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Edited by Jill Wright,
The fact that Positive Psychology authority Professor Barbara Frederickson has been forced to "partially withdraw" her paper claiming a mathematically precise so-called "positivity ratio" leading to emotional flourishing, unfortunately doesn't seem to have stopped her from continuing to sell her 2009 book, Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio that Will Change Your Life, and inviting the public to...
Edited by Jill Wright,
The op-ed column in the New York Times this week drawing attention to "psychotherapy's image problem" is something that deserves similar attention in this country. It's not your conventional image problem: as the author, Brandon A. Gaudiano, points out, psychotherapy has proved itself in numerous peer-reviewed studies to be more effective than drugs in relieving the most common mental health...
Edited by Jill Wright,
A research paper released early this year by cognitive and educational psychologists has some practical clues for students: easy-to-use study techniques that actually work ... and advice on some widely accepted ones that don't work. You might start by throwing away your highlighter and creating some flash cards. A friend of mine who recently studied Mandarin highly recommends a computer-based...
Edited by Jill Wright,
Psychologists tend to have mixed views of hypnosis. On the one hand, Sigmund Freud used it with his early patients as he developed his theories on the unconscious, before switching to free association and "the talking cure". On the other hand the decidedly unprofessional antics of stage hypnotism make many psychologists more than a little wary. As the American Psychological...
Edited by Jill Wright,
There's something quite arresting about the latest post in the British Psychological Society's Research Digest blog, which details the results of research carried out by Michael Parks, R.B. Felsom, D.K. Osgood and K. Graham from Penn State University's Department of Sociology and Criminology into the precise conditions under which bystanders were likely to intervene in bar-room brawls. The team trained...
Edited by Jill Wright,
Some recent psychological studies reinforce the importance of positive role models in allowing women to achieve their potential. Women's performance in maths tasks is undermined, for instance, when they are reminded of the stereotype that they are innately inferior at maths compared to men. The phenomenon, which applies to other groups, including ethnic minorities - it was originally identified in...
Edited by Jill Wright,
Psychologists who work with businesses and organisations - including Psychology Melbourne's expert team - contribute a great deal to helping organisations improve the attitudes, effectiveness and productivity of managers and staff. In the future, it seems, they might also be contributing a great deal to enhancing the career prospects of neurotic introverts. This follows research that indicates that while the...
Edited by Jill Wright,
Psychologists have always differed from psychiatrists in their attitudes to the use of prescription drugs. One study suggests that even as students, psychologists are more likely to regard psychiatric prescriptions as harmful and over-used. Despite those reservations, however, psychologists have largely avoided public criticism of their medical colleagues' growing tendency to prescribe drugs to patients suffering from mental distress. That...