Description: So, what comes to mind as a definition when you see the term Psychiatric Therapeutics? Psychiatric relates to what Psychiatrists and Psychiatry is the medical specialty that focuses upon mental functioning, mental illness etc. It also involves the training necessary to be permitted to prescribe medications to treat the symptoms of mental disorders. Psychologists,… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Research Methods
Self-Help for Anxiety: Tips from CBT
Description: There is a LOT of talk, research and theorizing these days about stress and anxiety including discussion of the possibility that there is an epidemic of anxiety among high school, college and university students and emerging adults in general. Early, over-simplistic blame has been laid on smartphone and social media use among adolescents and… Read more »
Human Emotions: What is Universal and What is Not?
Description: If you have taken an introductory Psychology course you have certainly seen some version of the picture below showing facial expressions of emotion and you likely saw the picture in the context of a part of a lecture on the universality (across cultures) of basic human emotions such as those showing on the faces… Read more »
Screen Time and BIG Data: Just The Start
Description: I posted recently about a new welcome line of research that has started to look more closely at the issue of screen time and its potential negative (AND positive) effects of development, mental health and well-being. What was not clear in the post, or in the article it linked to, was why the large… Read more »
Yoga, Pilates and Stress: Selling to Neuroscientists
Description: Have you heard the exercise is good for reducing stress? How about Yoga? How about Pilates? How about deep breathing? Of course, you have, but do they REALLY lower stress levels and if they do HOW do they do that? How would a neuroscientist approach these questions? Well, he or she would likely NOT… Read more »
London Taxi Drivers, “The Knowledge” and Phrenology
Description: If you want to drive for Uber (well drive for yourself through the Uber App) the process to get started will take a couple of weeks (mostly made up of waiting for a background check to be processed). Compare that to what it takes to become a London Taxi driver. To do that you… Read more »
Precognition, Porn, and Psychology’s Replication Crisis
Description: What does ESP have to do with science? Well, the typical response to that question is to say that the more tightly controlled experimental tests of Extra Sensory Perception are, the less significant results we find supporting the existence of ESP. Then along came Darrell Bem, a social psychologist/researcher of powerful reputation, who ran… Read more »
Social Media Addiction? Weeell, look into the details
Description: You have no doubt seen or heard references to growing concerns about ways in which increasing levels of anxiety and stress among young adults may be linked to screen time and social media. What you have not likely seen is much, if any research that looks specifically at the relationship (causal) between social media… Read more »
Are There Skills in Fantasy Sports? (and why does it matter?)
Description: There is no question but that playing professional sports requires a lot of skill (and likely a fair bit of Psychology too). Here is a question though: Do fantasy sports require skill? Certainly not the same skills as actually playing the particular sports they focus upon, but do they require skill and if so… Read more »
Shopping Predicting Personality (not the other way around)
Description: Usually, when designing a line of psychological research, we start from the psychology and predict the behavior – makes sense, because it is Psychological theories that we are developing. So, for example, think about what predictions you would make about people’s shopping (buying) behavior based on what you know or can find out about… Read more »
Books for Success!
