New Book on Bullying and School Violence – A Positive Approach That Works

June 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Bullying, violence, and general meanness is mitigated by true stories that make
frequent use of a timeless four-letter-word.
HOWELL, Mich.–(Business Wire)–
A new book is promoting the use of a popular four-letter-word to stop the
bullying and violence in schools and families. The word is “love”.
TrueBucketfilling Stories: Legacies of Love by Stacey A. Lundgren, has already
earned all five-star reviews on Amazon including thumbs-up ratings from
psychologists, school principals, and parents.

After teaching thousands of students in hundreds of schools, Lundgren knows that
replacing `do not bully` with `do love` is more effective. As the mother of five
children, she knows that children do as we do, not as we say. They need
examples. “The purpose of the book”, she says, “is to tell true stories of real
people who chose to be kind and the positive, even miraculous things that
happened because of those choices.”

http://www.staceylundgren.com

Lundgren herself has been touched by some of life`s toughest challenges:
divorce, abandonment, suicide, child molestation and physical abuse, and spousal
abuse. These issues cause pain. Children who bully act out negatively because
they are angry. Instead of saying “Stop it!” give them positive, believable
examples they can follow. “The key”, says Lundgren “is teaching empathy to
children while they are young.”

“Ordinary people are the real heroes in this world. Children deserve to know
them. Give a child someone positive and loving to look up to! It should be
someone they can personally see, hear, and hug, instead of an
impossible-to-emulate, fictional super-hero or sports figure that could morally
crash and burn at any moment. Give them the characters in these stories for a
starter. But best of all, give them you,” says Lundgren, co-owner and lead
presenter of a successful Michigan-based character education company.

http://www.bucketfillersforlife.com

The programs are based on the 40+-year-old metaphor of the bucket and the dipper
created by Dr. Donald O. Clifton: When our “bucket” is full, we are having
positive emotions-happiness, gratitude, etc. When they are empty, we might be
feeling sad, angry or envious. A bucket filler is a person who is caring,
respectful and loving. A bucket dipper is the opposite. Bullying is bucket
dipping.

True Bucketfilling Stories: Legacies of Love is experiencing brisk sales since
its recent release date of February 22, 2010. One reviewer, psychologist Dr.
Jeffrey Betman, wrote “This is a great teaching book…I was brought to tears a
few times…read (this book) for inspiration and as a reminder about the majesty
of the human spirit.” And from elementary school principal Melissa Heller, “This
is one of the best teaching tools I`ve seen.” The book also received an
enthusiastic endorsement by Michigan`s 2009/2010 Teacher of the Year and 2010
finalist for National Teacher of the Year, Robert L. Stephenson.

It is available on Amazon, at all book stores, and through the publisher.

True Bucketfilling Stories: Legacies of Love (ISBN: 978-0-9843366-0-9)
by Stacey A. Lundgren
Peace Mountain Publishing, Inc.
126 pages
Ages 8 to adult
SRP $12.95

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6315444〈=en

Peace Mountain Publishing, Inc.
Media Contact
Laura Michaels 517-376-3090
info@peacemountainpublishing.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Russian tourists killed in Turkish coach crash

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A coach carrying Russian tourists plunged off an overpass near Turkey’s southern resort of Antalya on Tuesday, killing 16 people and injuring dozens more, the region’s deputy governor told Anatolian news agency.

Television pictures showed the wrecked coach lying on its roof after careering off the road and falling some 15 metres to a river bank below.

The early morning crash killed the Turkish driver and tour guide, while the remaining fatalities were Russian tourists who had been heading to Pamukkale in south west Turkey.

Antalya Deputy Governor Mehmet Seyman told state-run Anatolian agency 25 tourists were injured.

Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast, is one of Turkey’s most popular tourist destinations, and visited every year by hundreds of thousands of mainly German, Russian and British tourists.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to the families of the dead, the Kremlin said, and ordered Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika to send investigators to Antalya to join Turkish colleagues in examining the causes of the crash.

