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Reports on the latest psychology research plus psych gossip and comment. Brought to you by the British Psychological Society.
BPS Research Digest
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- May 23, 2013
- 04:37 AM
- 25 views
The mindbus technique for resisting chocolate - should we climb aboard?
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Imagine you are the driver & your chocolate cravings are unruly passengers
If someone gave you a bag of 14 chocolates to carry around for five days, would you be able to resist eating them and any other chocolate? That was challenge faced by 135 undergrads in a new study that compared the effectiveness of two different "mindfulness" resistance techniques.
To help them, Kim Jenkins and Katy Tapper taught 45 of their participants "cognitive diffusion", the essence being that "you are not y........ Read more »
Jenkins, K., & Tapper, K. (2013) Resisting chocolate temptation using a brief mindfulness strategy. British Journal of Health Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12050
- May 21, 2013
- 04:15 AM
- 45 views
Scanning a brain that believes it is dead
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
What is going on in the brain of someone who has the deluded belief that they are brain dead? A team of researchers led by neuropsychologist Vanessa Charland-Varville at CHU Sart-Tilman Hospital and the University of Liege has attempted to find out by scanning the brain of a depressed patient who held this very belief.
The researchers used a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner, which is the first time this scanning technology has been used on a patient with this kind of delusion -........ Read more »
Charland-Verville, V., Bruno, M., Bahri, M., Demertzi, A., Desseilles, M., Chatelle, C., Vanhaudenhuyse, A., Hustinx, R., Bernard, C., Tshibanda, L.... (2013) Brain dead yet mind alive: A positron emission tomography case study of brain metabolism in Cotard's syndrome. Cortex. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2013.03.003
- May 20, 2013
- 04:13 AM
- 30 views
Stand by me: Close friendships counteract genetic vulnerability to depression in girls, but not boys
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Publication of US psychiatry's updated diagnostic code has provoked renewed debate in recent weeks over the extent to which mental illness ought to be framed as a psychosocial or a biological problem. The answer of course is that it is both. A new Canadian study captures this interplay, showing how close friendships mitigate the risk for girls whose genes mean they are more vulnerable than average to depression.
Mara Brendgen and her colleagues studied 294 pairs of twins aged ten years old (1........ Read more »
Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Bukowski, W., Dionne, G., Tremblay, R., & Boivin, M. (2013) Can friends protect genetically vulnerable children from depression?. Development and Psychopathology, 25(02), 277-289. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579412001058
- May 16, 2013
- 03:45 AM
- 37 views
Experienced job interviewers are no better at spotting lying candidates
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
For the penultimate round of the TV show The Apprentice, the competing entrepreneurs must face a series of interviews with a crack team of hardened executives. The implicit, believable message is that these veterans have seen all the interview tricks in the book and will spot any blaggers a mile off. However, a new study provides the reality TV show with a reality check. A team led by Marc-André Reinhard report that experienced job interviewers are in fact no better than novice interviewers a........ Read more »
Reinhard, M., Scharmach, M., & Müller, P. (2013) It's not what you are, it's what you know: experience, beliefs, and the detection of deception in employment interviews. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(3), 467-479. DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2013.01011.x
- May 14, 2013
- 04:13 AM
- 50 views
Engaging lecturers can breed overconfidence
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Can fluent presenters makelearning feel too easy?
Eloquent and engaging scientific communicators in the mould of physicist Brian Cox make learning seem fun and easy. So much so that a new study says they risk breeding overconfidence. When a presenter is seen to handle complicated information effortlessly, students sense wrongly that they too have acquired a firm grasp of the material.
Shana Carpenter and her colleagues showed 42 students a one-minute video of a science lecture about calico ........ Read more »
Carpenter, S., Wilford, M., Kornell, N., & Mullaney, K. (2013) Appearances can be deceiving: instructor fluency increases perceptions of learning without increasing actual learning. Psychonomic Bulletin . DOI: 10.3758/s13423-013-0442-z
- May 13, 2013
- 04:10 AM
- 47 views
Occupational hazard - links between professions and suicide risk have changed over time
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Suicide rates have fallen among farmers
Among the various risk factors for suicide, psychologists have recognised for some time that a person's occupation plays an important part. Suicide rates have tended to be unusually high in professions that provide ready access to guns, drugs, or open water, such as in farming, medicine, dentistry and maritime careers.
A new analysis has examined whether this still holds true. Stephen Roberts and his colleagues accessed the UK suicide rates for dozens ........ Read more »
Roberts, S., Jaremin, B., & Lloyd, K. (2012) High-risk occupations for suicide. Psychological Medicine, 43(06), 1231-1240. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291712002024
- May 9, 2013
- 07:40 AM
- 18 views
Children aren't scared by nasty dentist visits, but by what they think of them
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
The Greek Stoic Epictetus wrote that "Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them." A new study involving 185 children and teenagers, 88 fathers and 97 mothers shows how this same principle applies to children's fear of the dentist. This is an important topic because many children avoid the dentist out of fear, and around half of dentally anxious adults trace their fears to childhood.
