news 2012
« BACK
Health - Psychology - 28.11.2012 
Scientists identify depression and anxiety biomarker in youths
" Scientists have discovered a cognitive biomarker - a biological indicator of a disease - for young adolescents who are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Their The test for the unique cognitive biomarker, which can be done on a computer, could be used as an inexpensive tool to screen adolescents for common emotional mental illnesses.
Psychology - 20.11.2012 
Happy youngsters more likely to grow into wealthy adults, study finds
The first in-depth investigation of whether youthful happiness leads to greater wealth in later life reveals that, even allowing for other influences, happy adolescents are likely to earn more money as adults. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve (UCL Political Science) and Andrew Oswald (University of Warwick) analysed data from 15,000 adolescents and young adults in the USA, finding that those who report higher 'positive affect', which is a technical measure of happiness, or higher 'life satisfaction' grow up to earn significantly higher levels of income later in life.
Health - Psychology - 12.11.2012
Psychology - 12.11.2012
Health - Psychology - 12.11.2012
Health - Psychology - 12.11.2012 
Why watching someone itch makes you scratch
Have you ever experienced the feelings of itchiness while watching someone else scratch? Scientists University of Sussex and the University of Hull have found the part of the brain responsible for 'contagious' itching - and discovered why some people are more prone to it than others. Psychology lecturer Henning Holle and fellow researchers from the University of Sussex and Brighton and Sussex Medical School wanted to determine why some people are particularly vulnerable to itchiness when they see others scratching.
Psychology - Mechanical Engineering - 07.11.2012 
Perception of time
How people experience time may be affected by the way that they perceive cause and effect, new research by the University has shown. Marc Buehner of the School of Psychology examined how causal belief - understanding that one thing leads to another (for example flicking a switch and a light coming on) - influences time perception.
Health - Psychology - 07.11.2012 
Study provides new evidence that more plus size models could change women’s obsession with thin bodies
British women's obsession for thin bodies could potentially be changed if advertising showed more plus size models, suggests a new preliminary study. The Durham University researchers, who studied over 100 women, provide evidence to back calls for models in adverts to be more representative of the actual population.
Psychology - 26.10.2012 
Stuttering test could be used to screen all schoolchildren
A new model developed by UCL researchers to predict the persistence of stuttering could be used to screen all children at school age, according to new research in the Journal of Fluency Disorders . Stuttering - also known as stammering - is thought to affect one in twenty children under the age of five, with onset generally occurring around the age of three years old.
Psychology - 18.10.2012 
Study of Afghan children seeking asylum in the UK
A new study indicates that about one-third of asylum-seeking Afghan children who arrive in the UK without their parents or a guardian are likely to be experience symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, they also found those in foster care were less likely to be suffering from PTSD than those in shared accommodation with other asylum-seekers and refugees.
Health - Psychology - 17.10.2012 
Mothers’ touch could change effects of prenatal stress
Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester, and King's College London, have found that mothers who stroke their baby's body in the first few weeks after birth may change the effects that stress during pregnancy can have on an infant's early-life development. Researchers world-wide have been studying whether stress in pregnancy can lead to emotional and behavioural problems in children for many years.
Health - Psychology - 28.09.2012 
Therapy over the phone as effective as face-to-face
Providing therapy over the phone will not only help individuals gain much-needed access to mental health treatment, it will provide a more cost effective way of providing these services at a time when we have to be innovative and efficient." —Professor Peter Jones A new study reveals that cognitive therapy over the phone is just as effective as meeting face-to-face.
Psychology - 28.09.2012 
Hearing brains are ’deaf’ to disappearance of sounds
Our brains are better at hearing new and approaching sounds than detecting when a sound disappears, according to a study by researchers at the UCL Institute. The findings could explain why parents often fail to notice the sudden quiet from the playroom that usually accompanies the onset of mischief.
Psychology - 05.09.2012 
Study questions whether children consider merit when sharing with others
What is a fair way to distribute goods? Should someone who worked more also receive more compensation? New research, published online PLoS One [29 Aug] and led by Patricia Kanngiesser from the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology and Felix Warneken from Harvard University, suggests that young children already take merit into account when sharing things with others.
