Our mental self-portraits contain clues about our personalities
By Emma Young
If I ask you to picture your face and body in your mind, what do you see? And how do your beliefs and attitudes about your self — including your personality and your self-esteem — influence these mental self-images? Completely fascinating answers to these questions have now been reported in a new paper in Psychological Science. The findings are important not just for understanding how we all see ourselves, but could also be useful for studies into body image disorders.
Artistic self-portraits have long been recognised as reflecting aspects of the artist’s identity and emotions, as well as the...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 14, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Faces Personality The self Source Type: blogs
We feel more nostalgic as we get older — but it’s not always a positive experience
By Emily Reynolds
A song, a place, a smell… it doesn’t take much to be transported back in time. Just as with Proust and his madeleines, we all have specific memories that not only provoke nostalgia but trigger intense emotions.
And while nostalgia is often framed as a positive thing — a fond wistfulness — this isn’t always the case, as the University of Akron’s Jennifer R. Turner and Jennifer Tehan Stanley explore in a recent paper published in Emotion. They find that nostalgia is more common the older we get — and it can also set off both positive and negative feelings.
Participants we...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 13, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Developmental Emotion Thought Source Type: blogs
People behave more sadistically when they ’re bored
This study “points to a potential cause of child maltreatment that has not so far been considered in empirical research” they write.
However, a weakness of these studies was that they were all correlational and based on self-report. So the team then looked at what impact experimentally-induced boredom might have on sadistic behaviour. These studies of more than 4,000 people produced some fascinating if also disturbing results.
In one, 129 participants came into the lab, handed in their phones and anything else that might be distracting, and were put into a cubicle to watch either a 20-minute film of a waterfall (...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 12, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Morality Personality Source Type: blogs
To beat procrastination, avoid deadlines — unless they’re short
By Emily Reynolds
Procrastination can get to the best of us. Whether we’re avoiding going to bed, failing to study, or trying to avoid a hated task at work, sometimes it just feels easier to put something off than get it out of the way. For those waiting for chronic procrastinators to deliver, the dilemma is how best to encourage them to do so on time.
A new study, published in Economic Inquiry, provides some suggestions. While shorter deadlines were, perhaps unsurprisingly, more likely to see results than longer deadlines, the most responses were delivered when there was no deadline at all.
Participant...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - January 10, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Decision making Occupational Source Type: blogs
Our Most Popular Posts Of 2021
This study found that for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the experience of being tolerated is actually closer to discrimination than it is to acceptance.
6) How To Cope With Failure, According To Psychology
Countless articles tell us how to set ourselves up for success and live our best lives. But it’s equally important — or perhaps more important — that we learn how to deal with the inevitable failures. So in March we highlighted five evidence-based tips for coping with failure.
5) Study Explores Personalities Of People With Adult Separation Anxiety, A “Neglected Clinical Syndrome”
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Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 22, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Announcements Source Type: blogs
Watching A Lecture Twice At Double Speed Can Benefit Learning Better Than Watching It Once At Normal Speed
By Emma Young
Watching lecture videos is now a major part of many students’ university experience. Some say they prefer them to live lectures, as they can choose when to study. And, according to a survey of students at the University of California Los Angeles, at least, many students also take advantage of the fact that video playback can be sped up, so cutting the amount of time they spend on lectures. But what impact does sped-up viewing have on learning? The answer, according to a new paper in Applied Cognitive Psychology, is, within some limits, none. In fact, if used strategically, it can actually improve learni...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 21, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Educational Source Type: blogs
Fear Of Spiders May Have Its Evolutionary Roots In Aversion To Scorpions
By Emma Young
“But they won’t hurt you! They eat bugs. They’re our friends!” I’ve tried telling my now-12-year-old all these things many times over the years, but his fear of spiders persists. It’s hardly a rare fear; an estimated 6% of the general population suffer from full-blown arachnophobia. The leading explanation is that our ancestors evolved to fear spiders, and this has been passed on to us. But there are a few problems with this, point out the authors of a new paper in Scientific Reports.
Firstly: only 0.5% of spider species are potentially dangerous to humans. Secondly: these species a...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 20, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: evolutionary psych Source Type: blogs
Oral History Study Explores What It ’s Like To Receive An Autism Diagnosis Later In Life
By guest blogger Dan Carney
A key development in autism research in the last twenty-odd years has been the use of less rigid methods such as interviews, fieldwork, and surveys, instead of those based on standardised measurements or other “laboratory-based” tasks. These looser approaches, in tandem with the increasing popularity of autobiographical writing by autistic people, have served to complement more traditional research by adding nuance and detail to understandings of the condition.