Antonio Crego and his colleagues assessed the children's fear of the dentist, an........ Read more »
Crego, A., Carrillo-Diaz, M., Armfield, J., & Romero, M. (2013) Applying the Cognitive Vulnerability Model to the analysis of cognitive and family influences on children's dental fear. European Journal of Oral Sciences. DOI: 10.1111/eos.12041
- May 8, 2013
- 04:16 AM
- 45 views
"It's about accepting that you're mortal" - Extreme sports enthusiasts on overcoming fear
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
In a safety-obsessed culture, why do some people throw caution to the wind and pursue sports where a wrong move often means instant death? Clues come from a series of interviews conducted with a group of 15 extreme sport participants (aged 30 to 70; 10 men) about their relationship with fear, including BASE jumpers (who launch themselves off high buildings), big wave surfers and waterfall kayakers.
Eric Brymer and Robert Schweitzer transcribed the interviews and looked for emerging themes. Co........ Read more »
Brymer, E., & Schweitzer, R. (2012) Extreme sports are good for your health: A phenomenological understanding of fear and anxiety in extreme sport. Journal of Health Psychology, 18(4), 477-487. DOI: 10.1177/1359105312446770
- May 2, 2013
- 04:28 AM
- 190 views
Greater use of "I" and "me" as a mark of interpersonal distress
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
We each vary in how much we use first-person singular pronouns (I, Me, Myself) in our speech and writing, and how much we use first-person plural pronouns (We, Us, Ourselves). Researchers say it's a kind of habit and not something we usually have much control over. Now a study conducted in Germany claims that people who are more prolific users of "I" and "Me" tend to have more interpersonal problems and to experience more depression. "Using first-person singular pronouns highlights the self as........ Read more »
Zimmermann, J., Wolf, M., Bock, A., Peham, D., & Benecke, C. (2013) The way we refer to ourselves reflects how we relate to others: Associations between first-person pronoun use and interpersonal problems. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(3), 218-225. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2013.01.008
- April 30, 2013
- 09:48 AM
- 42 views
Toddlers are afraid of falling but not of heights
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
When we adults are confronted by a bridge, we're concerned not just by its width and sturdiness, but also by the height of the drop beneath. If there's a deep canyon, we'd usually rather the bridge was mighty strong and wide. If there's but a short drop, we'll happily jaunt along the narrowest, flimsiest of crossings - after all, it won't matter much if we fall.
Infants - those aged 11 to 14 months - are different. They don't want to fall, so they're wary of narrow bridges. But the height of ........ Read more »
Kretch, K., & Adolph, K. (2013) No bridge too high: Infants decide whether to cross based on the probability of falling not the severity of the potential fall. Developmental Science, 16(3), 336-351. DOI: 10.1111/desc.12045
- April 29, 2013
- 03:51 AM
- 71 views
"Wish you were here!" - how a postcard can help attract the best talent
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
In 2004, in Silicon Valley, Google posted a huge billboard ad featuring a mathematical problem. The answer led to a web address with yet another puzzle to crack. People who successfully followed this intellectual treasure hunt ended up being invited in for a job interview.
This is an extreme example of a recruitment principle spelled out in a new article by psychologists in Belgium. They say that distinctive recruitment procedures are the secret to attracting more and better job applica........ Read more »
Cromheecke, S., Van Hoye, G., & Lievens, F. (2013) Changing things up in recruitment: Effects of a ‘strange’ recruitment medium on applicant pool quantity and quality. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/joop.12018
- April 25, 2013
- 04:37 AM
- 105 views
Atheists as stressed as believers when daring God to do bad things
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Why are most people in the world religious? Some say it is because we're naturally predisposed to believe in a god or gods and that religion brought evolutionary advantages to our ancestors. But if that's the case, how come there are over half a billion atheists in the world? One theory is that atheists consciously suppress their instincts for religion, with only varying degrees of success. A new study provides tentative support for this idea. Marjaana Lindeman and her colleagues report t........ Read more »
Lindeman, M., Heywood, B., Riekki, T., & Makkonen, T. (2013) Atheists become emotionally aroused when daring God to do terrible things. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2013.771991
- April 23, 2013
- 04:22 AM
- 106 views
What is cognitive behavioural therapy like for a teenager?
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Most research into CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) for teenagers has focused on whether it works or not, with largely positive results. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to finding out what it is actually like for a teenager to undertake CBT.
Deanna Donnellan and her colleagues have made an initial effort to plug this gap, conducting in-depth interviews with three teenage girls who'd completed a course of individual CBT, asking them about their perception of the therapy and what........ Read more »
Donnellan, D., Murray, C., & Harrison, J. (2012) An investigation into adolescents' experience of cognitive behavioural therapy within a child and adolescent mental health service. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18(2), 199-213. DOI: 10.1177/1359104512447032
- April 22, 2013
- 06:37 AM
- 73 views
Students motivated by wealth are just as likely as others to help in an emergency
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Bankers, investors, stock market traders and their ilk have been vilified in recent years, in large part because the global financial crisis has been blamed on their allegedly unchecked selfishness and greed.
