Futurity.org » Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley

Gossip lowers stress, keeps cheats in check

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:46:57 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Gossip can have positive outcomes such as helping us police bad behavior, prevent exploitation, and lower stress, say researchers.

“Gossip gets a bad rap, but we’re finding evidence that it plays a critical role in the maintenance of social order,” says University of California, Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a coauthor of a study published in this month’s online issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Bah, humbug! Rich slower to show empathy

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:44:36 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Dickens was right on the money with his depiction of Cratchit and Scrooge. Poor people are quicker to show compassion than the rich, a study shows.

A study published in the journal Emotion finds that individuals in the upper-middle and upper classes are less able to detect and respond to the distress signals of others. Overall, the results indicate that socioeconomic status correlates with the level of empathy and compassion that people show in the face of emotionally charged situations.

Dream sleep soothes painful memories

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:12:25 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — During the dream phase of sleep, the body’s stress chemistry shuts down, taking the edge off difficult memories. The finding may help explain why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer reoccurring nightmares.

“The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day’s emotional experiences,” says Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.

Addicts may have glitch in frontal brain

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:17:22 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Neuroscientists have pinpointed the exact locations in the brain where calculations are made that can result in addictive behaviors, like those linked to drugs, overeating, and gambling.

“The better we understand our decision-making brain circuitry, the better we can target treatment, whether it’s pharmaceutical, behavioral, or deep brain stimulation,” says Jonathan Wallis, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley.

Technology ‘reads mind’ to make movies

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:19:32 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Researchers decoded the brain signals of people as they watched movie trailers, and replayed those thoughts as movies.

As yet, the technology can only reconstruct movie clips people have already viewed. However, the breakthrough paves the way for reproducing the movies inside our heads that no one else sees, such as dreams and memories, according to researchers.

Brain gets high on all-nighters

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:22:43 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Pulling an all-nighter gives the brain a big boost of pleasure, but that euphoria can lead to poor judgment and risky behavior, a new study shows.

“When functioning correctly, the brain finds the sweet spot on the mood spectrum. But the sleep-deprived brain will swing to both extremes, neither of which is optimal for making wise decisions,” says Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley and lead author of the study.

Last hours of sleep prep brain to learn

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:23:39 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — During the time we spend each night in dreamless sleep, it seems our brain is busy transferring data and getting ready to learn.

This shallow stage of dreamless slumber can account for half our sleeping hours, and happens most frequently during the second half of the night, or in the latter part of a period in which we sleep.

Meditation beats dance for inner peace

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:21:40 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — People who regularly practice meditation are more emotionally connected with their bodies than are professional dancers.

Dancers who devote enormous time and effort to developing awareness of and precise control over their muscles—a theme raised in the Oscar-nominated ballet movie Black Swan—don’t have a stronger mind-body connection than do most other people.

Whites prefer whites when dating online

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:56:17 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — The quest for a post-racial society continues, even in the world of online dating, new research shows.

Data from more than 1 million profiles of singles looking for love online confirms that whites overwhelmingly prefer to date members of their own race. The same is not true for blacks, especially men, who are far more likely to cross the race barrier to meet a mate.

Older and emotionally smarter

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:42:02 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Older people have a hard time keeping a lid on their feelings, but are more empathetic and better able to see the positive side of stressful situations.

Published over the past year, a series of new studies support the theory that emotional intelligence and cognitive skills actually sharpen in our 60s, giving older people an advantage in the workplace and in personal relationships.