Tag

Psychology

All articles tagged with #psychology

psychology3 hours ago•25 min saved

Tracking 'Feel Sexy' in Books Reveals a Gendered Language of Desire

A study using the Google Books Ngram Viewer across 1800–2022 shows that the phrase 'feel sexy' is overwhelmingly used to describe women in published books, with 89% of qualifying phrases referencing female subjects. Variants like 'her feel sexy' and 'she felt sexy' are most common, and female versions appear about ten times more often than male ones, a trend that began in the late 1970s and accelerated after the 1990s, driven largely by heterosexual romance novels. The researchers link this to gendered sexual scripting and the concept of object of desire self-consciousness, while cautioning that books are just one communication channel and that future work should examine other media and languages and whether such language affects readers' mood or arousal.

via PsyPost|

#feel-sexy #gender-differences #google-books-ngram

science2 days ago•29 min saved

Nocebo Unmasked: How Negative Expectations Shape Illness

Carol Tavris reviews Helen Pilcher’s This Book May Cause Side Effects, examining how negative expectations can produce real symptoms and influence medical outcomes. She highlights compelling examples (like statin side effects mirroring placebo) but critiques the book for overgeneralizing the idea that all illness can be worsened by nocebo and for lacking precise data in places. Still, she notes useful implications and strategies—reframing supposed side effects, emphasizing the majority who don’t experience them, and pursuing personalized informed consent—to counter the nocebo effect in clinical care.

via Skeptic|

#critical-thinking #nocebo #placebo

health3 days ago•4 min saved

Five practical steps to help stressed parents stay calm and connected

A psychologist outlines five actionable strategies for stressed parents: pause for a moment of mindfulness with five deep breaths, replace self-criticism with self-compassion, ask for help to support both parents and kids, respond to children with empathy, and savor positive moments to boost family well-being and resilience.

via CNBC|

#empathy #health #parenting

science7 days ago•24 min saved

Taste and temperament: wine choices reveal personality, study finds

A study analyzing nearly 10,000 online wine reviews with AI linked personality traits to preferred wine alcohol levels. People high in openness and agreeableness tend to favor higher-alcohol wines (e.g., Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Port, Sherry), while those higher in extraversion and neuroticism lean toward lower-alcohol options (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Prosecco). Conscientiousness showed no clear link. The researchers say results could inform personalized wine recommendations and psychographic marketing.

via Daily Mail|

#alcohol-content #consumer-behavior #personality

health7 days ago•6 min saved

Worrying About Aging Could Speed Up Your Biological Clock

A study of 726 women found that higher anxiety about aging—especially fears of declining health—was linked to faster epigenetic aging (via DunedinPACE and GrimAge clocks), suggesting health worries may biologically accelerate aging, though causation isn’t proven. Experts note that chronic worry can trigger stress responses, inflammation, and sleep disruption, and advise focusing on present health, differentiating one’s health from others, and seeking mental-health support if anxiety disrupts daily life.

via SELF Magazine|

#aging #epigenetics #health

science8 days ago•8 min saved

Words as a Mirror: AI Reads Personality from Language

A University of Michigan study shows generative AI models (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, LLaMa) can predict personality traits, daily emotions, and behaviors by analyzing people’s own words from diary-like notes and thoughts. AI-based personality ratings closely match or surpass self-ratings and can even align with or outperform close others in predicting life patterns, emotions, and mental-health indicators. While promising, the study notes limitations—relying on self-reports for ground truth and not yet testing across diverse demographics—and calls for further work comparing AI judgments with friends/family and broader outcomes. Published in Nature Human Behavior, the findings suggest language naturally encodes personality signals and that AI can analyze them rapidly.

via futurity.org|

#artificial-intelligence #language #personality

psychology10 days ago•26 min saved

ADHD symptoms linked to bursts of creative insight in problem-solving

A 299-participant study found that individuals with higher ADHD symptoms solved problems more often through sudden insight than through deliberate analysis, while those with the lowest symptoms balanced insight and analysis. The results showed a U-shaped curve where high- and low-symptom groups performed best overall, suggesting that executive control levels influence creative problem-solving via different mental routes and highlighting potential strengths of neurodiversity in such tasks.

via PsyPost|

#adhd #creativity #dual-process

science10 days ago•1 min saved

Cardio for Calm: Regular Exercise Linked to Stronger Stress Resilience

A study published in Acta Psychologica found that physically active people show greater stress resilience and lower anxiety; those with below-average cardiorespiratory fitness had up to 775% higher peak anxiety when shown disturbing images, while regular exercisers exhibited better emotional control and faster recovery. The 40-participant study needs replication but suggests exercise could help manage stress.

