Decomposing the Motivation to Exert Mental EffortAmitai Shenhav, Mahalia Prater Fahey, and Ivan Grahek Achieving goals and completing tasks tend to require mental effort, something that people have varying motivation to exert. Shenhav and colleagues describe efforts to understand what determines motivation using the expected-value-of-control (EVC) model. This model simulates the process people use to …

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Folk Classification and Factor Rotations: Whales, Sharks, and the Problems With the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)Gerald J. Haeffel et al. Haeffel and colleagues evaluated the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), a classification system that clusters symptoms of mental illness into dimensions of psychopathology rather than the classic diagnostic taxonomies used in the Diagnostic and …

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Teens could spend their whole day doing activities that drain their energy, which sometimes gives them psychological stress. But they also develop different coping strategies to destress, such as spending time online. A new study, titled “Adolescents’ Online Coping: When Less Is More but None Is Worse” published in Clinical Psychological Science, revealed that teens ages 13-17 …

Teens Who Spend Moderate Time Online Cope Better With Psychological Stress Than Others, Study Reveals Read More »

Corporations, universities, and individuals have tried to find some magic formula to understand personalities and what characteristics and skills someone brings to the table. Over the years and across the globe, people have used handwriting analysis, phrenology—reading the bumps on the head, and even Ivy League diplomas to ascertain if someone has leadership potential or …

Under the Cortex: Skeptical ‘Deep Dive‘ on the Myers-Briggs Test Read More »

U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed APS Fellow Jennifer Richeson to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a highly influential group of external experts charged with directly advising the president and the White House on science, technology, and innovation. Announced September 22, the appointment—along with those of 29 other experts in broadly diverse fields of science, engineering, medicine, technology, and more—signals the growing influence of psychological science at the highest levels of government …

APS Fellow Jennifer Richeson Named to White House Science Council Read More »

In a maverick method, nephrologist Michael Field taught medical students to decipher different heart murmurs through their stethoscopes, trills, grace notes, and decrescendos to describe the distinctive sounds of heart valves snapping closed, and blood ebbing through leaky valves in plumbing disorders of the heart. Separately, in music based on electrocardiographic (ECG) traces of heart rhythm disorders, …

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Aging Impairs Inhibitory Control Over Incidental Cues: A Construal-Level PerspectiveLiat Hadar, Yaacov Trope, and Boaz M. Ben-DavidOlder adults’ purchasing decisions appear to be more influenced by peripheral product features than by central and goal-relevant features, this research indicates. Compared with older adults, younger adults were more willing to pay more for a product with superior …

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Facebook-owned Instagram has been criticised for keeping secret its internal research into the effect social media had on teenager users. According to the Wall Street Journal, its studies showed teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression. Campaign groups and MPs have said it is proof the company puts profit first. Instagram said …

Facebook Under Fire Over Secret Teen Research Read More »

Most kids are now in their third year of school during the pandemic. It’s been a time of ups and downs; adjustments and re-adjustments. Some have flourished in online school and want to stay home — others have floundered and are excited to go back. NPR spoke to a group of kids ages 6 and …

What Kids Feel Entering a Third COVID School Year (And How to Help Them Through It) Read More »

This week is our last with Maddie as a host, so we’re spending it with a trip down memory lane. The first episode Maddie invites us to relive and enjoy is our first listener question episode on the science behind thrill-seeking. She talks to psychologist Ken Carter about why some people love to get scared. …