Mental Health Topics

The Hawthorne effect says that increased observation equals increased productivity. This theory explains why we might perform better when our boss is in the room or when we’re working out with others. This effect was first observed during a series of experiments, which intended to understand how different factors at…

A new study says that our biases toward non-native speakers as adults are influenced by our preferences as children to befriend those who talk like us. The researchers sought to better understand when, how, and why we develop these biases toward people who speak differently than us. To do so,…

Mischel conducted the marshmallow experiment, which revealed that delaying gratification can lead to greater success in life. This experiment involved observing over 100 kids who were given two options: leave a single marshmallow on the table for 15 minutes and be rewarded with another, or eat the first marshmallow and…

In an effort to demonstrate the effects of discrimination, third-grade teacher Jane Elliott separated her students into two groups: blue eyes and brown eyes. First, the students with brown eyes were told that they were superior and given privileges like extra time at recess and seconds at lunch. Elliott observed…

The concept of learned helplessness says that when we feel like a situation is out of our control, we eventually accept that we cannot change it and essentially give up. This was first observed in a study involving dogs, in which the dogs learned to expect an electric shock—the dogs…

People debate about whether watching violence makes us more likely to engage in violence ourselves—of which was precisely explored in the Bobo doll experiment. In this experiment, Albert Bandura and his team of researchers studied 72 kids who experienced either an aggressive or non-aggressive model. In the aggressive model, the…

Addiction is a strong word, and the scientific community has not yet determined whether individuals can be “addicted” to sites like Facebook and Instagram in the medical sense. However, whether or not an individual meets the criteria for an addiction disorder may not matter as much as the consequences of his…

Claustrophobia is the fear of small, enclosed spaces; those who suffer from it often go to extremes to avoid encountering such spaces. Symptoms include a racing heartbeat, dizziness, hyperventilation, shaking, headaches, nausea, and chest tightness. While symptoms are often brought on by simply entering a small space, the actual phobia…

Mental health is a topical concern, especially when it comes to your children’s screen usage. How much time is too much time? What type of content should I be monitoring? How do I ensure devices won’t have a negative impact on their mental health? Many parents admit they don’t know…

Many of us are fearful of snakes and spiders, whether they are or aren’t poisonous or dangerous—why? Researchers say that this fear is deep-rooted, one we likely developed from ancestors that lived 40-60 million years ago. To reach these findings, researchers showed infants varying pictures of which included snakes, spiders,…

“Do men get angrier than women?” The majority would probably say yes: Men do get angrier than women, and more often. But would the majority be correct? Or, would they be endorsing another one of many gender stereotypes? Science overwhelmingly shows that this is, indeed, just another false label—men do…

Anger is a natural emotion that stems from a perceived threat—to our physical or emotional wellbeing; our self-esteem or self-worth; our resources such as our finances, time or belongings; or those we love. Additionally, it’s a reaction to and a distraction from other negative feelings such as anxiety, fear, shame,…