AUTHOR: Jeff Grabmeier
PUBLICATION NAME: ScienceDaily
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Dec. 1, 2010
SUMMARY: A study performed by Brad Bushman (co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University), C. Nathan DeWall and Timothy Deckman of the University of Kentucky and Matthew Gailllot of SUNY-Albany found that people who drink lemonade with sugar are less aggressive to strangers a few minutes after drinking the beverage than those who drink lemonade with a sugar substitute. This study was performed with 62 college students as test subjects. The students fasted for 3 hours to reduce their glucose levels and then, half of them were given lemonade with sugar while the other half were given lemonade with a sugar substitute. Eight minutes were given for students to absorb the sugar into their blood. Participants were then informed that they and an unseen rival were to compete against each other by pressing a button as quickly as possible in 25 trials. Whoever lost would be punished with a blast of white noise, whose volume was determined by the winner of the trials. (In actuality, each participant “won” 12 random trials.) The sound was rates on a scale of 1-10. During the first trial (before being punished with any noise by their “partners,” it was found that students who had drunk the sugared lemonade, on average, gave a noise level of 4.8, while the ones who had drunk the substitute gave a 6.06.
Bushman believes that since the act of resisting aggressive behavior takes so much energy, glucose is essential for providing the energy needed to resist such impulses. Those people who have difficulty using the glucose present in their bodies (notably those with diabetes) are more prone to aggressive behavior and less willing to forgive others. This turns into a problem because diabetes level (which are shown to correspond directly with violence and crime rates) are rising in America.
LINKS TO STUDY: None
ARTICLE: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130161535.htm
SUBMITTED BY: Lordesa Fok
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Behavior: Napping Can Prime the Brain for Learning
AUTHOR: Roni Caryn Rabin
PUBLICATION NAME: The New York Times
DATE OF PUBLICATION: February 23, 2010
SUMMARY: Research lead by Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of California - Berkeley, demonstrated that young adults who slept for at least an hour and a half in the afternoon increased their memory capacity. This study reflects a well-known fact in which toddlers who take afternoon naps have greater learning capacities than those who don't. This study also "suggests that sleep can actually restore the ability to learn." Educators around the country have consistently emphasized the need for adolescents to sleep for at least 8 hours, and this study supports this claim; as Walker put it, "You need to sleep before learning, to prepare your brain, like a dry sponge, to absorb new information." Everyone should be aware of this study, so all can learn the importance of getting a full night's sleep!
LINKS TO STUDY: None that were included in the original article.
ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/research/23beha.html
SUBMITTED BY: Bettina Pancho
PUBLICATION NAME: The New York Times
DATE OF PUBLICATION: February 23, 2010
SUMMARY: Research lead by Matthew Walker, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of California - Berkeley, demonstrated that young adults who slept for at least an hour and a half in the afternoon increased their memory capacity. This study reflects a well-known fact in which toddlers who take afternoon naps have greater learning capacities than those who don't. This study also "suggests that sleep can actually restore the ability to learn." Educators around the country have consistently emphasized the need for adolescents to sleep for at least 8 hours, and this study supports this claim; as Walker put it, "You need to sleep before learning, to prepare your brain, like a dry sponge, to absorb new information." Everyone should be aware of this study, so all can learn the importance of getting a full night's sleep!
LINKS TO STUDY: None that were included in the original article.
ARTICLE: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/research/23beha.html
SUBMITTED BY: Bettina Pancho
Why we struggle in our relationships
AUTHOR: Mel Schwartz
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: December 5, 2010
SUMMARY: This article addressed the problems people face in relationships and the most common reason why these problems arise. When in a relationship, most couples face countless disappointments. However, instead of trying to stop future disappointments by coming to an understanding of how the problem arose, couples have the tendency of blaming their significant others or even themselves. When looking at divorce statistics, one would instantly come to the conclusions that most relationships and marriages do not last. But the reason could be that people constantly place the fault on themselves or place the fault on their partners. Both of these are considered negative energy and both only lead to guilt. The research came to the conclusion that relationships between couples who only blame one another would never last because they would only argue. Instead of ruining a relationship based on problems, people must seek help to understand the problem. In addition, instead of only looking to repair the relationships, people must seek a way to feel fulfillment and joy with their partner. Relationships among people are not taught in classrooms, so in order to succeed and live happily, one must address the problem and understand that they cannot just seek for a salvation of their relationship. In order for the relationship to work, the need to be aware of the problem and read, go to workshops, and do therapy. The research even suggests that therapy before marriage is a much healthier way to keep a marriage stable and lasting. Through doing this, couples would come to realize that relationships can only last through the understanding and engagement of commitment to one's partner.
LINKS TO STUDY: None.
