunteers to look at photographs of these knots and decide which would take more force to undo.
-
New Psychotherapies That Focus on Positive Experiences Could Better Treat Depression and Anxiety
... CBT is the gold standard therapy for treating depression and anxiety, one or both of which will afflict around 20 percent of people during their lifetime. It may be the best remedy we have, a growing number of scientists say, but it doesn’t help everyone. Research shows that only half of patients benefit and that only half of those who do benefit do so long-term. CBT does reduce symptoms such as low mood and fearfulness. For many, however, it doesn’t restore positive feelings such as happiness or excitement.
-
How to Complain Better and Strengthen Relationships
... Marital researcher John M. Gottman found that even in successful long-term relationships, 69 percent of conflicts remain unresolved due to fundamental differences in personality, lifestyle preferences or values. Rather than seeking a “fix,” strive for mutual understanding in common areas of conflict like sexual desire, parenting, finances, housework and time spent with others. Gottman also found that ongoing expressions of respect, humor and affection are essential to a happy relationship. Feeling understood means being willing to listen without being reactive, defensive or critical. No small feat, but the benefits are huge.
