Category Archives: Culture

‘Was Doing’ Versus ‘Did’: Verbs Matter When Judging Other People’s Intentions

Your English teacher wasn’t kidding: Grammar really does matter. The verb form used to describe an action can affect how the action is perceived—and these subtle variations could mean the difference between an innocent or guilty verdict in criminal law, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

William Hart, of the University of Alabama, was inspired to conduct the study by research on how people think about narratives. “Research was showing that when you describe somebody’s actions in terms of what they’re ‘doing,’ that action is way more vivid in [a reader’s] mind” than if the action is described in terms of what the person ‘did.’ At the same time, other researchers had found that when people imagine action vividly, they were more likely to think the person performing the action was doing it intentionally. (more…)

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Patient Privacy Should be Respected Abroad and Online

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Taking an unauthorized photo of a patient and posting it on Facebook is a giant no-no for health-care providers, who follow strict federal guidelines protecting patient privacy.

But what if the patient is a little girl in Ecuador receiving a vaccine from an American medical student, who’s in the country on a medical outreach trip? Although taking photos of patients in developing countries and posting them on the Web may not be illegal, it’s not ethical, say researchers from the University of Florida.

It’s long been a common practice for health care providers to snap photos while volunteering their time in developing countries, generally to bring back evidence of the conditions patients face there. But reporting in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, UF College of Medicine researchers say providers should treat patients’ privacy with the same reverence no matter where the care takes place. (more…)

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Does Social Anxiety Disorder Respond to Psychotherapy? Brain Study Says Yes

When psychotherapy is helping someone get better, what does that change look like in the brain? This was the question a team of Canadian psychological scientists set out to investigate in patients suffering from social anxiety disorder. Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.

Social anxiety is a common disorder, marked by overwhelming fears of interacting with others and expectations of being harshly judged. Medication and psychotherapy both help people with the disorder. But research on the neurological effects of psychotherapy has lagged far behind that on medication-induced changes in the brain. (more…)

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Woman Chases Tiger Attacking Her Husband Away With Wooden Ladle

A Malaysian woman has rescued her husband from tiger attack by hitting the animal on its head with a wooden ladle and chasing it away.

Tambun Gediu, 60, from an Orang Asli settlement, was hunting for squirrels near his village in the Gerik Belum Forest Reserve on Saturday when the 90kg tiger pounced on him. (more…)

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Teach-in: “Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa”

Even if you did not have the opportunity to attend the panel on “Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa,” you can slearn what four experts on the history and political affairs of the Middle East had to say about the causes of the unrest in the region in this video of the panel, […]

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Spring Break: Study Suggests How to Reduce Risky Behavior

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— College students who arrange with friends to “get their backs” are less likely to engage in risky spring break behavior, according to a new study.

The University of Michigan study, published this month in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, says about 60 percent of more than 650 college freshmen surveyed reported having an understanding with their friends about using alcohol during spring break. (more…)

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Intelligence and Personality May Predict Illness and Death

Do smarter people live longer and better lives? Are certain personality types more prone to premature death than are others? As our population continues to age in dramatic numbers, these questions become increasingly relevant. A new report in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, provides an overview of research on possible associations between intelligence and personality traits and various health outcomes. 

Although there is not much evidence to date that links intelligence with cancer, low intelligence has been shown to be related to increased risk of hospital admission and death due to cardiovascular disease. In addition, lower intelligence is associated with a greater incidence of accidents and risk of death by homicide than is higher intelligence.   (more…)

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