via Futurism|

#anxiety #cardiorespiratory-fitness #exercise

health11 days ago•16 min saved

Limerence: when a crush becomes an all-consuming obsession

An in-depth look at limerence—the involuntary, often obsessive longing for another person that can feel like a natural high but disrupts sleep, eating, and daily life. Not a formal diagnosis, limerence hinges on uncertainty and a “glimmer” of reciprocation, and research links it to attachment styles rather than just infatuation or romantic love. The piece contrasts limerence with ordinary love, notes its potential to become harmful (including stalking) if unmanaged, and follows neuroscientist Tom Bellamy’s limerent episode and his eventual shift toward healthy love after cutting contact with the object of his longing.

via BBC|

#health #limerence #love

psychology11 days ago•2 min saved

Kent study: AI love notes raise doubts about sincerity

A University of Kent survey of about 4,000 people found that using AI to craft personal messages such as love letters, apologies, or wedding vows leads to harsher judgments, with people viewing the sender as less caring, less authentic, less trustworthy and lazier—even when the AI text is high quality—highlighting the value of genuine effort in relationships.

via BBC|

#ai #authenticity #psychology

science11 days ago•6 min saved

Thinking Young Could Physically Rejuvenate Older Adults, Trial Finds

A trial with adults 75+ in Milan found that behaving as if they were younger (in a 1989-era setting) improved strength, balance, gait, and self-rated youth. While results are preliminary and under peer review, the findings support a mind–body link in aging and suggest that expectations and cultural narratives can influence physical aging.

via Indian Defence Review|

#aging #gerontology #mind-body

health16 days ago•11 min saved

Small Steps, Big Meaning: Tiny Daily Shifts Build a Fulfilling Life

The article argues that lasting meaning comes from small, consistent actions rather than grand life changes. Meaning is built through positive reinforcement from everyday tasks across multiple life domains, not from one-off boosts. It outlines three steps: (1) look back over the past year to identify sustaining behaviors and areas to broaden; (2) choose two to three meaningful domains and commit to one small, realistic action in each; (3) arrange your environment to make desired behaviors easy by using cues and reducing friction, pairing new habits with existing routines. By starting with tiny steps—especially when motivation is low—you create a stable, grounded sense of purpose over time.

via The Conversation|

#habits #health #meaning

health22 days ago•8 min saved

Sweet Tooth, Stable Taste: Science Says Cut the Fear, Not the Sugar

A 2025 randomized trial (The Sweet Tooth Trial) found that six months of low-, regular-, or high-sweetness exposure did not change participants’ preference for sweetness or health markers. Cravings aren’t eliminated by restriction; explanations include sensory adaptation, blood sugar stabilization, and psychological factors. The takeaway is to stop trying to biohack away your sweetness and instead adopt a balanced approach: ensure adequate protein and fiber, avoid treating sugar as forbidden, and enjoy sweets in moderation as part of a nourishing diet.

via SELF Magazine|

#cravings #diet #health

psychology25 days ago•20 min saved

Hyperthyroidism State Linked to Broader Dark Personality Profile, New Study Finds

A study in Current Psychology finds that hyperthyroidism is associated with higher scores on the Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism; narcissism elevated compared with hypothyroidism but not different from controls) versus hypothyroidism and healthy controls. Using the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) with 154 adults (49 hyperthyroid, 52 hypothyroid, 53 controls), hyperthyroid participants showed higher scores on multiple dark traits even after adjusting for age and sex. The authors caution the effects are modest, based on self-reported diagnoses in a cross-sectional design, reflecting group-level associations rather than individual dispositions, and they advocate longitudinal studies with objective hormone data to clarify mechanisms such as CNS hyperarousal from excess thyroid hormones.

via PsyPost|

#dark-tetrad #hyperthyroidism #machiavellianism

psychology26 days ago•22 min saved

Narcissism Shows Global Consistency Across 53 Countries

A cross-national study of 45,800 participants across 53 countries finds that younger adults, men, and people who perceive themselves as higher in social status consistently report more narcissistic traits. While average narcissism levels vary by country and can rise with GDP per capita, the core demographic patterns (age, gender, and status) are broadly universal, with aging linked to lower narcissism and culture not strongly moderating these differences. Notably, some collectivistic contexts showed higher agentic narcissism, challenging the notion that narcissism is mainly a Western, individualistic trait.

via PsyPost|

#collectivism #cross-cultural #demographics