news 2020

Disrupted and poor quality sleep in the earliest months of a child's life can be an indicator of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems among toddlers, according to a new study. Researchers at the Institute for Mental Health, at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, in Helsinki , found a clear relationship between sleep problems in infancy such as frequent night wakings, short sleep duration or difficulty in falling asleep and particular emotional and behavioural problems at 24 months of age.

The brain seems to have two different systems enabling us to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, which develop at different ages, finds a new study involving UCL. The two systems mature at different times such that only four-year-olds can understand what another person is thinking, and not, as some have assumed, one-year-olds, according to the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) .

When people remember images, they fill in the edges with details they didn't actually see. That's the idea behind the boundary extension, a term which has become widely accepted in psychology classes, textbooks and test-prep flashcards. But what if the concept isn't quite accurate? A University of Chicago psychologist has discovered new evidence that challenges the decades-old understanding of the memory error as a universal phenomenon.

How much of this page will you read? How much will you remember? And does it make a difference when you're reading, or where? Those are the sorts of questions that a University of Chicago neuroscientist asks in an innovative new study-one that examines brain scans to uncover how attention is sustained over time, and when it might fluctuate.

Merely a brief introduction to mindfulness helps people deal with physical pain and negative emotions, a new study by researchers at Yale, Columbia, and Dartmouth shows. The effect of mindfulness was so pronounced, they found, that even when participants were subjected to high heat on their forearm, their brain responded as if it was experiencing normal temperature.

Women who have experienced domestic abuse appear to be more than 40 per cent more likely to die from any cause compared to the general population, a study led by the Universities of Warwick and Birmingham suggests. The researchers have also identified an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in those who have experienced domestic abuse, although more research is required to determine what other factors specifically lead to an increase in their mortality.

Researchers have developed a potential new tool to help clinicians detect hidden signs of autism in adults. Autism is usually diagnosed in childhood but a growing number of adults are being diagnosed with the condition, even in mid-to-late adulthood. Many adults develop compensatory psychological strategies to hide their symptoms from clinicians, employers and even their own families.

The tomahawk chop and war chant by fans of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs may seem like harmless fun, but roughly two-thirds of Native Americans who frequently engage in tribal and cultural practices take offense at such actions. New University of Michigan research reveals high rates of opposition to not only the use of gestures and chants, but also to Native American mascots and team names like the NFL's Washington Redskins.

A group protests the Washington Redskins name across from Levi's Stadium before a 2014 NFL football game between the Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers. (AP Photo by Tony Avelar) Contrary to polls showing that relatively few Native Americans take offense at the Washington Redskins' name, a new UC Berkeley study has found that at least half of more than 1,000 Native Americans surveyed are offended by the football team's 87-year-old moniker and Native mascots in general.

Honesty is the best policy, or so the saying goes. But what if the truth seems less believable than a fib? That's the scenario explored in a new study co-authored by a leading University of Chicago psychologist, who found that-in certain cases-people will lie in order to appear more honest. Asst. Prof. Alex Shaw  and his fellow researchers found evidence that highly favorable circumstances can prompt people to fudge the truth, even at personal monetary cost.

In these times, when Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg are active, discussions on scientific findings can become emotional. But how does the general public see such emotional debates' Initial answers to this question have now been found in the interdisciplinary DFG (German Research Foundation) Research Training Group "Trust and Communication in a Digitized World".

In the largest examination to date of the health consequences of ageism, or age-based bias, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health have found evidence that it harms the health of older people in 45 countries and across 5 continents. The study included over 7 million participants. Yale Professor Becca Levy was asked by the World Health Organization to lead the analysis as part of its newly launched Global Campaign to Combat Ageism , which is supported by 194 countries.

One in six women experience long-term post-traumatic stress following miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. This is the finding of the largest ever study into the psychological impact of early-stage pregnancy loss, from scientists at Imperial College London and KU Leuven in Belgium. Pregnancy loss affects up to one in two women, and for many women it will be the most traumatic event in their life.

By reviewing the psychology behind climate change rejection, a Stanford researcher suggests four approaches that can sway climate deniers and help overcome obstacles to implementing solutions. Want to sway the opinion of climate deniers' Start by acknowledging and respecting people's beliefs. That's one of four suggestions a Stanford researcher unearthed in a review of the psychology behind why some people reject climate change despite knowledge or access to the facts.

Even when people believed Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 election, they did not use "she" to refer to the next president. Listen Throughout most of 2016, a significant percentage of the American public believed that the winner of the November 2016 presidential election would be a woman - Hillary Clinton.

Scientists have mapped 13 key emotions triggered when we listen to music. Click on image to visit audio map. (Graphic by Alan Cowen) The "Star-Spangled Banner" stirs pride. Ed Sheeran's "The Shape of You" sparks joy. And "ooh là là!" best sums up the seductive power of George Michael's "Careless Whispers." UC Berkeley scientists have surveyed more than 2,500 people in the United States and China about their emotional responses to these and thousands of other songs from genres including rock, folk, jazz, classical, marching band, experimental and heavy metal.