Psychology news

• Multiple Sclerosis Drug May Help with Poor Working Memory

  18-11-2024 15:19 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top NewsThe drug fampridine is currently used to improve walking ability in people with multiple sclerosis. A new study shows that it could also help individuals with reduced working memory, as seen in mental health conditions like schizophrenia or depression. The study, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, was randomized, double-blind, and found cognitive improvement after only three days of taking the medicine.
  
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• Gluttony, lust and the other ‘deadly sins’ are seen as immoral, but are we hardwired to commit them? | Guy Leschziner

  02-12-2024 11:00
  
  Scientists are increasingly finding that behaviours once seen as depraved often have a direct physical causeThe first thing that strikes me when I visit Alex in her supported accommodation is the huge lock on the kitchen door. The accessible rooms are devoid of any food or drink, the exception being two dispensers of sugar-free squash in the living room. Even the food-waste bin outside the back door is padlocked. Packages delivered to the home’s residents are opened in front of staff and s
  
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• ‘I felt like a bystander in my own internal recovery’: one woman’s battle for health after a life-changing diagnosis

  01-12-2024 10:00
  
  Facing an enormous decision about her health filled Kat Lister with wonder at her body’s ability to fight for herThe 2cm wound to the right of my bellybutton had been oozing for days. A syrupy weep in the well of my abdomen. A surgical pothole so small that it felt almost indulgent to photograph it in my bathroom mirror. As if these tiny keyhole incisions dotted around my swollen stomach – one, two, three, four, five of them – bore no relation to the magnitude of the plunder be
  
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• Reversing Time From Within: Can Gut Bacteria Delay Aging?

  01-12-2024 06:54 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthAging is a universal process affecting all living organisms, yet one understudied factor in this process is the gut microbiome—a microbial community that profoundly influences health. Shifts in the gut microbiome over time are linked to a host of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes. Fortunately, by modifying the gut microbiome through lifestyle changes, it may be possible to slow down aging and reduce the risk of...
  
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• Canada Town Council Gets Alternative After Refusal to Take King's Oath

  01-12-2024 06:54 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: BBC News - AmericasA Canadian territory has changed its rules for elected municipal officials, allowing them to take an oath pledging allegiance to the country's constitution instead of the British Crown when they are sworn in. The change comes after the newly-elected council of Dawson City, Yukon, refused to take the King's oath in solidarity with an indigenous council member who raised concerns about the Crown's colonial history in Canada.
  
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• Russian Police Raid Moscow Nightclubs in LGBTQ+ Crackdown

  30-11-2024 06:25 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportRussian police raided several bars and nightclubs across Moscow Saturday as part of the government's crackdown on "LGBTQ+ propaganda," state media reported. Smartphones, laptops, and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia's Tass news agency said. Footage shared on social media appeared to show partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the floor as officers moved through the nightclub.
  
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• ‘Holding space’: Wicked has made the term famous. But what does it mean?

  28-11-2024 11:48
  
  In the earnest press tour for the film, actor Cynthia Erivo was in tears at the idea that fans were ‘holding space’ for the song Defying Gravity. But is it more self-help jargon or something more powerful?The journalist Tracy E Gilchrist had just four minutes with the Wicked actors Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – and she had to make them count. She just didn’t bargain on becoming part of one of the year’s most-used memes as a result of saying the phrase “hol
  
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• Maine Sues Oil Companies for Deceiving Public on Climate Change

  28-11-2024 10:06 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Huff Post Environment The state of Maine has filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies and their top lobbying group, accusing them of carrying out a decades-long disinformation campaign about climate change and their contribution to it in order to maximize profits. The lawsuit alleges that Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco, and the American Petroleum Institute withheld internal knowledge about fossil fuels' catastrophic effects while fostering public...
  
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• AI Can Predict Research Results Better Than Human Experts, Study Finds

  28-11-2024 10:06 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthLarge language models—a type of artificial intelligence that analyzes text—can predict the results of proposed neuroscience studies more accurately than human experts, finds a study published November 27 in Nature Human Behaviour. The findings demonstrate that these models can forecast scientific outcomes with superhuman accuracy, showing their potential as powerful tools for accelerating research.
  
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• Indigenous Dishes Native American Chefs Invite People to Try

  28-11-2024 10:05 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsThe United States is known as a great melting of people, food, and culture, but even large cities have few—if any—restaurants focused on Indigenous cuisines from the more than 570 recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. This season, Native American chefs are inviting the general public to try wojapi sauce on frybread, wild rice with maple syrup, and various dishes made with corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and...
  
