Research

Women generally favor warmer temperatures, while men prefer it cooler. Why? A new study says it’s about more than just comfort—room temperature actually affects the two gender’s cognitive abilities differently. Researchers from the USC Marshal School of Business conducted an experiment with 542 students: 60% were male and 40% were…

Music can help kids excel in complex subjects like math and physics. Many kids are intimidated by these subjects in school. But music can help them better understand difficult equations and theories, according to researchers from the Athena Research Center’s Institute for Language and Speech Processing. For example, students used…

Narcissists are self-absorbed, they believe they’re superior to others, and they can be incredibly hard to handle. A new study reveals another frustrating quality: they aren’t deterred from asking someone out even if the individual is in a relationship. This study conducted four experiments to understand “mate poaching”: the first…

Steroid use could increase the risk of cocaine use and addiction among teens. This, from researchers at the University of Puerto Rico who studied female rats. The team first exposed half of the rats to nandrolone, a performance-enhancing steroid commonly used by teens. After ten days, they split all of…

Every single year, millions of Americans suffer with a mental illness. By definition, a mental illness is a disorder that negatively affects a person’s thoughts, feelings, mood, and/or behavior. Examples include depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Each individual has a unique experience, as far as which symptoms they…

Most youth football helmets lack sufficient front padding. This, from the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab, which rated every youth football helmet on the market. Only seven of these helmets received a perfect score for effectively reducing head acceleration during impact. Those with lower ratings typically had front padding that was…

Millions of people in the US alone suffer with specific phobias, or severe irrational fears of a given thing, place, or circumstance. While there is effective treatment out there, of which often centers around cognitive behavioral therapy, not all phobia suffers find relief. Researchers from Wurzburg University Hospital and the…

Are you feeling stressed? Spend 20 minutes outside. Researchers from the University of Michigan say it can help. The team asked participants to spend 10 minutes or more outside, at least 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Participants chose what time of day and where, but were instructed to…

Women find same-sex social interactions more rewarding than men do. This discovery could change how mental illnesses, like depression, are treated in women. Researchers from Georgia State University found that women are more sensitive to the rewards of oxytocin, a chemical released during social interactions. The team observed that the…

You’ve heard it many times before: “Violent video games spark aggressive behavior in players and lead to violence in real life…” But, have you ever stopped to look at the facts and consider the validity of this statement? Heather Ness, a psychology professor and blogger who specializes in the psychology…

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…