Futurity.org » psychology

In guys, women pick healthy over manly

Lindsay Brooke-Nottingham — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:47:49 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Having a healthy skin color is more important in determining how attractive a man is to women than how manly he looks.

Researchers in the Face Perception Group at University of Nottingham took photographs of 34 Caucasian and 41 black African men’s faces in carefully controlled conditions and measured the skin color of the faces.

Girls ‘rewire’ brain to beat depression

Brooke Donald-Stanford — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:52:22 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Using brain imaging and a video game, teen girls at risk of depression are being taught how to train their brains away from negative situations.

An ongoing study’s early findings using a small sample suggest such rewiring is not only possible, it is surprisingly easy.

Spoon-fed babies may become fatter kids

Emma Rayner-Nottingham — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:18:59 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Babies fed solid finger food may be less likely to become overweight as children than those who are spoon-fed pureed food.

The babies who ate solid food were also more likely to develop healthier food preferences, according to the University of Nottingham study.

Uncertain choices light up ‘explorer’ brains

David Orenstein-Brown — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:52:51 +0000

BROWN (US) — People who consistently select for uncertainty may harness the computational power of a specific brain region.

Some people—”explorers”—choose to grapple with uncertainty head on. It’s a strategy of maximizing rewards by discovering whether as yet unexplored options might yield better returns. While some might stick with the usual, “explorers” might order the special in a restaurant because they aren’t sure they’ll like it.

Prenatal thyroid drugs don’t boost kids’ IQ

Chris Jones-Cardiff — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:03:39 +0000

CARDIFF (UK) — Children of mothers screened and treated for reduced thyroid function during pregnancy show no signs of improved IQ, new research shows.

Scientists took blood samples from more than 20,000 women at about 13-weeks of pregnancy to test for thyroid function who were randomly assigned to one of two groups.

Fast-food diners say, ‘Downsize me’

Keith Brannon-Tulane — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:55:27 +0000

TULANE (US) — Asking consumers if they would like a smaller portion may be a better approach to curb overeating than posting calorie counts.

The study from Tulane University found that when servers asked customers whether they’d like to “downsize” starchy side dishes at a Chinese fast-food restaurant as many as a third gladly cut back—saving an average 200 calories each meal.

“Our goal was to test whether the invitation to downsize a meal component would be embraced by consumers and, importantly, whether the approach would be more effective than a purely information-based approach—in this case calorie labeling,” says lead study author Janet Schwartz, assistant professor of marketing at Tulane University.

Comparing health issues may help or hurt

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:57:32 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Comparing yourself to others with the same health problem can affect your physical and emotional health, say researchers.

“If you’ve ever looked at another person and thought, ‘Well, at least I’m doing better than he is,’ or ‘Wow, I wish I could be doing as well as she is,’ you’re not alone,” says Josh Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and of medicine at Penn State University.

Thinking ‘time is money’ can spoil time off

Ken McGuffin-Toronto — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:18:04 +0000

U. TORONTO (CAN) — Do you pass the time—or spend it? The difference may affect how happy you are during leisure time, a new study shows.

People who put a price on their time are more likely to feel impatient when they’re not using it to earn money. And that hurts their ability to derive happiness during leisure activities.

Count votes by hand, and error adds up

David Ruth-Rice — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:07:53 +0000

RICE (US) — Counting votes by hand during a postelection audit or recount procedures may result in error rates of up to two percent, say researchers.

“These procedures are intended as a safeguard against computer and human error, but until recently, no research existed to tell whether these efforts helped or hurt the accuracy of the vote,” says Michael Byrne, associate professor of psychology at Rice University.

Online dating dumps the stigma

Susan Hagen-Rochester — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:32:05 +0000

U. ROCHESTER (US) — Online dating has become the second-most-common way for couples to meet, behind only meeting through friends, according to a new analysis of the industry.

The report reviews more than 400 psychology studies and public interest surveys, painting a picture of an industry that, according to one industry estimate, attracted 25 million unique users around the world in April 2011 alone.