Russian news agencies said the Emergencies Ministry would send an airplane to Turkey on Tuesday with doctors, psychologists and equipment to transport the seriously injured.

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Cats, dogs, parrots and even fish are right or left-handed

April 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, April 29 (ANI): Cats, dogs, parrots and even fish are right or left-handed, according to new Canadian research.

According to a report in the New Scientist, Queen”s University psychologists played with 42 pet cats for several weeks to come up with their conclusion.

“Male and female cats differ in their behavioural patterns, for example hunting styles and parental care, and it is possible that these place different demands on motor functioning,” the Telegraph quoted The researchers, as saying.

It was seen that female cats were more likely to be “right-handed” while toms favoured their left paw.

Dogs have the same preferences.

Parrots also have a dominant foot to pick up food and other objects with while toads are usually right-handed.

The researchers also point out that fish tend to veer to one side more consistently to the other when they are dodging predators. (ANI)

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Volcanic ash cover can uncork the artist in you

April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 24(ANI): People stranded across Europe due to volcanic ash can harness their creativity in their idle time, according to an expert.

R. Keith Sawyer, PhD, an associate professor of psychology, both in Arts and Sciences at Washington University, insists idle time is needed to become more creative in personal and professional lives.

He said: “Idle time allows people to think of their problems in new ways. People talk about the ”aha” moment emerging when you are doing something else.

“Creative people work hard but they also work smart. There is a certain way they structure their work habits. They structure their day so they alternate between hard work and time off. Researchers call it idle time.”

He further explained: “No one is born highly creative. Psychologists studying creativity have discovered that it is based on cognitive processes we all share. Creativity is not the result of some magic brain region that some people have and others don”t. You have to work hard to be a more creative person. You have to be diligent.”

Sawyer, author of ‘Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation’, emphasized that creative people have a knack of doing multiple projects.

He said: “When they are working on one thing and they get stuck, they shift to another project. That creates potential for unexpected connections between the projects.

“They might read a book, play a board game or take a walk. These are times where distant analogies can happen — meaning something on the board game might provide an idea regarding the current project. Something in a book might connect two ideas together. A walk might allow for viewing of new concepts.

“Many people don”t take their vacation and they end up rolling over all of their off time. If I were a senior manager, I would make everyone take all of their vacation time. Time away from work is essential for recharging the batteries, so to speak, and to help people think more creatively on the job. People need freedom in their schedule for idle time.” (ANI)

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Therapy benefits even when it comes to very distressed married couples

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 20 (ANI): Therapy can help even very distressed married couples if both partners want to improve their marriage, says a new study.

The study, conducted by Andrew Christensen, a UCLA professor of psychology and lead author of the study, included 134 married couples, 71 in Los Angeles and 63 in Seattle. Most were in their 30s and 40s, and slightly more than half had children.

The couples were ”chronically, seriously distressed” and fought frequently, but they were hoping to improve their marriages.

“We didn”t want couples who would get better on their own. We wanted couples who were consistently unhappy. We excluded almost 100 couples who wanted couple therapy but who did not meet our criteria of consistent and serious distress,” Christensen said.

The couples received up to 26 therapy sessions within a year. Psychologists conducted follow-up sessions approximately every six months for five years after therapy ended.

The couples all participated in one of two kinds of therapy. The first, traditional behavioural couple therapy, focuses on making positive changes, including learning better ways of communicating, especially about problems, and better ways of working toward solutions.

The second, integrative behavioural couple therapy, uses similar strategies but focuses more on the emotional reactions and not just the actions that led to the emotional reactions. In this approach, couples work at understanding their spouse”s emotional sensitivities.

Christensen uses the integrative therapy, the second approach, which he described in his 2000 book ”Reconcilable Differences”. The couples who used this approach read the book as part of their treatment, while the couples in the traditional therapy group read a different self-help book.

When the therapy sessions were over, about two-thirds of the couples overall had shown significant clinical improvement.

“Given this population, that”s a good figure. If couples do not improve in 26 sessions, that is a bad sign. This is not psychoanalysis,” said Christensen.