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• An Improbable Psychiatrist by Rebecca Lawrence review – doctor turned patient

  27-11-2024 12:00
  
  A brave memoir from a psychiatrist with severe mental illness that describes a failing system from withinThis brave memoir by a psychiatrist who has severe mental illness shows how lost and confused psychiatry and its patients have become. Future readers will be amazed, we must hope, by how poorly we understood and how ineffectively we treated the troubled mind.Rebecca Lawrence has experienced recurrent and horrendous depressions throughout her life, mixed with periods of ele
  
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• Using Human Insights to Build Machine Smarts

  27-11-2024 06:59 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Association for Psychological ScienceMachines can now beat us at chess, create art, and even diagnose diseases. Yet, for all its capabilities, artificial intelligence is not artificial humanity. For one thing, it lacks our capacity for emotional intelligence. But many experts say psychological science is the key to unlocking AI's full potential, including algorithms that can engage in common-sense reasoning, self-correction, and even empathy.
  
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• Surveillance Advances Could Aid Trump in Crackdown on Immigration

  27-11-2024 06:59 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportPresident-Elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration—among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining, and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
  
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• Delay and Pay: Climate Tipping Point Costs Quadruple After Waiting

  27-11-2024 06:59 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyTip the first tile in a line of dominoes and you'll set off a chain reaction, one tile falling after another. Cross a tipping point in the climate system might spark a similar cascade of results like warming, rising sea levels, and extreme weather. The cost of reversing these results quickly climbs nearly fourfold soon after a tipping point is crossed, according to a study published yesterday in the journal npj Climate and Atmospheric Science.
  
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• Transgender People Prepare for Policy Changes Under Donald Trump

  26-11-2024 08:08 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA PsycPORT™: Psychology NewswireU.S. President-Elect Trump has promised to roll out policies targeting transgender people on his first day in office, including a new federal definition of sex as binary and assigned at birth. Meanwhile, many trans people are scheduling transition-related health care and stockpiling hormones while they can, making name and gender changes on passports, enlisting in the military, and joining athletic teams that match their gender identity.
  
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• Studies in Nutritional Psychiatry Suggest Nutrients for Mental Health

  26-11-2024 08:08 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: U.S. News and World ReportJust as you might eat protein to aid muscle-building and vitamin C to ward off colds and flu, certain vitamins and minerals play a role in mental health, including mood, mental well-being, and mental disorders, as the field of nutritional psychiatry is increasingly finding. Diets rich in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains have been linked to better mental health outcomes than diets high in processed foods, refined grains, and sugary products.
  
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• Virtual Reality Could Be Gamechanger in Police-Civilian Crisis Encounters

  26-11-2024 06:47 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyTraditional police training lacks practical tools for handling mental health crises, leaving officers underprepared. New research published in the journal Criminal Behavior and Mental Health provides a promising way to address this gap using VR training that immerses officers in realistic scenarios. Results show moderate to high engagement in the VR environment, which enhances empathy and highlights its potential as a complement to traditional...
  
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• Native American Coalition Calls for Badlands National Monument

  26-11-2024 06:47 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsA coalition of conservation groups and Native American tribal citizens on Friday called on President Joe Biden to designate nearly 140,000 acres of rugged, scenic Badlands as North Dakota's first national monument, a proposal several tribal nations say would preserve the area's indigenous heritage. The proposed Maah Daah Hey National Monument would encompass 11 noncontiguous, newly designated units in the Little Missouri National Grassland.
  
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• Menopausal Hormone Therapy Has No Lasting Cognitive Impact, Study Finds

  26-11-2024 06:47 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthHormone therapy can offer relief from the challenging symptoms of menopause, but many women and doctors are hesitant to start it due to safety concerns. Fortunately, a study published November 21 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine has found that short-term menopausal hormone therapy does not have long-term cognitive effects when given to women in early post-menopause.
  
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• Malaysia Government Told to Return Seized Watches in LGBT Case

  26-11-2024 06:47 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: BBC News - Top HeadlinesA Malaysian court has ordered the country's government to return 172 rainbow-colored watches it seized from watchmaker Swatch last year. The government said it took the timepieces from the Swiss company because they featured "LGBT elements"—homosexuality is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and punishable by up to 20 years in prison. However, a court ruled the government did not have a warrant to confiscate the items.
  
