In a recent study, a team of scientists investigated how perceived facial dominance, indicated by the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR), affected student evaluations of teaching. Their study found that higher fWHR enhanced evaluations for male professors but appeared to detrimentally affect female professors’ scores. The findings, published in Economics & Human Biology provide evidence for a gender-based double standard in academia that punishes women more harshly for perceived dominance. The fWHR is calculated by dividing the width of the face by its height, and studies have suggested that ...
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Recent research has illuminated how the “wine mom” phenomenon, prevalent on social media and television, influences mothers’ attitudes towards alcohol. This study found that the portrayal of mothers consuming alcohol as a stress-relief mechanism on platforms like Instagram and Facebook could encourage risky drinking behaviors by shaping social norms around alcohol consumption among mothers. The findings have been published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media. The “wine mom” phenomenon promotes the idea that alcohol is a necessary coping tool for motherhood’s challenges, often via humoro...
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A recent study of incarcerated women found that those with pronounced psychopathic traits tended to hold their head more rigidly during a clinical interview. The study used an automated detection algorithm to assess head position and dynamics. The research was published in Personality and Individual Differences. Psychopathic traits are a specific cluster of personality characteristics that include a profound lack of empathy and remorse resulting in indifferent or callous attitudes towards others. Individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits tend to display shallow emotional responses an...
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A recent study published in the Journal of Individual Differences has shed light on the psychological factors influencing conspiracy thinking. The research found that existential isolation and alienation are both significant predictors of conspiracy beliefs. However, loneliness did not have a significant impact on such beliefs. Conspiracy theorists are frequently stereotyped as isolated individuals, often depicted as reclusive figures wearing “tinfoil hats.” But this image has evolved significantly, with contemporary research recognizing that conspiracy beliefs are no longer fringe phenomena b...
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New research published in theJournal of Personality & Social Psychology found that stable personality traits not only predict important life outcomes like health, happiness, and career success, but that even small changes in our personality over time can shape our future in meaningful ways. Personality traits, defined as enduring characteristics that influence how we think, feel, and behave, are pivotal in predicting a range of life outcomes. The Big Five personality framework—encompassing openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism—is often used to study these tr...
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New research published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows that feeling understood by close friends or romantic partners can deeply affect how important these relationships are to our sense of who we are. The findings provide important insights into how personal interactions that foster understanding can significantly enhance our self-concept. The new study sought to investigate the impact of perceived understanding within personal relationships on individuals’ self-concepts. The researchers were particularly interested in how feeling understood by someone close could make ...
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In a recent study published in the American Journal of Political Science, researchers investigated whether online interventions could enhance state and local news consumption among Pennsylvanians in today’s highly polarized and national-focused media landscape. But despite offering free online newspaper subscriptions to more than 2,000 individuals, only 44 people in total signed up. Local newspapers have played a crucial role in informing residents about regional politics, providing in-depth coverage essential for making informed decisions at the polls. However, over recent decades, there has ...
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A new study published in American Behavioral Scientist sheds light on the relationship between anxiety and support for right-wing populist parties. The findings highlight that anxiety plays a significant role in shaping contradictory attitudes, driving both authoritarian submission and anti-elitism in different contexts. Previous research has shown conflicting evidence regarding the link between anxiety and support for right-wing populist parties. The new study aimed to clarify this relationship by examining how two seemingly opposing subdimensions of right-wing ideology — authoritarian submis...
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Many people have compared the addictive nature of social media to cigarettes. Checking your likes, they say, is the new smoke break. Others say the unease over social media is just the next round of moral panic about new technologies. We are a pair of researchers who investigate how social media affects the mental health of young people. More than 75% of teens check their phone hourly, and half say they feel like they’re addicted to their devices. Here are some of the things they’ve told us: “TikTok has me in a chokehold.” “I would 1,000% say I am addicted.” “I feel completely aware that it is...
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New eye-tracking research sheds light on how dogs process and predict the actions of both human and non-human agents, demonstrating that they prioritize the location of an action over the identity of the object involved. This suggests a unique aspect of canine social cognition, where spatial information plays a crucial role in their understanding of others’ behaviors. The findings were published in the journal Animal Cognition. Previous research has suggested that humans use their own motor experiences to interpret other people’s movements. This ability develops early in life and is seen in in...
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