One example of how animal research can help humans

Human and animal studies have found that brains go through substantial
synaptic pruning during childhood, removing approximately half of all synapses until puberty. While the pruning of synapses is a natural process, some researchers have theorized that schizophrenia arises from excessive pruning (Siekmeier & Hoffman, 2002). Presuming schizophrenia is a disorder of disruptions in neural connectivity [...]

Social Defeat may play a causal role in schizophrenia

Some ethnic minority groups have higher rates of schizophrenia than the general population. My first thought was that the differences were genetic. Current research has found a strong genetic component to schizophrenia, and given that different ethnic groups may have different rates of high risk genotypes, the genetic variation between groups may be in part [...]

Problems with the DSM

Professionals in psychiatry and clinical psychology rely heavily on the guidelines laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in order to make decisions about clients’ disorder status. This American Psychiatric Association publication was an intrepid attempt to create a comprehensive nosology of psychological problems. While reaching clinical consensus is of critical [...]

lack of control, illusory patterns, and belief in God

Ok, so there’s the question of whether a higher power exists or not.  I leave that to you.  However, either way, we have a psychological question.  How do we maintain our beliefs in a supernatural plane of existence and make causal attributions to Gods, witches, taboos, superstitions, magic etc. in the absence of physical evidence?
The [...]

A thought about the new cell-phone law

We’ve all had to swerve out of the way of someone who’s paying more attention to their cell phone than to the road. Presumably the problem stems from the fact that the person is driving one handed, dialing, looking at the phone, etc. So, on July 1, drivers in California will only be [...]

Why does the ‘Patriotism’ argument work?

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and endangering the country.”
Basically, people will fall in line if a) they are scared and b) they are [...]

Conservatives have a more balanced moral perspective than Liberals?!

Well, sort of. Traditionally, academics have argued that our sense of right and wrong is based on the harm that might occur or the rights that might be violated as a result of our judgments. But according to Psychologist Jonathan Haidt (2007), people have (at least) five innately prepared moral concerns. Included are [...]

Sharon Stone criticized over her just-world theory

Sharon Stone got in trouble today, and it wasn’t for her performance in Basic Instinct 2. No, Stone made headlines when she declared that the recent Earthquake in China, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, was the result of bad karma stemming from the chinese government’s treatment [...]

top social psych studies

Are you a fan of top ten lists? Do you wish you could take a look at ‘the greatest hits’ of social psych experiments all at once? Our friends at PsyBlog solicited votes on the most popular psych studies of all time. Check out the link
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/11/10-piercing-insights-into-human-nature.php
The descriptions of the studies are [...]