In fact, there's a widespread implicit belief that a love of money goes hand in hand with selfishness. A study published in 2008 backed this up - people with a greater love of money tended to report being more selfish at work.
A new study with business students at Loyola University ch........ Read more »
Babula, M. (2013) The unlikely Samaritans. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(4), 899-908. DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12055
- April 18, 2013
- 04:16 AM
- 88 views
Exploiting children's social instincts to boost their learning
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Young children's instinct for group membership can be exploited to boost their learning performance. That's according to a new study that recalls classic social psychology research conducted in the 1970s. Back then Henri Tajfel showed a darker side to this group mentality. In his "minimal group" studies, schoolboys were divided into two groups based merely on their preference for one of two artists. The arbitrary groups thus formed, the boys showed immediate bias against peers not in thei........ Read more »
Master, A., & Walton, G. (2013) Minimal Groups Increase Young Children's Motivation and Learning on Group-Relevant Tasks. Child Development, 84(2), 737-751. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01867.x
- April 17, 2013
- 04:38 AM
- 71 views
Female political role models have an empowering effect on women
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Psychologically empowering to women?
The late Margaret Thatcher - Britain's first and, so far, only female Prime Minister - is criticised for failing to do more to help other women get ahead in politics. Supporters argue, however, that the example she set will, on its own, have been of profound benefit to women with leadership ambitions. A new study puts this principle to the test, examining the effect on women of reminders about the contemporary female political high-flyers Angela ........ Read more »
Latu, I., Mast, M., Lammers, J., & Bombari, D. (2013) Successful female leaders empower women's behavior in leadership tasks. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(3), 444-448. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2013.01.003
- April 15, 2013
- 05:44 AM
- 75 views
Anxiously attached people are ace at poker and lie detection
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
People who worry habitually about separation and abandonment - the "anxiously attached" - tend to be highly skilled at lie detection, an attribute that means they excel at poker. That's according to Tsachi Ein-Dor and Adi Perry whose new findings build on their theory that anxiously attached people are natural sentinels - highly sensitive to threats in the environment, including, this new research suggests, social threats.
Across a pair of initial studies, dozens of men and women an........ Read more »
Ein-Dor T, & Perry A. (2013) Full House of Fears: Evidence that People High in Attachment Anxiety are More Accurate in Detecting Deceit. Journal of personality. PMID: 23437786
- April 8, 2013
- 04:31 AM
- 109 views
Nine-month-olds prefer looking at unattractive (read: normal) male bodies
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
When faces were hidden or schematic, 9-month-olds preferred looking at the "unattractive" male bodies
Out-of-shape new dads around the world take heart - your little munchkin thinks your fuller figure is nicer to look at than the ripped, six-pack-boasting torsos so often seen in magazines and after-shave adverts.
Michelle Delaney at the University of Sheffield and her colleagues presented dozens of babies with pictures of pairs of Caucasian male bodies wearing only underwear: one w........ Read more »
Heron-Delaney, M., Quinn, P., Lee, K., Slater, A., & Pascalis, O. (2013) Nine-month-old infants prefer unattractive bodies over attractive bodies. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(1), 30-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.12.008
- April 4, 2013
- 04:44 AM
- 109 views
Investigating the love lives of the men and women who have no sense of smell
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Around 1 in 7,500 otherwise healthy people are born with no sense of smell, a condition known as isolated congenital anosmia (ICA). So dominant are sight and hearing to our lives, you might think this lack of smell would be fairly inconsequential. In fact, a study of individuals with ICA published last year showed just how important smell is to humans. Compared with controls, the people with ICA were more insecure in their relationships, more prone to depression and to household accidents........ Read more »
Croy, I., Bojanowski, V., & Hummel, T. (2013) Men without a sense of smell exhibit a strongly reduced number of sexual relationships, women exhibit reduced partnership security – A reanalysis of previously published data. Biological Psychology, 92(2), 292-294. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.11.008
- April 2, 2013
- 04:26 AM
- 138 views
How children learn scientific thinking from their parents
by Christian Jarrett in BPS Research Digest
Researchers in California have uncovered preliminary evidence for the way children acquire scientific "habits of thought" from their parents. Megan Luce and her colleagues recruited 35 parent-child pairs of various ethnic backgrounds (22 girls, 13 boy; 16 fathers, 19 mothers) at a children's museum, and videoed them as they read through a book designed to encourage discussion about scientific, social and moral issues - including global warming, gender differences, the planetary status of ........ Read more »
Luce, M., Callanan, M., & Smilovic, S. (2013) Links between parents' epistemological stance and children's evidence talk. Developmental Psychology, 49(3), 454-461. DOI: 10.1037/a0031249
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