Published: December 23, 2010
Image : iStockphoto
hy do we look up to those we respect, stoop to the level of those we disdain and think warmly about those we love? Why do we hide dirty secrets or wash our hands of worries? Why do we ponder weighty subjects and feel a load lift after we have made a decision? Why do we look back on the past and forward to the future?
Such turns of phrase, invoking a physical reality that stands in for intangible concepts, might seem like linguistic flights of fancy. But a rapidly growing body of research indicates that metaphors joining body and mind reflect a central fact about the way we think: the mind uses the body to make sense of abstract concepts. Thus, seemingly trivial sensations and actions—mimicking a smile or a frown, holding smooth or rough objects, nodding or giving a thumbs-up—can influence high-level psychological processes such as social judgment, language comprehension, visual perception and even reasoning about insubstantial notions such as time. Curious? Continue reading
Source: Scientific American
Published: December 22, 2010
Please excuse our appearance while our site undergoes some changes
Published: December 22, 2010
Image Credit:iStockphoto
University of Leicester psychologist has been involved in new research with Cornell University professors which has shown that emotions, particularly those provoked by negative events, can trigger inaccurate memories – and the effect is worse, not better, when the witness is an adult rather than a young child.
In an international collaboration of researchers, Dr Robyn Holliday, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Leicester, and professors from the United States collected data from 7 and 11 year old children and young adults.
The findings have recently been published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107, 137-154. Curious? Continue reading
Published: December 21, 2010
Anyone who comes to see a therapist at Tri-City Psychology Services will warm to this story featured today in the WSJ. For all those of you who haven’t sampled the delights of our practice let me elaborate. 2 very important parts of our practice are Mac and Portia our 2 Scottish terriers. Greeting patients with enthusiasm, but often are caught sleeping on the job. Since we opened the doors to our practice Portia was eager and ready to lend a helping paw! 3 years ago Mac made his entrance, and with his quirky cuteness quickly slipped into the role of chief greeter and first on the scene when anyone arrives.
Coming to see a psychologist can be an anxious experience for many new clients , those anxious first moments are quickly eased when they encounter the dogs who have that uncanny knack of breaking the ice and easing those first nervous moments.
Research shows that a few minutes of stroking a pet dog decreases cortisol, the stress hormone, in both the human and the dog. It also increases prolactin and oxytocin, hormones that govern nurturing and security, as well as serotonin and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters that boost mood. One study found that five minutes with a dog was as relaxing as a 20-minute break for hospital staffers. Curious? Continue reading
Source: Wall Street Journal
