Month: September 2011

Although Don Quixote was pummeled by windmills throughout his fictional quest, new research from the University of Edinburgh and the University of California, San Diego put his delusions of grandeur in a more favorable light.  A newly published study in Nature reveals that overconfidence can sometimes yield winning strategies. The

Having trouble coping with stress and feeling confident? It could be linked to your genes, according to a UCLA study. Researchers analyzed the DNA saliva of 326 participants and discovered that the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) influences one’s ability to cope well with stress and depression. According to a UCLA

With nearly 50 percent of all Americans suffering from a mental illness at some point in their lifetimes, psychologist Alan Kazdin of Yale University asserts that the country’s mental health care system needs a reboot. Speaking about his latest study in Perspectives on Psychological Science, Kazdin tells Time magazine that

A positive attitude and high expectations can benefit many areas of one’s life, but a newly published study in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology found that this “Pollyanna” view can actually be detrimental in the workplace, turning workers into what the study called “disaffected Pollyannas.” Researchers followed 132 participants

Researchers from the University of Kent say that mental simulation, which has been successfully used with athletes who want to see an improvement in performance, can also be used in combating social intolerance. “The cognitive and neural systems used in remembering and imagining are surprisingly similar, which explains why repeatedly

A UCLA study published in Child Development found that ethnicity-based stigma is apparent as early as second grade and that this stigma can negatively affect the desire of ethnic-minority children to want to go to school. Researchers interviewed students between the ages of 7 and 11 about how aware they were

University of Virginia researchers have given parents another reason to worry about the content their children watch on television: A new study has found that “fast-pasted, fantastical” shows can actually hinder children’s ability to learn and pay attention. Researchers tested the ability of 4-year-olds to solve problems, follow rules, remember what

A UCLA study has concluded that mothers who breast-feed their children are more protective of their babies than those mothers who feed their children with a bottle. The recently published study dubs this the “mama bear effect.” Breast-feeding, the researchers found, increases aggressiveness by  reducing stress in mothers and giving them

In light of President Obama’s speech last night , which revealed his proposed American Jobs Act, studies show that countries with more progressive tax rates that put higher taxes on the wealthy are actually linked to happier citizens. As the Huffington Post reports, a University of Virginia study compared tax