Welcome to Matters of the Mind, a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. You’re feeling down…
There was absolutely no evidence that reading bad news led to immediate increases in stress responses for either sex.
Dani/Flickr
Attention women of the world: according to a flood of recent news headlines (78 at last count), it’s time to stop watching the news because negative news stories stress you out more than they do men. These…
Why would someone want to step outside of their own body?
mandymama
During an out-of-body experience (OBE) a person finds his or her centre of consciousness displaced from their physical body. Research suggests around 10% of people have had an OBE, where they have experienced…
Were we born to work with others or look after number one?
Cayusa
Are we cooperative or are we selfish? This question goes back as far as the philosophers Rousseau and Hobbes – Rousseau advocated for a “noble savage” model of humanity whereas Hobbes advocated for a “darker…
Positive psychology is not and has never been a “positive thinking” movement.
Łukasz Strachanowski
Perhaps because the word positive automatically brings to mind the insufferable yellow smiley face, the field of positive psychology is struggling to get the respect that it deserves. Two articles in the…
Obama is a Muslim, vaccinations cause autism, asylum seekers are breaking the law, GM foods cause cancer. These are all pieces of unsubstantiated misinformation that are commonly encountered on TV, talk-back…
In recent advertisements for Meat and Livestock Australia, actor Sam Neill told us, in David Attenborough-inflected tones, that: “when our early ancestors started to eat red meat, our brains began to grow…
Emotional intelligence is the order of the day, it seems, for trainee referees.
Colin Whelan/AAP Image
It was encouraging to read recently that promising young rugby league referees are being offered the opportunity and time to invest in the development of their mental skills prior to taking on the pressure…
In spite of overwhelming scientific evidence for climate change, people find ways to reject that evidence if it does not fit with their world view.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre
In a previous article on The Conversation, Stephan Lewandowsky asked, why do people reject science? I’m going to take a slightly different angle and consider how people are able to reject climate science…
The environment isn’t “out there”; it’s in us, and we’re part of it.
Forest Wander/Flickr
Calls to “protect the environment” ring out across issues as diverse as climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water conservation and chemical contamination. I believe it is time to abandon…
Our brains haven’t evolved to consider the long-term consequences of behaviour that brings short-term rewards.
Patrick van IJzendoorn
Cognitive dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we have when we know we should invest in solar panels but the 46″ wide screen TV wins out; we know we should catch the bus but we take the car anyway…
Research finds men benefit psychologically from having a large family network.
http://happyfamiliesblog.blogspot.com.au/
Having a wide circle of friends is important to psychological wellbeing, but a network of relatives is more important for men according to new study from the UK. The research, published in the Journal…
What can brain imaging reveal about human intelligence?
PraveenbenK
When it comes to intelligence, what factors distinguish the brains of the exceptionally smart from those of average humans? New research by post-doctoral fellow Michael Cole and colleagues suggests as…
Don’t want someone sitting next to you? You’re not alone.
j.o.h.n. walker
On public transport, there’s an unspoken rule to not take the seat next to someone if there are other seats available. In especially longer public transport commutes, the entire ride can be done in silence…
Many Australians think they have experienced events associated with climate change.
AAP Image/Tony McDonough
Where one stands on “climate change” has been such a vexed and often confusing issue, at dinner parties, over coffee, with the taxi driver, and in terms of media reporting of where the Australian public…
Humans are very good at innovating and it would seem reasonable to expect our children would be too. But a recent study questions these assumptions, suggesting young children’s ability to problem-solve…