Psychology - 18.07.2012 
Children’s concentration boosted by mindfulness sessions, pioneering study shows
Clinical psychologists from the University of Sheffield have discovered young children's concentration in class can be significantly improved by introducing mindfulness sessions into their school timetable. Lisa-Marie Berry and Georgina Rowse conducted a pilot project at Broomhill Infant School to see whether a mindfulness-based intervention, which is already proven to have positive effects on secondary school pupils, would have similar outcomes for children between the ages of 4-6 years.
Health - Psychology - 03.07.2012
Health - Psychology - 15.06.2012
Life Sciences - Psychology - 16.05.2012 
How horses use memory, sight and sound to recognise humans
How horses use memory, sight and sound to recognise humans A new University of Sussex study published online today (16 May 2012) shows that domestic horses use a sophisticated cognitive system to identify individuals of species other than their own. A previous prize-winning study* by the University's Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group in the School of Psychology demonstrated that horses have the ability to combine auditory and visual information cross-modally to recognise each other.
Life Sciences - Psychology - 15.05.2012
Psychology - 03.05.2012
Psychology
Results 1 - 20 of 30.
" Scientists have discovered a cognitive biomarker - a biological indicator of a disease - for young adolescents who are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety. Their The test for the unique cognitive biomarker, which can be done on a computer, could be used as an inexpensive tool to screen adolescents for common emotional mental illnesses.
The first in-depth investigation of whether youthful happiness leads to greater wealth in later life reveals that, even allowing for other influences, happy adolescents are likely to earn more money as adults. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve (UCL Political Science) and Andrew Oswald (University of Warwick) analysed data from 15,000 adolescents and young adults in the USA, finding that those who report higher 'positive affect', which is a technical measure of happiness, or higher 'life satisfaction' grow up to earn significantly higher levels of income later in life.
Babies born to stressed mothers more likely to be bullied at school
Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy are more likely to become victims of bullying at school. New research from the University of Warwick shows stress and mental health problems in pregnant women may affect the developing baby and directly increases the risk of the child being victimised in later life.
Children whose mothers were overly stressed during pregnancy are more likely to become victims of bullying at school. New research from the University of Warwick shows stress and mental health problems in pregnant women may affect the developing baby and directly increases the risk of the child being victimised in later life.
Fearlessness in juvenile offenders
Juvenile offenders have impairments in emotional learning and punitive measures to control their behaviour are unlikely to be effective, new research by a team from the University suggests. Led by Stephanie van Goozen of the School of Psychology and Simon Moore from the School of Dentistry, the team set out to establish whether a lack of fear was linked to juvenile offending, and if rates of criminal offending were linked to the severity of this emotional learning impairment.
Juvenile offenders have impairments in emotional learning and punitive measures to control their behaviour are unlikely to be effective, new research by a team from the University suggests. Led by Stephanie van Goozen of the School of Psychology and Simon Moore from the School of Dentistry, the team set out to establish whether a lack of fear was linked to juvenile offending, and if rates of criminal offending were linked to the severity of this emotional learning impairment.
Smacked children at greater risk of developing cancer and heart disease
Psychologists have found that the use of harsh punishment in childhood increases the risk of disease in later life. They say the link could be caused because harsh punishment causes stress, and theincreased stress levels in childhood then cause biological changes that increase the risk of disease in later life.
Psychologists have found that the use of harsh punishment in childhood increases the risk of disease in later life. They say the link could be caused because harsh punishment causes stress, and theincreased stress levels in childhood then cause biological changes that increase the risk of disease in later life.
Have you ever experienced the feelings of itchiness while watching someone else scratch? Scientists University of Sussex and the University of Hull have found the part of the brain responsible for 'contagious' itching - and discovered why some people are more prone to it than others. Psychology lecturer Henning Holle and fellow researchers from the University of Sussex and Brighton and Sussex Medical School wanted to determine why some people are particularly vulnerable to itchiness when they see others scratching.
How people experience time may be affected by the way that they perceive cause and effect, new research by the University has shown. Marc Buehner of the School of Psychology examined how causal belief - understanding that one thing leads to another (for example flicking a switch and a light coming on) - influences time perception.
British women's obsession for thin bodies could potentially be changed if advertising showed more plus size models, suggests a new preliminary study. The Durham University researchers, who studied over 100 women, provide evidence to back calls for models in adverts to be more representative of the actual population.
A new model developed by UCL researchers to predict the persistence of stuttering could be used to screen all children at school age, according to new research in the Journal of Fluency Disorders . Stuttering - also known as stammering - is thought to affect one in twenty children under the age of five, with onset generally occurring around the age of three years old.