The integrative therapy approach was significantly more effective than traditional therapy over the first two years of follow-up. The difference between the treatments, however, was not dramatic and did not last as the years went on.

Five years after treatment ended, about half the couples were significantly improved from where they were at the start of treatment, about a quarter were separated or divorced, and about a quarter were unchanged.

At that five-year mark, about a third of the couples were “normal, happy couples,” said Christensen.

For another 16 percent, their marriage was significantly improved and was tolerable, if not very happy.

“They”re clearly better and their marriages might last. We know from many studies that couple therapy can be beneficial to couples, although it certainly does not help all couples. We also know distressed couples tend not to get better on their own,” Christensen said.

For therapy to work, both partners have to be strongly committed to saving the marriage, and both need to be willing to do their share to work at the relationship and not just blame the other, Christensen said.

The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological Association.

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Our brains can’t handle too much love interest

April 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to choosing romantic partners, the more potential mates a person meets, the more his or her decision is influenced, concludes a new study.

In particular, when people have a large number of potential dating partners to select among, they respond by paying attention to different types of characteristics – discarding attributes such as education, smoking status, and occupation in favour of physical characteristics such as height and weight.

A number of studies in recent years have looked at what happens to humans when faced with extensive choice – too many kinds of chocolate, or too many detergents to choose from at the grocery store.

Under such circumstances, consumer psychologists believe that the brain may become “overwhelmed,” potentially leading to poorer quality choice or choice deferral.

Psychological scientist Alison Lenton, of the University of Edinburgh, and economist Marco Francesconi, of the University of Essex, wanted to know if the same was true of mate choice.

“Is having too many mate options really like having too many jams?” they asked.

To find out how people respond to relatively limited versus extensive mate choice, the researchers analysed data from 84 speed dating events, which is where people meet with a series of potential dates for three minutes each. Afterward, the men and women report their choices (a “yes” or “no” for each person).

It should surprise no one that choosers generally preferred people who were taller, younger, and well educated.

Women also preferred partners who weren’t too skinny, and men preferred women who weren’t overweight. Beyond that, though, the attributes that speed daters paid attention to depended on how many opposite-sex speed daters attended the event.

At bigger speed dating events, with 24 or more dates, both male and female choosers were more likely to decide based on attributes that could be judged quickly, such as their dates” height, and whether they were underweight, normal weight, or overweight.

At smaller events, choosers were more likely to make decisions based on attributes that take longer to identify and evaluate, such as their dates” level of education, their type of job, and whether or not the person smokes.

“Obviously, I think we look for different attributes in partners than what we look for in a chocolate, a jam or a 401(k) plan. But one of the points we’re trying to make in this article is it’s the same brain we’re carrying around. There are constraints on what our brains can do – they’re quite powerful, but they can’t pay attention to everything at once,” said Lenton.

And if the brain is faced with abundant choice, even about who to go out with, it may make decisions based on what it can evaluate most quickly.

Thus, this previously invisible aspect of the choice environment has the potential to determine one’s romantic fate.

The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

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Our brains can’t handle too much love interest

April 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 16 (ANI): When it comes to choosing romantic partners, the more potential mates a person meets, the more his or her decision is influenced, concludes a new study.

In particular, when people have a large number of potential dating partners to select among, they respond by paying attention to different types of characteristics – discarding attributes such as education, smoking status, and occupation in favour of physical characteristics such as height and weight.

A number of studies in recent years have looked at what happens to humans when faced with extensive choice – too many kinds of chocolate, or too many detergents to choose from at the grocery store.

Under such circumstances, consumer psychologists believe that the brain may become “overwhelmed,” potentially leading to poorer quality choice or choice deferral.

Psychological scientist Alison Lenton, of the University of Edinburgh, and economist Marco Francesconi, of the University of Essex, wanted to know if the same was true of mate choice.

“Is having too many mate options really like having too many jams?” they asked.

To find out how people respond to relatively limited versus extensive mate choice, the researchers analysed data from 84 speed dating events, which is where people meet with a series of potential dates for three minutes each. Afterward, the men and women report their choices (a “yes” or “no” for each person).