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• Climate Change + Air Pollution Could Claim 30 Million Lives Annually by 2100

  26-11-2024 06:47 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthMortality attributable to air pollution and extreme temperatures is expected to rise in the future. An international research team found that annual death rates linked to air pollution and extreme temperatures could reach 30 million by the end of the century. The research, based on advanced numerical simulations, predicts a 500% increase in pollution-related deaths and 700% increase in temperature-related deaths.
  
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• Psychologist Group Issues Guidance for Parents on Teen Online Video Use

  24-11-2024 16:51 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsParents can't monitor everything their kids watch online, but a set of new guidelines from the American Psychological Association may help young people manage their own viewing habits. The association announced new recommendations to help parents, policymakers, and tech companies give teens the power to manage their own viewing habits. They include steps that can be taken right away, as well as longer-range recommendations for Big Tech and...
  
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• Cocoa and Green Tea Can Protect Against Mental Stress, Study Finds

  24-11-2024 16:51 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthFood choices made during periods of stress can influence the effect of stress on cardiovascular health. For example, recent research found that high-fat foods can negatively affect vascular function and oxygen delivery to the brain. Meanwhile, new research has found that a flavanol-rich cocoa drink can protect the body's vasculature against stress, even after eating high-fat food. The study was published November 18 in the journal Food and...
  
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• Negotiators Agree on Funding for Poor Nations Facing Climate Crises

  24-11-2024 16:49 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsUnited Nations climate negotiators agreed on a funding formula to help developing countries cope with the effects of climate change early Sunday in Azerbaijan after two weeks of intense negotiations. In a compromise reached after the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Baku ran well past its Friday adjournment deadline, wealthy countries pledged to provide at least $300 billion a year to the global fight against climate change, the U.N....
  
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• When we see others in distress we can suffer too. How do we heal from this collective trauma? | Sara Mussa

  24-11-2024 15:00
  
  The more we identify with those suffering, the more vicarious trauma we may feel. But we can recover and even grow from this experienceThe modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their workAs I stepped into my office and checked my client list for the day, I was surprised to see a name pop up that hadn’t been there for a while. It was Kareem, a young father of two who had arrived to Australia from war-torn Iraq. During our session, he described
  
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• ‘Resilience interventions do work’ – why coping strategies should be a staple of education

  24-11-2024 15:00
  
  Early instruction that teaches young people how to recognise negative thought patterns and manage their mental health may help to avoid problems in later lifeI was about 16 when I had my first bout of depression, but 29 when I sought help and received a diagnosis. In the intervening period, I thought I could weather my low moods alone, but the waves of hopelessness didn’t lessen; they only gained momentum. I was left with a strong desire to evaporate, leaving no trace of my existence in th
  
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• I’ve written a diary every day since I was 14. What does that say about me?

  24-11-2024 14:00
  
  Reading four decades of entries, I realise ego can take precedence over world events, life is never too dull to record – and I’ve learned not to take myself so seriously“Hello! I said to myself today that if I do five handstands and flip over it will be an excellent year and I did!” Thus, unceremoniously, began the 41-volume (and counting) story of my life. It was 1984 and I was 14, fumbling through adolescence in a scarlet beret. My likes, according to a list on the fron
  
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• Don’t know what to buy your loved ones for Christmas? Just ask ChatGPT

  24-11-2024 09:00
  
  Santa has a new little helper. But can an AI-powered shopping assistant really master the subtle art of gift giving?Some people love buying Christmas presents. Polly Arrowsmith starts making a note of what her friends and family like, then hunts for bargains, slowly and carefully. Vie Portland begins her shopping in January and has a theme each year, from heart mirrors to inspirational books. And Betsy Benn spent so much time thinking about presents, she ended up opening her own online gift busi
  
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• Not quite religion, not quite self-help: welcome to the Jordan Peterson age of nonsense | Martha Gill

  24-11-2024 07:30
  
  Unintelligible as it is, new book is part of a ‘manifesting’ trend offering the young and spiritually lost an illusion of controlWhat links these two news stories? The first: “manifesting” has been declared Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year. The self-help practice, based on the magical belief that mental rituals can move the universe in your favour, has exploded in popularity.Having kicked around for years, it surged into the mainstream during the pandemic, wh
  
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• Not quite religion, not quite self-help: welcome to the Jordan Peterson age of nonsense

  24-11-2024 07:30
  
  Unintelligible as it is, new book is part of a ‘manifesting’ trend offering the young and spiritually lost an illusion of controlWhat links these two news stories? The first: “manifesting” has been declared Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year. The self-help practice, based on the magical belief that mental rituals can move the universe in your favour, has exploded in popularity.Having kicked around for years, it surged into the mainstream during the pandemic, wh
  
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