The study investigated two types of behaviors and two types of liking. Photo credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock Can psychological science make you more popular? That's what a journalist from Forbes claims in an article, "A science-backed way to up your popularity and friendship." Let's see what the journalist is claiming and see if we buy the evidence. …
Continue reading What behaviors make you popular? What behaviors make you likable?
Cultural practices around both snacks and gift-giving were proposed as one of the mechanisms behind this study's results. Photo credit: Prostock-studio/Shutterstock In a recent study, researcher Yuko Munakata tested the self-regulation and self-control abilities of children in two cultures: The U.S. and Japan. She published the research in the empirical journal Psychological Science, but also …
To measure creativity in the study, participants came up with creative uses for a brick. Photo: levkro/Deposit photos A lot of people believe that using marijuana can make them more creative--some artists use it specifically when they are composing songs, painting, or creating new work. A recent study experimentally tested this idea. The study provides …
The study found a correlation between gendered racism and symptoms of depression among Black college women. Photo: Deposit Photos This post is about a study on intersectionality--a combination of race and gender--in the lives of Black women in college. The empirical study appeared in the Journal of American College Health, and a journalist from PsyPost …
Continue reading Gendered racism (intersectionality) and psychological distress
Researchers are expected to reduce the number of animals used, refine procedures to reduce pain and suffering, and replace animals with computer or cell models. What about repayment of animal subjects? Photo credit: Aleksei Gorodenkov/Alamy Stock Photo As you read in Chapter 4, the use of animals in research studies is well-regulated around the world. …
Based on how many UD articles these students are wearing, can you predict whether their team won or lost last weekend? Christopher Ginn/University of Delaware Here's a newspaper feature on how people's moods and self-esteem fluctuate with the performance of their favorite sports teams. A variety of studies were covered by a journalist for the …
Photo credit: marcoscastillo/Deposit photos Here's another article from the content farm website, StudyFinds. This one's on the personality correlates of liking spicy foods, and it includes a combination of frequency and association claims. The same poll was also covered by the NYPost and by Yahoo! News (with a video) Below I will post a series of …
Continue reading Personality correlates of liking spicy foods
Which doctors do you think will be more likely to be addressed by their first name: Doctors who are men or those who are women?HPhoto credit: sbartsmediagmail.com/DepositPhotos How do you address your physician? Do you refer to them as "Dr. X", or do you use their first name? Physicians may feel awkward when their patients …
Can the study support a causal claim that a vegetarian diet leads to depression? Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock A journalist for the foodie magazine Bon Appetit reported on an empirical article that found a correlation between type of diet and level of depression: A new study found that people who excluded meat from their diets had twice …
In one study, department store workers ate more unhealthy foods when they were working more demanding shifts. Is such a study likely to bean experiment, a quasi-experiment, or a correlational study?Credit: 22January/Shutterstock A Washington Post journalist integrated several health psychology studies in an article about the relationships between stress and eating. For many people, stress …
Continue reading Stress and food: experimental and quasi-experimental evidence