It should surprise no one that choosers generally preferred people who were taller, younger, and well educated.

Women also preferred partners who weren”t too skinny, and men preferred women who weren”t overweight. Beyond that, though, the attributes that speed daters paid attention to depended on how many opposite-sex speed daters attended the event.

At bigger speed dating events, with 24 or more dates, both male and female choosers were more likely to decide based on attributes that could be judged quickly, such as their dates” height, and whether they were underweight, normal weight, or overweight.

At smaller events, choosers were more likely to make decisions based on attributes that take longer to identify and evaluate, such as their dates” level of education, their type of job, and whether or not the person smokes.

“Obviously, I think we look for different attributes in partners than what we look for in a chocolate, a jam or a 401(k) plan. But one of the points we”re trying to make in this article is it”s the same brain we”re carrying around. There are constraints on what our brains can do – they”re quite powerful, but they can”t pay attention to everything at once,” said Lenton.

And if the brain is faced with abundant choice, even about who to go out with, it may make decisions based on what it can evaluate most quickly.

Thus, this previously invisible aspect of the choice environment has the potential to determine one”s romantic fate.

The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. (ANI)

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Vatican distances itself from prelate’s gay remarks

April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Vatican has distanced itself from remarks by a top prelate who stirred anger in the gay community by blaming homosexual priests for the child sex abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone says it is homosexuality, not celibacy, that is to blame for the child abuse in the Church.

“Many psychologists and psychiatrists have shown that there is no link between celibacy and paedophilia, but many others have shown, and I’ve been told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia,” he said.

“That is the truth. I read it in a document written by psychologists, so that is the problem.”

Cardinal Bertone continued, telling reporters that child sex abuse was widespread in society. But this did not excuse it in the Church, he said.

“Keep in mind the most important thing is that this pathological illness is a pathological illness that can affect all types of people, with a smaller percentage amongst priests,” he said.

“However, the behaviour of these priests in this respect is very negative behaviour, very serious and shocking.”

The Vatican later distanced itself from the remarks, saying “psychological or medical” assertions are not in the remit of Church officials.

“Church authorities do not deem it part of their responsibility to make general assertions of a specifically psychological or medical nature,” the Vatican said in a statement.

But Cardinal Bertone’s comments have brought condemnation from gay activists, doctors and politicians.

Rolando Jimenez, the president of the Movement for the Integration and Freedom of Homosexuals, says Cardinal Bertone has tried to shift the blame for child sex in the Church to gay priests.

“In much the same way as the Catholic Church had to apologise for the crimes of the Inquisition, or present their apologies – mild, but apologies nonetheless – for their role in the Jewish Holocaust, I have no doubt that in the medium or long term the Catholic Church hierarchy will at some point have to apologise for this perversion, for the sinister attitude of this Vatican gentleman,” he said.

“We believe that there is no element, we are certain that there is no relationship between paedophilia and homosexuality.”

Doctors have also disputed the link, and so has a Chilean senator who has helped draft child protection laws.

In a report by the AFP news service, Senator Patricio Walker says: “I would like to see the scientific studies he said he has because I don’t share his evaluation.”

Senator Walker says he has the impression that Cardinal Bertone is wrong on that point.

The Vatican’s secretary of state is not the only one whose comments have not helped defuse the child sex scandals.

The Pope’s personal preacher recently likened accusations against the pontiff to collective violence against Jews.

Father Raniero Cantalamessa spoke in a Good Friday sermon at St Peter’s Basilica. The Pope was watching on.

Jewish leaders as well as some senior members of the Catholic Church found Father Cantalamessa’s comment insulting.

Containment

Senior figures in the Catholic Church have been trying to contain the child sex scandals, some of the worst to hit the Church in years.

There have been claims of child sex abuse by priests in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United States, as well as in Australia.

The Vatican has dismissed reports of a church cover-up as exaggerations. Some victims hold the Pope himself responsible.

