http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/social_psychology/ Love, altruism and affection. Read current news articles on how animals can be altruistic, how social networks can protect against Alzheimer's and more. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:05:01 EST Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/mind_brain/social_psychology/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110211037.htm Although often seen as an inconsequential feature of digital technologies, one's self-representation, or avatar, in a virtual environment can affect the user's thoughts, according to new research. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110211037.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105401.htm A woman is six times more likely to be separated or divorced soon after a diagnosis of cancer or multiple sclerosis than if a man in the relationship is the patient, according to a study that examined the role gender played in so-called "partner abandonment." The study also found that the longer the marriage the more likely it would remain intact. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105401.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109173412.htm Researchers have shown that the brain regions that have long been recognized as a center in which spoken or written words are decoded are also important in interpreting wordless gestures. The findings suggest that these brain regions may play a much broader role in the interpretation of symbols than researchers have thought and, for this reason, could be the evolutionary starting point from which language originated. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109173412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161216.htm Millions of people are spending real money on virtual clothes in online hangouts, digital items in multiplayer games and presents for their friends in social networking sites. This digitalisation of consumption is an inherent consequence of the increasing involvement of communication technology in everyday social activities, says one researcher. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029211543.htm Women who used psychiatric medication during pregnancy have triple the odds of delivering prematurely. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029211543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110090903.htm Last year, the United States provided asylum and resettlement assistance for nearly 80,700 people from other countries, an increase from 71,300 individuals in 2007, according to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Health experts say the increase has made issues of immigrant and refugee violence and the need for effective intervention strategies more apparent. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110090903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110065911.htm Combination therapies to tackle multiple changes in the brain may be needed to combat the growing problem of dementia in aging societies, according to a new study. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110065911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121121.htm Women with asthma are more anxious, find it harder to sleep and are more tired during the day than their male counterparts, but nevertheless tend to be better at following their treatment, reveals new research from Sweden. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101553.htm Research in the UK into the finger length of primate species has revealed that cooperative behavior is linked to exposure to hormone levels in the womb. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104101553.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123025.htm Most weight-control strategies emphasize energy-restricted diets and increased physical activity -- and most are not effective over the long term. In a study of a "weight-acceptance" intervention, researchers found that there could be long-term beneficial effects on certain eating behaviors using a weight-acceptance intervention approach. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123025.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105092607.htm From their very first days, newborns' cries already bear the mark of the language their parents speak, reveals a new study. The findings suggest that infants begin picking up elements of what will be their first language in the womb, and certainly long before their first babble or coo. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105092607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104161837.htm Two findings from a new national study reveal the power of mentors, particularly those in the teaching profession: for all teen students, having an adult mentor meant a 50 percent greater likelihood of attending college; for disadvantaged students, mentorship by a teacher nearly doubled the odds of attending college. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104161837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104091724.htm Literary Arabic is expressed in the brain of an Arabic speaker as a second language and not as a mother tongue, according to a new study. The research offers an explanation for the objective and day-to-day difficulties that confront Arabic-speaking students when attempting to learn to read the non-spoken language. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104091724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143817.htm For the insects called water striders, the pushiest guys don't always get the girls. New research provides support for the theory of multi-level selection and contradicts previous laboratory experiments that suggested that the most aggressive males are the most successful at reproducing. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171207.htm New research shows that frontotemporal dementia -- a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia -- is highly hereditary. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112253.htm First impressions do matter when it comes to communicating personality through appearance, according to new research. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112253.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121634.htm Scientists are beginning a clinical trial of a potential medication designed to correct a central neurochemical defect underlying Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability. There has to date been no medication that could alter the disorder's neurologic abnormalities. The study will evaluate safety, tolerability and optimal dosage in healthy volunteers. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171413.htm Three-year-old children who are exposed to more TV appear to be at an increased risk for exhibiting aggressive behavior, according to a new report. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171557.htm Researchers have identified a part of the brain that responds to both facial and vocal expressions of emotion. They used the MagnetoEncephaloGraphic (MEG) scanner at the York Neuroimaging Centre to test responses in a region of the brain known as the posterior superior temporal sulcus. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121718.htm Adults who had experienced physical abuse as children have 56 percent higher odds of osteoarthritis compared to those who have not been abused, according to a new study. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102085827.htm Holding on to hope may not make patients happier as they deal with chronic illness or diseases, new research shows. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102085827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002319.htm Angry words and gestures are not the only way to get a sense of how temperamental a person is. According to new findings, a quick glance at someone's facial structure may be enough for us to predict their tendency towards aggression. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030125044.htm New research suggests that regardless of sexual orientation, men prefer sexual dimorphism in faces. This study finds that gay men preferred the most masculine-faced men, while straight men preferred the most feminine-faced women. The findings suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men's brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces -- those with facial features that are most synonymous with their gender. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030125044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028090659.htm A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new study. In other words, a genetic vulnerability to depression is much more likely to be realized in a Western culture than an East Asian culture that is more about we than me-me-me. The study takes a global look at mental health across social groups and nations. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028090659.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105746.htm Imagine: during lunch your colleague throws an apple to you. You catch it (of course) without difficulty. But what actually happened? Did you consciously decide to catch the apple with two hands? And how did your hands know where they had to be to catch the apple? According to a Dutch researcher, you can catch an apple like this thanks to the close cooperation between two separate visual systems. He has now established for the first time how these areas cooperate. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105746.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141223.htm The so-called "silver spoon" effect -- in which wealth is passed down from one generation to another -- is well established in some of the world's most ancient economies, according to anthropologists. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141223.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029160931.htm Quality-of-life in nations is measured using an index of ‘Happy Life Years’, developed at Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands. This index combines average appreciation of life with average length of life. Costa Rica is on top with 66.7 and Zimbabwe at the bottom with only 12.5 happy life years. The USA rank in the sub-top with an average of 58 years lived happily. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029160931.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112751.htm Research in Spain reveals that schoolchildren see the victims as "passive persons and socially incompetent", and the abusers as "strong, brave and extrovert individuals." Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112751.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002504.htm Social media sites, armed with the power of instant advocacy, have ushered in the era of "Community Relations 2.0," according to researchers. It's time for American businesses to evaluate the risks and rewards online communities like Facebook and Twitter present and devote social media teams to this rapidly changing landscape of community engagement. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091031002504.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026192900.htm Your genetic make up may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism. New research pinpoints genetic pathways and genes associated with levels of alcohol consumption but not with alcohol dependence in rats and humans. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026192900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028114019.htm Pregnant women with significant symptoms of depression tend to have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine than do women with lower depression levels, according to a new study. The finding provides an argument in favor of flu vaccination during pregnancy, researchers say, because it suggests that the immune systems in depressed pregnant women are not functioning typically. This immune dysregulation could affect symptom severity among women who become infected with influenza. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028114019.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028134631.htm It has long been suggested that healthy folate levels in expectant mothers goes hand in hand with healthy nervous system development in their children. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028134631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028134639.htm An education professor says the underlying similarities between teaching, research and music can be a powerful metaphor for education and qualitative inquiry. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028134639.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152818.htm Psychologists have found that the more a person appears to suffer when tortured, the guiltier they are perceived to be. According to the researchers, those complicit with the torture need to justify the torture, and therefore link the victim's pain to blame. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112617.htm There is no scientific proof that patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease benefit from drugs containing the agent memantine, according to a new report. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027101420.htm Having children improves married peoples' life satisfaction and the more they have, the happier they are. For unmarried individuals, raising children has little or no positive effect on their happiness. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027101420.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019123009.htm Violence between couples is usually the result of a calculated decision-making process and the partner inflicting violence will do so only as long as the price to be paid is not too high, according to a new study. "The violent partner might conceive his or her behavior as a 'loss of control', but the same individual, unsurprisingly, would not lose control in this way with a boss or friends," she explains. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019123009.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163354.htm Ten percent of young adolescent boys -- or one in 10 -- exhibit a symptom of conduct disorder as well as a symptom of risky or problem gambling, according to new research findings. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163354.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021100752.htm Drinking. Drugs. Caving into peer pressure. When parents expect their teenagers to conform to negative stereotypes, those teens are in fact more likely to do so, according to new research. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021100752.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021101806.htm Researchers have discovered that a primitive region of the brain responsible for sensorimotor control also has an important role in regulating emotional responses to threatening situations. This region appears to work in concert with another structure called the amygdala to regulate social and emotional behavior. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021101806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022202717.htm Low alcohol consumption is bad for your health in general, according to a new study. Researchers studied the relationship between alcohol consumption and health to test the current theory which suggests improved health is responsible for the link found between low alcohol consumption and increased wages. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022202717.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162919.htm Infants as young as five months old are able to correctly identify humans as the source of speech and monkeys as the source of monkey calls, psychology researchers have found. Their finding provides the first evidence that human infants are able to correctly match different kinds of vocalizations to different species. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020111412.htm Music serves as a natural and non-invasive intervention for patients with severe neurological disorders to promote long-term memory, social interaction and communication. However, there is currently no plausible explanation of its neural basis for why and how music affects physical and psychosocial responses. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020111412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021212247.htm Researchers have uncovered a new genetic signature that correlates strongly with autism and which doesn't involve changes to DNA sequence. The changes are to the way the genes are turned on and off. The finding may suggest new approaches to diagnosis and treatment of autism. The researchers found higher-than-usual numbers of gene-regulating molecules called methyl groups in a region of the genome that regulates oxytocin receptor expression in people with autism. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021212247.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020203413.htm It may take a village to raise a child, and apparently it takes at least two adult birds to teach a young song sparrow how and what to sing. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020203413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021154914.htm New research suggests that a large number of HIV-positive individuals who reported feeling stigmatized also reported poor access to care or suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Individuals who experienced high levels of internalized stigma were four times as likely as those who didn't to report poor access to medical care; they were three times as likely to report suboptimal adherence to HIV medications. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021154914.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021125131.htm The Internet has spawned a virtual subculture of "johns" who share information electronically about prostitution, potentially making them harder to catch, according to a new study. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091021125131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105744.htm Young people mainly select their friends according to the image they have of another person, irrespective of whether the person concerned actually satisfies that image. A Dutch researcher has demonstrated that young people consider themselves to be the most important factor in a friendship. Nevertheless friendship can still exert a significant influence: boys become criminal and girls become depressed. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026105744.htm