Tag Psychology
Study: Can meditation sharpen our attention?
A new study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison suggests that people can train their minds to stay focused.
Monkeys get a groove on, but only to monkey music
Music is one of the surest ways to influence human emotions; most people unconsciously recognize and respond to music that is happy, sad, fearful or mellow. But psychologists who have tried to trace the evolutionary roots of these responses usually hit a dead end. Nonhuman primates scarcely respond to human music, and instead prefer silence.
Researchers cite President’s role in reducing racism
President Obama spurred a dramatic change in the way whites think about African-Americans before he had even set foot in the Oval Office, according to a new study.
Early childhood stress has lingering effects on health
Stressful experiences in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on kids' health that persist well beyond the resolution of the situation.
Expectant brains help predict anxiety treatment success
A network of emotion-regulating brain regions implicated in the pathological worry that can grip patients with anxiety disorders may also be useful for predicting the benefits of treatment.
Professor spends 25 years making ‘prejudice puzzle’
In the 1980s, when equal rights were becoming a cultural norm in America, many psychology researchers encountered people who would respond in interviews that they were not prejudiced, yet their actions would still reflect a bias. The pessimists in the field would conclude that they simply were lying. But UW–Madison psychology professor Patricia Devine saw things differently.
Curiosities: Why do people like to scare themselves by watching horror movies or going on thrill rides?
First of all, it’s important to remember that many people don’t enjoy these experiences, said Jack Nitschke, a UW–Madison professor of psychiatry and psychology.
Can love change your mind? New project explores neuroscience of ‘positive qualities’
What is happening in the minds of people who have developed a greater capacity for forgiveness and compassion? Can a quality like love — whether it’s shown toward a family member or a friend — be neurologically measured in the brain? A new research project at UW–Madison offers the opportunity to apply hard science to these seemingly ethereal questions.
Study: No gender differences in math performance
A team of scientists says that there aren't gender differences in math performance any longer.
Study uncovers how Ritalin works in brain to boost cognition, focus attention
In a paper publishing online this week in Biological Psychiatry, UW–Madison psychology researchers report that Ritalin fine-tunes the functioning of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region involved in attention, decision-making and impulse control - while having few effects outside it.
Sweeping analysis of research reinforces media influence on women’s body image
As France's parliament considers a landmark bill that would outlaw media images glamorizing the extremely thin, psychology researchers are reporting some of the most definitive findings yet on how these images affect women.
Study shows compassion meditation changes the brain
Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples' mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The Wisconsin Experience: Psychology gets undergraduate research down to science
Choices, choices. In every undergraduate major, a time comes around a student’s junior year to explore different academic specialties within a degree program, moving up the pyramid from general education to refined focus.
Professor to be featured on ABC’s 20/20 tonight, Jan. 11
Richard Davidson, the Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, will be featured on ABC’s 20/20 program tonight, Jan. 11, 2008.
Clinical depression linked to abnormal emotional brain circuits
In what may be the first study to use brain imaging to look at the neural circuits involved in emotional control in patients with depression, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have found that brains of people with clinical depression react very differently than those of healthy people when trying to cope with negative situations.
Study: Negative views of grief counseling are not substantiated by research
A new report finds that, despite frequent claims to the contrary, there is no empirical or statistical evidence to suggest that grief counseling is harmful to clients, or that clients who are "normally" bereaved are at special risk if they receive grief counseling, according to a new look at the scientific literature on grief counseling.
Brain scans show meditation changes minds, increases attention
For hundreds of years, Tibetan monks and other religious people have used meditation to calm the mind and improve concentration. This week, a new study shows exactly how one common type of meditation affects the brain.