As the world becomes more sensitive to the harm that can be caused by negative on-screen portrayals of marginalized groups, it can be tempting to believe that such portrayals are mostly disappearing from movies (as they should). Since children are particularly susceptible to negative messages like this, it would be ideal to remove these portrayals […]
Author: Joaquín Selva
The Psychological Benefits Of Giving Away Free Eyeglasses
A lot of physical problems have easy solutions that are only restrictive in terms of cost. For example, anyone with poor eyesight can just use glasses, but buying glasses may not be feasible for everyone. One study investigated a solution to this problem by giving free eyeglasses to children in China with vision problems and […]
Virtual Reality Can Help Treat Claustrophobia
While virtual reality is often thought of as a gaming platform, it can be used in a wide variety of other applications. For example, virtual reality is currently being researched in various medical and psychological applications, like in exposure therapy for claustrophobia. As it is the most common phobia, virtual reality treatments for claustrophobia could […]
Can A Mobile Game Enhance Chemotherapy?
The proliferation of smartphones has changed many aspects of our lives. While some of us may think of smartphones as devices that are mainly for entertainment or communication, they have also attracted attention in medical and psychological contexts as ways to engage with patients. As one example, one study investigated the ways in which a […]
Pet Owners May Better Understand Pet Vocalizations Than Others
While many people are interested in human behavior for obvious reasons, many people are also interested in the behavior of their pets. In particular, many people are interested in how their pets communicate, both with their owners and with other animals. One relevant study examined how well pet owners can comprehend pet vocalizations compared to […]
Are Depressive Symptoms Affected By Diet?
Note: The study presented here was examining depressive symptoms, not major depressive disorder (MDD). In addition, this article is in no way meant to suggest that depression is “caused” by one’s diet, nor that certain diets can “cure” depression. Rather, it aims to show that the consumption of certain types of food may be one […]
Psychologically, What Makes A Hero?
In recent years, the idea of heroism has attracted research interest in social psychology. One of the main concepts in this research has been the idea of what makes a hero, or what makes an act heroic. One paper conducted three studies to examine this question (Kraft-Todd & Rand, 2019), and this article will briefly […]
For Graduate Students, Teaching Does Not Impede Research
Many decision-makers in graduate programs ascribe to the belief that, for graduate students, any time they spend teaching or learning to teach impedes their current or future research ability. To elucidate this relationship, one study investigated the potential trade-off (if any) between teaching and research among graduate students (Shortlidge & Eddy, 2018). The study specifically […]
Underdiagnosing Of Mental Health Issues Among Racial Minorities
Mental health issues have become increasingly normalized over the last few years, but they are still not understood to be the same as physical health issues by all people. This is particularly true for racial and ethnic minorities, whose health issues are often overlooked. One study examined this topic among college students in the United […]
The Sopranos Added Therapy (And Female Perspectives) To The Godfather
Psychology is everywhere. Over the last few weeks, I watched The Sopranos for the first time, and along with its overall quality, I was particularly struck by how big of a role therapy played in the whole thing. Then, just the other day, I rewatched the first two The Godfather movies, which are constantly referenced […]