Pope Benedict has faced claims that he failed to take action against priests who were preying on children.

Before heading the Church he was a top morals enforcer and earlier the archbishop of Munich. Cardinal Bertone has defended Pope Benedict’s handling of the child sex claims.

“The Pope is willing to find the victims. We don’t want to silence this issue but we want this campaign to end,” he said.

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People make poor choices when armed with information

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 1 (ANI): People with complete information go for the instant reward, when given a choice between a quick payoff versus a longer-term benefit, U.S. researchers say.

The research from University of Texas at Austin psychologists has been published online in the journal Judgment and Decision Making.

“You”d think that with more information about your options, a person would make a better decision. Our study suggests the opposite,” says Associate Professor Bradley Love, who conducted the research with graduate student Ross Otto. “To fully appreciate a long-term option, you have to choose it repeatedly and begin to feel the benefits.”

As part of the study, 78 subjects were repeatedly given two options through a computer program that allowed them to accumulate points. For each choice, one option offered the subject more points. But choosing the other option could lead to more points further along in the experiment.

A small cash bonus was tied to the subjects” performance, providing an incentive to rack up more points during the 250 trial questions.

However, subjects who were given full and accurate information about what they would have to give up in the short term to rack up points in the long term, chose the quick payoff more than twice as often as those who were given false information or no information about the rewards they would be giving up.

In a real-life scenario, a student who stayed home to study and then learned he had missed a fun party would be less likely to study next time in a similar situation — even if that option provides more long-term benefits.

“Basically, people have to stay away from thinking about the short-term pains and gains or they are sunk and, objectively, will end up worse off,” says Love. (ANI)

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1 in 40 ”supertaskers” can drive well while talking on cell phone

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 29 (ANI): Very few people can multitask and drive well as they speak over their phones, a new research by University of Utah psychologists has revealed.

The study has shown that just 1 in 40 people can manage both quite well.

For the study, scientists analysed 200 participants. They found only 2.5 percent of the volunteers – called “supertaskers” by researchers – could talk on a cell phone while operating a driving simulator without noticeable impairment unlike 97.5 percent who couldn”t.

The study, conducted by psychologists Jason Watson and David Strayer, will appear in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

Watson said: “According to cognitive theory, these individuals ought not to exist.

“Yet, clearly they do, so we use the supertasker term as a convenient way to describe their exceptional multitasking ability. Given the number of individuals who routinely talk on the phone while driving, one would have hoped that there would be a greater percentage of supertaskers. And while we”d probably all like to think we are the exception to the rule, the odds are overwhelmingly against it. In fact, the odds of being a supertasker are about as good as your chances of flipping a coin and getting five heads in a row.”

The researchers assessed the performance of participants over a single task (simulated freeway driving), and again with a second demanding activity added (a cell phone conversation that involved memorizing words and solving math problems).

Performance was then measured in four areas-braking reaction time, following distance, memory, and math execution.

Results demonstrated that for the group, performance suffered across the board while driving and talking on a hands-free cell phone.

For those who were not supertaskers and who talked on a cell phone while driving the simulators, it took 20 percent longer to hit the brakes when needed and following distances increased 30 percent as the drivers failed to keep pace with simulated traffic while driving.

Memory performance declined 11 percent, and the ability to do math problems fell 3 percent.

However, when supertaskers talked while driving, they displayed no change in their normal braking times, following distances or math ability, and their memory abilities actually improved 3 percent.

Strayer said: “There is clearly something special about the supertaskers.

“Why can they do something that most of us cannot? Psychologists may need to rethink what they know about multitasking in light of this new evidence. We may learn from these very rare individuals that the multitasking regions of the brain are different and that there may be a genetic basis for this difference. That is very exciting. Stay tuned.” (ANI)

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‘On fire’ Torres will prove why he is called Europe”s deadliest finisher: Benitez

March 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar. 27 (ANI): Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is confident that striker Fernando Torres would prove over the last seven Premier League games exactly why he is called Europe”s deadliest finisher.

