Science

5 Questions About Happiness Science Can’t Answer

There is a lot of information out there about what might or might not make us happy.  But it's important to remember that all of those insights and findings are really suggestions. They may be based on science, interviewing, or personal experience, but they can never be declared universally appropriate. via 5 Questions About Happiness [...]

You are not alone: Facebook use linked with unhappiness

Scientists found the more time people spent on Facebook over a two-week period, the worse they subsequently felt. In contrast, talking to friends on the phone or meeting them in person led to greater levels of happiness. via You are not alone: Facebook use linked with unhappiness.

Are nice people born or made?

Oxytocin and vasopressin, two hormones that inspire feelings of love and generosity when they flood our brains, bind to neurons by attaching to molecules called receptors, which can come in different forms.   The new research, led by psychologist Michel Poulin of the University of Buffalo, suggests that if you have the genes that give [...]

The psychology of online rudeness

A perfect storm of factors come together to engender the rudeness and aggression seen in the comments' sections of Web pages. First, commenters are often virtually anonymous, and thus, unaccountable for their rudeness. Second, they are at a distance from the target of their anger — be it the article they're commenting on or another [...]

Gory, erotic images ‘blind’ us

Graphic images that depict violence or eroticism blind us for a split second, according to new research on how the brain processes visual information. The finding could explain why people have a hard time concentrating after seeing a particularly sexy photo, or after witnessing a car crash while driving. Such images emotionally jolt us to [...]

Is The Science Of Brain Imaging Overrated?

Hardly a week passes without some sensational news about brain scans unleashing yet another secret of our cognitive faculties. Very recently I stumbled upon the news that according to recent research neuroscientists can tell, depending on your brain responses, whether you and your significant one will still be together in a few years: “You might hide [...]

Controversial Science of Brain Imaging

It seems that neuroscience reductionism is now replacing its genetic counterpart to find an explanation for everything about ourselves using neuronal correlates instead of genes. While I understand and acknowledge the astonishing advancement of science and its benefits, I tend to think that this infinite spiral of reductionist path may not allow us to make [...]

Hitting, slapping tied to later mental disorders

People who remember being pushed, slapped and hit as children are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety and personality disorders later in life, a new study suggests.   Canadian researchers estimated between two and seven percent of those mental disorders might be due to punishments inflicted in childhood, not including more severe forms [...]

Bully Psychology: Where Evolution And Morality Collide

In the most basic terms, bullying is about dominating – and we come from ancestors who were big into the dominance hierarchy. As Christopher Boehm, PhD, who literally wrote the book on it (Moral Origins), says, “Any species that has a social dominance hierarchy, like apes or monkeys or wild dogs or lions, has bullies.” [...]

Facebook Study Explains Why We Still Spend So Many Hours Stalking Each Other

Researchers Daniel Hunt, Archana Krishnan, and David Atkin found that, “The entertainment motive was shown to be the most powerful predictor of how much time participants spent on Facebook,” per WebProNews. In basic terms, this means that during the study, Facebook was most often used when subjects were bored, opposed to connecting with individuals to [...]

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