A new study indicates that about one-third of asylum-seeking Afghan children who arrive in the UK without their parents or a guardian are likely to be experience symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. However, they also found those in foster care were less likely to be suffering from PTSD than those in shared accommodation with other asylum-seekers and refugees.
Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester, and King's College London, have found that mothers who stroke their baby's body in the first few weeks after birth may change the effects that stress during pregnancy can have on an infant's early-life development. Researchers world-wide have been studying whether stress in pregnancy can lead to emotional and behavioural problems in children for many years.
Providing therapy over the phone will not only help individuals gain much-needed access to mental health treatment, it will provide a more cost effective way of providing these services at a time when we have to be innovative and efficient." —Professor Peter Jones A new study reveals that cognitive therapy over the phone is just as effective as meeting face-to-face.
Our brains are better at hearing new and approaching sounds than detecting when a sound disappears, according to a study by researchers at the UCL Institute. The findings could explain why parents often fail to notice the sudden quiet from the playroom that usually accompanies the onset of mischief.
What is a fair way to distribute goods? Should someone who worked more also receive more compensation? New research, published online PLoS One [29 Aug] and led by Patricia Kanngiesser from the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology and Felix Warneken from Harvard University, suggests that young children already take merit into account when sharing things with others.
Clinical psychologists from the University of Sheffield have discovered young children's concentration in class can be significantly improved by introducing mindfulness sessions into their school timetable. Lisa-Marie Berry and Georgina Rowse conducted a pilot project at Broomhill Infant School to see whether a mindfulness-based intervention, which is already proven to have positive effects on secondary school pupils, would have similar outcomes for children between the ages of 4-6 years.
Emotionality in adolescent males is driven by hormonal changes
Researchers led by a team from the University of Glasgow and Oslo University Hospital, Norway have discovered that while changes in the emotions of adolescent females are directly related to age those from young males are influenced by the changing patterns of reproductive hormones that occur as individuals become more sexually mature.
Researchers led by a team from the University of Glasgow and Oslo University Hospital, Norway have discovered that while changes in the emotions of adolescent females are directly related to age those from young males are influenced by the changing patterns of reproductive hormones that occur as individuals become more sexually mature.
Resisting temptation
New research from psychologists at the Universities of Exeter and Cardiff shows that people can train their brains to become less impulsive, resulting in less risk-taking during gambling. The research could pave the way for new treatments for people with addictions to gambling, drugs or alcohol as well as impulse-control disorders, such as ADHD.
New research from psychologists at the Universities of Exeter and Cardiff shows that people can train their brains to become less impulsive, resulting in less risk-taking during gambling. The research could pave the way for new treatments for people with addictions to gambling, drugs or alcohol as well as impulse-control disorders, such as ADHD.
How horses use memory, sight and sound to recognise humans A new University of Sussex study published online today (16 May 2012) shows that domestic horses use a sophisticated cognitive system to identify individuals of species other than their own. A previous prize-winning study* by the University's Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group in the School of Psychology demonstrated that horses have the ability to combine auditory and visual information cross-modally to recognise each other.
Genes make for a life of success
Genes play a greater role in forming character traits than was previously thought, new research suggests. A study of more than 800 sets of twins found that genetics were more influential in shaping key traits than a person's home environment and surroundings. University psychologists, who carried out the study, say that genetically influenced characteristics could well be the key to how successful a person is in life.
Genes play a greater role in forming character traits than was previously thought, new research suggests. A study of more than 800 sets of twins found that genetics were more influential in shaping key traits than a person's home environment and surroundings. University psychologists, who carried out the study, say that genetically influenced characteristics could well be the key to how successful a person is in life.
“Rank” of suffering may stop people seeking help for depression and anxiety
People's judgements about whether they are depressed depend on how they believe their own suffering "ranks" in relation to the suffering of friends and family and the wider world, according to a new study. Research from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick finds that people make inaccurate judgements about their depression and anxiety symptoms - potentially leading to missed diagnoses as well as false positive diagnoses of mental health problems.
People's judgements about whether they are depressed depend on how they believe their own suffering "ranks" in relation to the suffering of friends and family and the wider world, according to a new study. Research from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick finds that people make inaccurate judgements about their depression and anxiety symptoms - potentially leading to missed diagnoses as well as false positive diagnoses of mental health problems.
