Study involving over 24,000 people finds general life satisfaction affects attitude toward marital happiness
In a large longitudinal study that sheds new light on the association between marital status and happiness, researchers have found that people get a boost in life satisfaction from marriage. But the increase in happiness is very small — approximately one tenth of one point on an 11-point scale — and is likely due to initial reactions to marriage and then a return to prior le
Children’s viewing of violent TV shows, their identification with aggressive same-sex TV characters, and their perceptions that TV violence is realistic are all linked to later aggression as young adults, for both males and females. That is the conclusion of a 15-year longitudinal study of 329 youth published in the March issue of Developmental Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association (APA). These findings hold true for any child from any family, regardless of the child’s init
Knowing many kinds of people in many social contexts improves one’s chance of getting a good job, developing a range of cultural interests, feeling in control of one’s life and feeling healthy. Many know how important networking is, says researcher Bonnie Erickson, but the critical matter is the variety of acquaintances and not the mere number.
Erickson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, presents her research in an article, “Social Networks: The Value of Variety,” in the
Pioneer in false memory research presents latest findings at AAAS Symposium
During a recent study of memory recall and the use of suggestive interviewing, UC Irvine cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus successfully planted false memories in volunteers of several study groups — memories that included such unlikely events as kissing frogs, shaking hands with Bugs Bunny at Disneyland, and witnessing a demonic possession.
Her success at planting these memories challenge the
Teenagers who say their parents restrict their television viewing of certain programs are likely to watch the restricted shows at friends’ houses, a study suggests.
These teens also reported less positive attitudes toward their parents, according to the research.
“Unfortunately, parents’ good intentions in restricting television viewing may actually backfire and contribute to them watching more of the programs they shouldn’t see,” said Amy Nathanson, author of the study and assista
MRI used in a breakthrough study to explore how we gather information
How do we learn? At the same time, when learning is conscious, does the brain engage in learning based on experience? Many scientists have believed that the two processes are independent of each other. Now, new research findings published in the current edition of the Journal of Neurophysiology, suggest otherwise.
Background
Procedural learning, such as perceptual-motor sequence learning, is thought
American college students are much more likely to worry about the way they look and to spend time obsessing over their bodies than their German counterparts, according to a new study.
“Cross-cultural differences in the value placed on appearances and resulting sociocultural pressures are the most likely explanation,” says lead author Antje Bohne of Harvard Medical School.
Despite these differences in body image, the American students were no more likely to have severe enough body d
Women may worry more about their weight, but it’s men who are more likely to become hooked on exercise, a University of Florida study shows.
College-age men were twice as likely as their female counterparts to exercise to excess, and were more prone to becoming irritable and tense if they missed a scheduled workout time, according to a study published in the June issue of the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
“We think of exercise as a positive behavior, and for th
It’s hard to keep a straight face, and especially difficult if you meet someone who looks angry or happy. This the conclusion drawn from experiments carried out by Ulf Dimberg, professor of psychology at Uppsala University, Sweden, and his associates. The results, which are presented in the journal Cognition and Emotion, show that we are not in full control of our facial muscles: their reactions are controlled by unconscious mechanisms.
It is well known that emotions find direct expression
Witnessing violence between parents has the same detrimental effect on teen-age girls as being a victim of abuse themselves, according to a new study by Brown University sociologists: The teen-agers are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.
A study of 710 girls ages 14 to 17 who were living in two-parent families found that teen-agers who witnessed domestic violence or were the subject of violence from a parent were at least three times more likely to engage in risky sexual activi
New research reveals that men and women respond similarly on jealousy measures related to infidelity
When it comes to jealousy, men and women may be from the same planet after all.
New research from psychology professor David DeSteno from Northeastern University debunks the myth of a gender-determined reaction to sexual and emotional infidelity. Contrary to previous studies, he found that both men and women react most dramatically to a partner’s sexual rather than emotional
A new study confirms what some job seekers may suspect: The more effort people put into a job search, the more likely they are to find employment even in difficult economic times.
The Georgia Institute of Technology study also reveals how certain personality traits affect job-search behavior. For example, people tend to look harder for jobs and consequently have more success if they are: Optimistic and view the job loss as an opportunity to improve their position.
Higher
New research sheds light on gender differences, running and racing animals
Was Lassie only the second fastest collie in the valley? Was Roy Rogers’s horse Trigger faster than Dale Evans’s filly, Buttermilk? Men are readily acknowledged as faster runners than women. Can the same assumption be made about gender in horses and dogs?
Background
It’s not too hard to see why that assumption might be made. Sir Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile in 19
New research by economists at the University of Warwick reveals that men who smoke but who want a long life should marry without delay as marriage reduces the risk of death by even more than the act of smoking increases the risk of dying.
University of Warwick researchers Professor Andrew Oswald and Dr Jonathan Gardner examined the data from the British Household Panel survey – a nationally representative sample of over 5,000 British households containing over 10,000 adults who had been stu
Why are most men taller than women? This age-old height difference persists to this day, according to research to be published in Proceedings B, a Royal Society journal, because taller than average men and shorter than average women were found to be more successful in attracting a mate and having children.
Dr Daniel Nettle of the Open University used data from 10,000 men and women born in Britain in one week in March 1958 and his study concluded that the taller the men were, the less likely
Routine parent-child bedsharing before 6 years of age appears to have no major impact on a child’s subsequent development or behavior — for better or for worse, the first long-term study of the practice reveals.
The researchers’ finding that there is “no evidence linking [early parent-child bedsharing], when engaged in responsibly, with any sort of problematic outcome” should give experts who caution against the practice reason to reconsider their advice, according to lead author Paul Oka
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