“Fernando is on fire. People will be talking about his frustration but I will be talking about his accuracy. He is doing really well and if he can keep on doing the same, we can win against anyone,” The Sun quoted Benitez, as saying.

Despite bagging five goals in a fortnight, Torres’ behaviour in last Sunday”s 2-1 loss at Old Trafford came under the spotlight.

The Spaniard headed his side in front but then angrily scuffed up the spot when United got a penalty and later earned a yellow card as his frustrations boiled over.

Still, Benitez, whose side host Sunderland tomorrow, has no fears about Torres losing his head and blowing his side”s desperate bid for a Champions League finishing spot.

“We played United, who are at the top of the table and there wasn”t a big difference,” Benitez said.

”In training he is fine. He is scoring goals and I think he can carry on like this until the end of the season no problems. He has no physical problems and he can score, while the team is stronger now, too,” he added.

The amateur psychologists were out in force when Torres missed a late chance to level against United, claiming he could have scored if he had been fully focused.

But Benitez sees it differently.

“He is a strong character and knows the only way to improve is to try again – and he will. He has enough confidence,” he said.

“Everyone knows Torres and Steven Gerrard are very dangerous and a threat to other teams. They”ll push very hard until the end and that”s a big boost for us as the other players will follow them,” he added. (ANI)

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Forum focuses on pain management

March 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A support group for people with chronic pain says there is just one pain specialist between the Tweed and Brisbane rivers.

The Australian Pain Management Association and the Chronic Pain Association are hosting a community forum on the issue on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

A spokeswoman says more than 100 people are expected to listen to medical professionals and share their experiences at the Gold Coast Entertainment Centre on Sunday.

An authority on pain says it is often a neglected area of medicine.

The director of pain centres at two Melbourne Hospitals, Dr Jane Trinca, says acute pain can become a debilitating, chronic disease.

She says Australia needs more pain specialists and more general practitioners with a deeper understanding of the issue.

“It’s been treated a little bit like a second class citizen by some people or by some systems and it is true that doctors are incredibly busy these days because there aren’t as many doctors to patients as there were in the good old days,” she said.

“The doctors certainly do have to prioritise and sometimes the pain aspect does get neglected.”

Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and psychologists from throughout Australia will attend the meeting.

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Doctor hacks 8 children to death in China

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A former doctor with a history of mental illness has hacked eight children to death with a machete and injured five others at a primary school in south-east China, state media reports.

The attacker was identified as Zheng Minsheng, a 41-year-old who had worked at a community clinic until June, Xinhua news agency quoted the local government in the city of Nanping as saying.

Zheng attacked the children at the entrance of the school as they arrived in the morning.

He was eventually restrained by passers-by and school security guards before police arrested him. No motive for the attack was given.

Three children died at the scene and five others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The five who survived were said to be in a stable condition, the report said, without giving any ages or other details.

The school in Fujian province, which has more than 2,000 students, was closed after the incident.

Classes were to resume on Wednesday and 20 psychologists had been assigned to help students and teachers, the deputy head of the municipal education bureau said.

- AFP

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New study shows some bullies are just the shy type

March 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, March 19 (ANI): People who suffer from social anxiety are usually characterized as shy, inhibitive and submissive. However, a new study suggests that there is a subset of socially anxious people who act out in aggressive, risky ways—and that their behaviour patterns are often misunderstood.

In the new study, psychologists Todd Kashdan and Patrick McKnight at George Mason University found evidence that a subset of adults diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder were prone to behaviours such as violence, substance abuse, unprotected sex and other risk-prone actions.

These actions caused positive experiences in the short-term, yet detracted from their quality of life in the longer-term.

“We often miss the underlying problems of people around us. Parents and teachers might think their kid is a bully, acts out and is a behaviour problem because they have a conduct disorder or antisocial tendencies,” Kashdan said.

“However, sometimes when we dive into the motive for their actions, we will find that they show extreme social anxiety and extreme fears of being judged. If social anxiety was the reason for their behaviour, this would suggest an entirely different intervention,” Kashdan added.

