Is this non-bed-sharing baby more or less likely to show emotional or behavioral symptoms? Photo: morrowlight/Shutterstock Bed sharing, in which parents sleep in the same bed with their infants, is a fairly common practice in North America and the United Kingdom. Parents who bed-share sometimes do so to facilitate breastfeeding, or because they believe it …
Continue reading Emotional and behavioral outcomes of bed-sharing with infants
Correlational and experimental research seems to converge on the conclusion that stress causes gray hair. Photo: Kunlathida6242/Shutterstock Can stress turn your hair gray? Here's a story on gray hair research, written by a New York Times science journalist. In our culture, we certainly believe that gray hair can be caused (in some cases at least) …
But how big will the next burrito bowl be? Generic burrito bowl photo: B Young/Shutterstock An important concept in both statistics and methods is variability. And this analysis conducted by Wells Fargo consultants does a nice job illustrating the concept of variability. They'd been seeing social media complaints about a popular restaurant chain wasn't always …
How did the researchers manipulate the IV in this study? Photo credit: mansong suttakarn/Shutterstock Cannabis is considered a performance-enhancing drug in the Olympic Games and other competitions, but it's also (stereotypically) associated with being too chill to work out. In the past, psychologists could not easily test the relationship of marijuana and exercise because the …
Photo: Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock A story in PsyPost was headlined with, Prenatal cannabinoid exposure appears to have a strange impact on early language development. You might have noticed that the verb phrase, "has a strange impact on" is a causal one. We are being asked to believe that prenatal exposure to cannabis causes something in children's …
Continue reading Really? Prenatal cannabis exposure and early language development
According to the report, the Court may have been misled by the quality and true findings of survey on the habits of gun owners. Photo: B Christopher/Alamy Stock Photo Polling research can play a critical role in shaping public opinion and public policy, so it's crucial that it be conducted well. Polling (survey) research is …
Continue reading When questionable survey methods reach the Supreme Court
Loneliness is associated with poorer health. Photo: JCVStock/Shutterstock Loneliness has been called an "epidemic" by the U.S. Surgeon General. People who report feeling lonely are also likely to suffer from poor physical health. In a recent international study on adults, researchers detected a curvilinear relationship between age and loneliness. The study was summarized by the …
Continue reading Loneliness and age: A curvilinear relationship
In one study, the more time kids spent outdoors, the less likely they were to develop myopia. Photo: Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock It's summertime--when kids head outdoors for beach time, pool parties, and picnics. Time spent outdoors is not only fun; it's also associated with lower rates of near-sightedness (myopia). A journalist from NPR covered this topic …
The study found lower mortality among patients of female physicians. Photo: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock Here's a large study that tested whether the life expectancies of Medicare patients differed, depending on whether their primary physician was a woman or a man. The website StudyFinds reports: The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, …
Continue reading Patients of female doctors live longer, research shows
The study found that children's brains were differently active when they read on screens vs. on paper. Dasha Trofimova/Shutterstock As a reader, you've certainly had experience reading text on both screens and on paper. You probably have a preference for one over the other. Have you ever wondered whether your brain reacts differently to these …
Continue reading Kids’ brains while reading: Screens vs. paper