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201012/why-we-struggle-in-our-relationships
SUBMITTED BY: Connie Giang
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: December 5, 2010
SUMMARY: This article addressed the problems people face in relationships and the most common reason why these problems arise. When in a relationship, most couples face countless disappointments. However, instead of trying to stop future disappointments by coming to an understanding of how the problem arose, couples have the tendency of blaming their significant others or even themselves. When looking at divorce statistics, one would instantly come to the conclusions that most relationships and marriages do not last. But the reason could be that people constantly place the fault on themselves or place the fault on their partners. Both of these are considered negative energy and both only lead to guilt. The research came to the conclusion that relationships between couples who only blame one another would never last because they would only argue. Instead of ruining a relationship based on problems, people must seek help to understand the problem. In addition, instead of only looking to repair the relationships, people must seek a way to feel fulfillment and joy with their partner. Relationships among people are not taught in classrooms, so in order to succeed and live happily, one must address the problem and understand that they cannot just seek for a salvation of their relationship. In order for the relationship to work, the need to be aware of the problem and read, go to workshops, and do therapy. The research even suggests that therapy before marriage is a much healthier way to keep a marriage stable and lasting. Through doing this, couples would come to realize that relationships can only last through the understanding and engagement of commitment to one's partner.
LINKS TO STUDY: None.
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201012/why-we-struggle-in-our-relationships
SUBMITTED BY: Connie Giang
Miscarriage and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
AUTHOR: Gad Saad
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 28, 2010
SUMMARY: In this article, the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) created after a miscarriage is addressed. PTSD can cause depression and anxiety in the woman who had a miscarriage. The research found helps people identify women that had miscarriages with PTSD and encourage them to seek help.
In the study, they found that symptoms of PTSD for women that experienced a miscarriage include tiredness, troubles sleeping, concentration difficulties, appetite loss, and many crying episodes. These results help friends and families of a miscarriage woman to gain help when symptoms are detected. PTSD causes trauma in the mother-to-be, making her stress level rise and the hopes of creating a family decrease. This study tells parents that experienced miscarriages to process their grief, which is the only way to resolve the problem. In order for the mother-to-be to move on, she must acknowledge that the miscarriage was not her fault or in her control.
When a woman decides on having a child, she begins to bond with him or her right away. Because of this bond, many mothers with miscarriages may instantly have PTSD after it occurs. If the miscarriage happens late in the pregnancy, PTSD is more likely because the baby must be surgically removed from the mother. This shows that bonds between humans are extremely strong, especially those between mothers and children. Because of these strong bonds, deep depression may occur when it ends due to death. This study acknowledges the fact that communication, support, and the seeking of help when faced with depression is vital to finally move on.
LINKS TO STUDY: The American Family Physician
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/somatic-psychology/201011/miscarriage-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
SUBMITTED BY: Connie Giang
PUBLICATION NAME: Psychology Today.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 28, 2010
SUMMARY: In this article, the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) created after a miscarriage is addressed. PTSD can cause depression and anxiety in the woman who had a miscarriage. The research found helps people identify women that had miscarriages with PTSD and encourage them to seek help.
In the study, they found that symptoms of PTSD for women that experienced a miscarriage include tiredness, troubles sleeping, concentration difficulties, appetite loss, and many crying episodes. These results help friends and families of a miscarriage woman to gain help when symptoms are detected. PTSD causes trauma in the mother-to-be, making her stress level rise and the hopes of creating a family decrease. This study tells parents that experienced miscarriages to process their grief, which is the only way to resolve the problem. In order for the mother-to-be to move on, she must acknowledge that the miscarriage was not her fault or in her control.
When a woman decides on having a child, she begins to bond with him or her right away. Because of this bond, many mothers with miscarriages may instantly have PTSD after it occurs. If the miscarriage happens late in the pregnancy, PTSD is more likely because the baby must be surgically removed from the mother. This shows that bonds between humans are extremely strong, especially those between mothers and children. Because of these strong bonds, deep depression may occur when it ends due to death. This study acknowledges the fact that communication, support, and the seeking of help when faced with depression is vital to finally move on.
LINKS TO STUDY: The American Family Physician
ARTICLE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/somatic-psychology/201011/miscarriage-and-post-traumatic-stress-disorder
SUBMITTED BY: Connie Giang
Do cell phones cause behavioral problems?
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Landau
PUBLICATION NAME:CNN
DATE OF PUBLICATION: December 7, 2010
Summary: Today, cell phones are how teenagers communicate. Most teens and even adults can go a few hours without their cell in their pocket. It’s crazy to think that these modern devices can cause behavioral problems for young children. Studies say that children that were exposed to cell phones either in the womb of their mother or after they were born up until the age of seven were at higher risk of behavioral problems. Researchers analyzed more than 28,000 children and more than 10 percent of them had mothers that spoke on the phone twice a day or even more and 50 percent had their phones turned on the whole day. The more a mother would use her cell phone the greater the risk of behavioral problems. It is very hard to believe that such a thing can cause damage to your behavior but they said that cell phones could have led up to a mother’s metabolism and could affect the brain of the fetus. This is very important to take account of since cell phones are used in our everyday lives. Women need to be aware of our cell phone usage when pregnant.
ARTICLE:http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/07/do-cell-phones-cause-behavioral-problems/?npt=NP1
SUBMITTED BY: Corri Takeda
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