The researchers suggest that looking at the underlying cause of extreme behaviour can help us understand the way people interact within society.

“In the adult world, the same can be said for managers, co-workers, romantic partners and friends. It is easy to misunderstand why people are behaving the way we do and far too often we assume that the aggressive, impulsive behaviours are the problem. What we are finding is that for a large minority of people, social anxiety underlies the problem,” Kashdan said.

The researchers suggest that further studies of this subset group can help psychologists better understand and treat the behaviours.

The new research has been published in Current Directions in Psychological Science. (ANI)

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Women prefer ‘manly’ men when poor health is their country’s norm

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, March 17 (ANI): Women who live in countries where poor health is the norm prefer more masculine-looking men, a new research has found.

On the hand, women who live in healthier countries prefer more feminine-looking men, according to the study.

Psychologists say their research suggests that masculine men have the greatest appeal for women who live in areas where a strong genetic make-up is critical for survival.

“When women are choosing a mate, they”re weighing up two different things. On the one hand a really attractive, high genetic quality mate will give them very healthy offspring. On the other, there is getting “investment” from a mate – one who”ll be a good dad,” The Guardian quoted Lisa DeBruine, who led the study at Aberdeen University in the UK, as saying.

“Men who are really attractive tend to be able to pursue whatever mating strategy is best for them. They are more likely to prefer short-term relationships. More feminine men tend to be better providers,” she added.

The study of women in 30 countries showed that women were more likely to choose a masculine-looking partner if their country scored low on a health index based on World Health Organisation mortality figures.

On contrary, in countries where people have a longer lifespan, women favoured more feminine-looking men, even though they might not have the healthiest genes available.

DeBruine said: “Certain environmental factors shift the balance when a woman is choosing a mate, and health is one of those. If a woman lives in an environment where there are lots of pathogens and disease, they are more likely to trade off a good investment in favour of better health for their children. In places where health is less of an issue, women are not so willing to do that.”

The study has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (ANI)

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Being true to yourself guarantees a healthy romantic relationship

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 16 (ANI): For better romantic relationships, be true to yourself, that’s the suggestion of a new study.

The study examined how dating relationships were affected by the ability of people to see themselves clearly and objectively, act in ways consistent with their beliefs, and interact honestly and truthfully with others.

In other words, the ability to follow the words of William Shakespeare: “to thine own self be true,” said Amy Brunell, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University’s Newark campus.

Findings showed that college students who reported being more true to themselves also reported more positive dating relationships.

“If you’re true to yourself, it is easier to act in ways that build intimacy in relationships, and that’s going to make your relationship more fulfilling,” Brunell said.

The study appears online in the journal Personality and Individual Differences and will be published in an upcoming print edition.

Participating in the study were 62 heterosexual couples, all of whom were college students. The participants completed a long list of questionnaires in three separate sessions that took place about two weeks apart.

The first set of questionnaires probed how true participants were to themselves, a characteristic that psychologists call “dispositional authenticity.” This was measured through the answers to questions like “For better or for worse, I am aware of who I truly am.”

Overall, the study found that both men and women who reported being more true to themselves also behaved in more intimate and less destructive ways with their partner, and that led to them feeling their relationship was more positive. In addition, they also reported greater personal well-being.

In the second phase, participants answered questions examining various aspects of their relationship functioning, including their willingness to discuss their emotions with their partner, and whether they kept secrets.

The third phase involved measures of relationship satisfaction and personal well-being.

Overall, the study found that both men and women who reported being more true to themselves also behaved in more intimate and less destructive ways with their partner, and that led to them feeling their relationship was more positive. In addition, they also reported greater personal well-being.

But the study revealed an interesting gender difference in how authenticity in men and women affected their partners, Brunell said.

Men who were more true to themselves had partners who showed more healthy relationship behaviors. However, there was no significant relationship between women being true to themselves and men’s relationship behaviors, the study found. (ANI)

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Making up with your partner before sleeping improves mood the next day

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar 13 (ANI): Kissing and making up with your partner before sleeping really does improve your mood the next day, a new study has suggested.

