Psychology News

These research articles involve many aspects of psychology such as cognitive psychology, depression studies, mental health, stress, happiness and neuropsychology, Scroll below for more specific categories.

A large-scale longitudinal study challenges the assumption that poverty amplifies the link between parental distress and child mental health problems. Using advanced statistical modeling, researchers found that financial hardship did not influence the reciprocal relationship between parents’ and children’s mental health.
Psychopathy impairs the ability to recognize and respond appropriately to emotional facial expressions, often disrupting empathy and social behavior. A new review explores whether oxytocin—a neuropeptide known to promote social bonding—can help compensate for these deficits.
A new study using AI tools found that posts in online hate speech communities closely resemble the speech patterns seen in forums for certain personality disorders. While it doesn’t imply that people with psychiatric diagnoses are more prone to hate, the overlap suggests that online hate speech may cultivate traits like low empathy and emotional instability.
A new brain imaging study reveals that how people expect pain relief—through visual cues or treatment explanations—can significantly influence how much pain they actually feel. External cues, like symbols signaling less pain, consistently reduced pain perception and altered brain regions tied to pain processing. In contrast, expectations based on treatment information were less consistent and instead activated brain areas involved in evaluation and meaning.
Aggression isn’t just a behavioral issue—it has deep neurobiological roots, especially when shaped by early-life trauma. New research is investigating how childhood adversity rewires brain circuits that control emotion, memory, and attention, increasing the risk of impulsive and pathological aggression.
A groundbreaking study has revealed that genes linked to mental and neurodegenerative disorders, such as autism, depression, and Parkinson’s, begin influencing brain development during the earliest fetal stages. These genes are already active in neural stem cells—the progenitors that form the brain—long before symptoms arise.
A new philosophical theory proposes that the meaning of life isn’t something static, but something we feel out as we move through life with different emotional stances. Dubbed the "Geographic Model of Meaning in Life," this concept likens our search for meaning to a blind person probing space with a cane—meaning emerges through that very exploration.
Women who commit lethal violence rarely display psychopathy, instead acting out of provocation and perceived threats. A 15-year Swedish study of 175 cases found that about half of the women had a severe mental disorder, and these women showed slightly more short-term planning but still high emotional arousal.
A new study reveals that a brain circuit driving negative emotions during cocaine withdrawal plays a key role in relapse. Researchers found that this “anti-reward” network becomes hyperactive during abstinence, amplifying distress and pushing users back toward the drug.