Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

Getting kids to sit still during brain scans is notoriously difficult — but now researchers have developed an MEG scanner that is essentially a modified bike helmet. The device could make it easier to measure brain activity in young children, as well as scan older participants as they perform activities they wouldn’t be able to do in a standard MEG scanner, writes Jennifer Walter at Discover Magazine’s “D-Brief” blog.

Continue reading “Pet Placebos And A Brain Scanner For Kids: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

A large review of studies published over the past 40 years has found little evidence that cannabis is helpful in treating mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, Ruby Prosser Scully reports in New Scientist. Researchers say that people should be wary of claims by companies producing medical cannabis, and that there is a need for more large-scale, well-controlled studies into the effects of the drug on different conditions.

Continue reading “Haunted Houses And The Ghosts Of Psychology Past: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

A recent review has found that there are many good reasons to be humble, writes Benedict Carey in The New York Times. People who score higher on humility are more curious and open-minded, for instance, and less aggressive towards people with different beliefs. Continue reading “Talking Nonsense And Being Humble: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

Researchers have painted a picture of how our happiness has fluctuated over the past two centuries, by analysing the frequency of positive and negative words contained in millions of published texts. The war years showed dips in happiness, according to this measure, while peak happiness occurred in the UK in the 1920s and in Germany in the 1800s, the researchers write in The Conversation. Continue reading “Cow Companions And A Consciousness Competition: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

There’s not much evidence that brain training apps really improve our cognitive abilities –  so why do so many people use them? Sabrina Weiss at Wired has the answers.

Continue reading “Brain Training And Counting Bees: This Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

An MIT professor gave his students Fitbits to find out how exercise affected their academic performance — but instead stumbled upon some interesting insights into sleep, Jamie Ducharme at Time reports. Students who stuck to a consistent sleep pattern throughout the week seemed to do better in class, the team found, while differences in sleep quality between men and women could explain why female students were getting higher grades.

Continue reading “Joking Robots And Intelligent Apes: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →

Our weekly round-up of the best psychology coverage from elsewhere on the web

Scientists can predict what country people are from just by looking at how colours make them feel, reports Eva Frederick at Science. Researchers found cultural differences in how people associate colours and emotions: Chinese participants showed the strongest association between red and joy, for example, while Greek participants were the only ones to relate purple to sadness. The team then used machine learning to guess where people were from based on the associations they made.

Continue reading “Trump Tweets And Cat Attachment: The Week’s Best Psychology Links” →