After fighting, couples with high activity in a certain outer brain region are less likely to be upset the next day, while those with low activity are more likely to be in a bad mood, continue to mull over the argument in their heads, and turn to alcohol or drugs, the study found.

The lateral prefrontal cortex is thought to be involved in the way people control their emotions, with more activity linked to more emotional resilience, reports The Daily Express.

The study was conducted by Harvard and California University psychologists and is published in the Biological Psychiatry journal.

Lead author Professor Christine Hooker said: “What we found, as you might expect, was that everybody felt badly on the day of the conflict with their partners. But the day after, people who had high lateral prefrontal cortex activity felt better and the people who had low lateral prefrontal cortex activity continued to feel bad.” (ANI)

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Your handwriting can show if you’re lying

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sept 19 (ANI): If you want to know if someone is telling you the truth, just go through his or her handwriting, say scientists in Haifa, Israel.

According to psychologists, handwriting changes when someone lies, and this is so because the brain has to work harder to invent facts, which then in turn interfere with the normal writing process.

To reach the conclusion, researchers at the University of Haifa, Israel, asked 34 volunteers to write two short paragraphs, where in one they recalled a real memory while in the other a fictitious event, reports The Telegraph.

The volunteers used a wireless electronic pen with a tip that was pressure-sensitive in order to write their memories and lies.

Later the paper was placed on a computer tablet, which monitored and analysed their writing style.

The scientists then found those who wrote lies pressed harder on the paper, had longer pen strokes and produced taller letters than those telling the truth.

“In the false writing condition, the average pressure, stroke length and height were significantly higher than in the true writing condition,” the researchers said.

Professor Richard Wiseman, psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, told the Daily Mail the technique was promising.

“We know that people hesitate more when they lie and some companies already use this fact to see how long it takes people to tick boxes when filling in surveys online,” he said.

The study has been published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology. (ANI)

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How stress influences decision-making

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 16 (ANI): Cognitive stress, such as distraction, could influence the balanced, logical approach to decision making, according to a new study.

Psychologists Jane Raymond and Jennifer L. O’Brien of Bangor University in the UK wanted to investigate how cognitive stress affects rational decision-making.

In the study, participants played a simple gambling game in which they earned money by deciding between stimuli-in this case, two pictures of different faces.

After making a selection, it became immediately clear whether they had won, lost, or broken even.

Each face was always associated with the same outcome throughout this task.

In the next stage of the experiment, the volunteers were shown each face individually and had to indicate whether they had seen those faces before.

Sometimes volunteers were distracted during this task while other times they were not.

The researchers concluded that distractions significantly impact decision-making.

When volunteers were not distracted, they tended to excel at recognizing faces that had been highly predictive of either winning or losing outcomes.

On the other hand, when they were distracted, they only recognized faces that had been associated with winning.

The authors noted that when we are stressed and need to make a decision, we are “more likely to bear in mind things that have been rewarding and to overlook information predicting negative outcomes.”

In other words, the findings have indicated that irrational biases, which favour previous rewards, may guide our behaviour during times of stress.

The study has been reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. (ANI)

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S. African gender row runner Semenya placed on suicide watch

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 13 (ANI): South African runner Caster Semenya, who is at the center of a gender row, has been placed on suicide watch amid fears for her mental stability.

The Daily Star quoted officials as saying that psychologists are caring the 18-year-old round-the- clock after it was claimed tests had proved she was a hermaphrodite.

Leaked details of the probe by the ­International Association of ­Athletics Federations showed the 800m starlet had male and female sex organs – but no womb.

Lawmaker Butana Komphela, chair of South Africa’s sports committee, was quoted as saying: “She is like a raped person. She is afraid of herself and does not want anyone near her. If she commits suicide, it will be on all our heads. The best we can do is protect her and look out for her during this trying time.”

South African athletics officials confirmed Semenya is now receiving trauma counselling at the University of Pretoria.

Caster has not competed since the World Athletics Championships last month when the IAAF ordered gender tests on her amid claims she might be male. (ANI)

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