Now, a team from Australia led by Rozanna Lilley has used such an approach with a population underrepresented in autism resea...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 16, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Autism guest blogger Qualitative The self Source Type: blogs
Calls To Mental Health Helplines Increased Early In The Pandemic
By Emily Reynolds
From early 2020, concerns were raised about the impact of the pandemic on mental health. The stresses of lockdown, social isolation, financial precarity, and widespread grief were all considered to be potential triggers for poor mental health, along with issues such as increased domestic violence.
A new study, published in Nature, looks at what helpline calls can reveal about mental health during this period. It finds an increase in calls to helplines during the early days of the pandemic, largely driven by fear, loneliness, and worries about physical health.
Marius Brülhart from the Un...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 15, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Coronavirus Mental health Source Type: blogs
Once A Meanie, Always A Meanie: Toddlers Are Harsh Judges Of Moral Character
By guest blogger Sofia Deleniv
Over the past ten years, developmental psychologists have been astounded by the young age at which children appear to be aware of the moral qualities of others’ actions. At just four months, babies already react with surprise when others engage in unequal distribution of treats and resources. They also snub these unfair individuals in social interactions by the age of 24 months and expect others to do the same. Other forms of moral judgement may emerge even sooner: as early as 3 months of age, infants show distinct preferences for those who help, as opposed to hinder, others.
In ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 14, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Developmental Social Source Type: blogs
We Mistake Information We ’ve Googled For Our Own Knowledge
By Emily Reynolds
In many ways, the internet has democratised knowledge, allowing people to access more information than they could possibly dream of reading. No matter where your interests lie, there is almost certainly something new to learn online.
But is this immediately accessible trove of information making us confused about what knowledge is ours and what is the internet’s? According to a new paper, it might be. Authored by Adrian F. Ward of University of Texas at Austin and published in PNAS, the series of eight studies finds that those searching online are sometimes unable to distinguish what knowledg...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 13, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Memory Source Type: blogs
Football And Fast Food: The Week ’s Best Psychology Links
Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web
A group of researchers has sent an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, asking that Meta — the company formerly known as Facebook — be more transparent about internal research into how its platforms affect the mental health of young people. The signatories also want the company to make its data available to external researchers for study, and set up an independent trust to oversee work on mental health, Nicole Westman reports at The Verge.
Why do professional footballers sometimes choke during penalty shootouts? Louise Ellis has cond...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 10, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Weekly links Source Type: blogs
Want To Boost Your Wellbeing In 2022? Here ’s What The Research Says
By Emma Young
It’s natural to start a new year with plans to make this one better than the last. But if you are thinking about how to boost your wellbeing, it’s worth knowing that some “good” ways of living have dark sides, too…
Happiness
People who are happy — who enjoy “hedonistic wellbeing” — experience plenty of positive emotions and are generally pretty satisfied with life. If this sounds like something worth aiming for, then a word of caution: there’s plenty of evidence that striving to be happier can backfire. The authors of an influential review article publishe...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 9, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Emotion Feature Positive psychology Source Type: blogs
Conservatives Are More Likely To Share Fake News — But Only If They Are Low In Conscientiousness
By Emma Young
Why do people share fake news? All kinds of studies have looked into what encourages it, and which personal attributes play a role. As the authors of a new paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General point out, multiple studies have found that political conservatives are relatively more likely to disseminate false news than those on the political left. However, their new work finds that this is an over-simplification — that the link is “largely driven” by conservatives who are also low in conscientiousness. This is an important finding for a few reasons. On the upside, it’s a far less...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 8, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Media Personality Political Source Type: blogs
We Generally Prefer Political Allies Who Try To Understand Opponents ’ Views
By Emily Reynolds
We often hear that we’re living in an age of polarisation and divisiveness, unable to transcend political boundaries to listen to those who we disagree with. But how do we feel about those people who share our views but who seek to understand opponents anyway?
This is the subject of a new study in Psychological Science, authored by the University of British Columbia’s Gordon Heltzel and Kristin Laurin. They find that while we generally prefer those who seek alternative views, this falters when they appear to be susceptible to changing sides.
In the first study, 233 participants read abo...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - December 7, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Political Social Source Type: blogs
