Foreign language, fewer false memories
People using a second language tend to have fewer false memories, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. In the first of two studies, researchers presented 120 native Mandarin Chinese speakers who also knew English with the same list of related words in both languages. For example: “dream,” “snore,” “bed,” “drowsy,” etc., but critically not “sleep.” The participants were then asked which words were and were not on the list. The researchers found that participants were less likely to falsely remember missing words if presented in their secondary language than their native one. In the second study, a different group of 120 native Mandarin speakers watched silent videos of a crime. They then listened to stories explaining details of the crime—some true and some not—in either Mandarin or English. The native language stories elicited false memories, while those told in the participants’ secondary language did not. DOI: 10.1037/xge0001378
Unequal from the start
Research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General suggests that middle- and upper-class students are more likely to engage in classroom discussions than are equally capable students from working-class families. In the first of two studies, researchers videotaped several discussions in four separate French preschool classrooms with a total of 98 children, recording the frequency and duration of each child’s participation. Students from low socioeconomic status (SES) families spoke less frequently and for less time compared with high-SES students. Notably, these differences were not explained by oral language proficiency. In the second study, the researchers asked 94 students about fictional children participating in class discussions. Overall, the students perceived fictional children who were more engaged in classroom discussions as possessing more positive characteristics, such as competence and warmth, than other children. DOI:10.1037/xge0001437
Benefits of limiting social media
Limiting daily social media use can significantly enhance the mental health of young adults, suggests research in Technology, Mind, and Behavior. Researchers recruited 230 students in the United States, half of whom were asked to limit their social media usage to 30 minutes per day and received automated, daily reminders about limiting usage for 2 weeks. The limited social media group reported significantly higher positive affect and significantly lower levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and fear of missing out at the end of the experiment compared with the unlimited group. The positive effects were even observed in participants who sometimes exceeded the 30-minute limit. DOI: 10.1037/tmb0000111
More emotion, better mental health
According to research in Emotion, more intense emotional responses, even negative ones, are linked to happiness and better mental health. In three studies in the United States, a total of 401 participants either viewed photos meant to elicit emotional responses or tracked their emotions via a daily diary. Researchers demonstrated that more intense emotional reactions, whether positive or negative, were associated with higher levels of well-being. Two additional studies with 262 participants revealed that those who were happier exhibited more functional approach and avoidance behaviors in behavior-focused tasks than those who were less happy. Together, the results support the idea that intense reactions motivate behaviors that render future exposures to negative stimuli and events less likely. DOI: 10.1037/emo0001159
Opioid addiction treatment for teens
As increasing numbers of teens use opioids, more residential addiction treatment facilities are offering medication to counter this addiction. About 1 in 4 residential addiction treatment facilities for adolescents offer buprenorphine—a maintenance drug to treat dependence—for opioid use disorder, compared with 2 in 3 residential facilities for adults, according to a study in JAMA. Researchers called 354 residential treatment centers for substance use across the United States between October and December 2022 to inquire about treatment and services offered for a 16-year-old with a recent nonfatal fentanyl overdose. They found that 160 (45%) of these facilities provided residential treatment to patients under the age of 18. Thirty-nine (24%) of the 160 facilities offered buprenorphine to patients ages 16 or older, and 12 facilities (7.5%) offered buprenorphine to adolescents under 16 years of age. Among the other 121 facilities that did not offer buprenorphine to adolescents, 57 (47%) indicated that adolescents prescribed buprenorphine by their clinician could stay on it at least temporarily. However, some stated they would discontinue it before discharge. Moreover, 27 (22%) required that adolescents be buprenorphine-free before being admitted for residential treatment. DOI:10.1001/jama.2023.6266
Psychedelics reopen social learning windows
A mouse study in Nature suggests that psychedelic drugs reopen “critical periods” in the brain, when the animals learn to associate socializing with positive feelings. Researchers trained mice to differentiate places where they are among other mice versus places where they are alone. The researchers then gave a psychedelic drug to the mice and observed that they tended to choose the social environment over the solitary environment—a behavior normally learned as juveniles. This critical period remained open for 48 hours in mice that were given ketamine. With psilocybin and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), the open state lasted 2 weeks. For mice given lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ibogaine, the critical period remained open for 3 and 4 weeks, respectively. These lengths roughly parallel the average length of time that people self-report the acute effects of each psychedelic drug. DOI:10.1038/s41586-023-06204-3
Guilt-prone people are less corrupt
Guilt-prone people are less likely to be corrupt, suggests research in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Researchers asked 2,082 participants in China to fill out a questionnaire to record both demographic and personality information, including how concerned they were about fairness. Participants then experienced two different scenarios: one in which a fictitious student attempted to bribe the participants to change their grades, and another in which a co-player attempted to bribe the participants to share with them money that would otherwise be donated to a children’s charity. More guilt-prone participants were less likely to accept a bribe in either scenario. The effect was more pronounced in the charitable donation scenario, though, possibly because there was a clear victim, unlike the grades scenario. DOI:10.1177/19485506231168515
Memories often worse than initial abuse
The way childhood abuse and neglect are remembered has a deeper impact on later mental health than the experience itself, according to research in JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers followed 1,196 adults in the United States from age 29 to 40. They found that participants who, at age 29, retrospectively self-reported experiences of childhood maltreatment before age 12 had a greater number of depressive or anxiety episodes over the subsequent decade than those who did not remember maltreatment, even if it was documented in an official court record. This was partly explained by these participants’ current and past mental health, possibly because of emotional disorders negatively biasing their memories, making them more likely to recall adverse events. On the other hand, participants with an official record of childhood maltreatment but no memories of the experience had a similar number of emotional disorder episodes in adulthood as those with no history of maltreatment. DOI:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2140
Hookup, minus the hookups
About half of Tinder users are looking for something other than a hookup, suggests research in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Researchers surveyed 1,387 English-speaking Tinder users, ages 17 to 84, about their motivations for using the app, the number of matches and offline dates they had, their relationship status, their selectiveness in choosing partners, their overall satisfaction with the app and their offline dates, and various psychological measures. The researchers found that about two-thirds of respondents currently using the app were also currently married or in a relationship, and only about half of all respondents were using the app to find dates. The other motivations included searching for social connectedness, seeking entertainment and distraction, increasing positive emotions, and coping with negative ones. Factors that increased satisfaction with the app included finding potential romantic partners and people with whom to socialize. Factors leading to decreased satisfaction included using Tinder to cope with negative emotions or preexisting personal traits such as an avoidant attachment style or a mood disorder. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2022.0367
Dark personalities attract the same
A study in the Journal of Personality suggests that people who exhibit psychopathy and narcissism traits tend to be more satisfied in their romantic relationships when their partner presents the same traits to a similar degree. Researchers surveyed 205 adult heterosexual romantic couples in the United States who had been together 1 year or longer about their own and their partner’s psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism traits, as well as their own satisfaction in their relationship. The researchers found that living with a partner who has dissimilar levels of psychopathy can lead to communication problems and a lack of support within the relationship. They also found that unequal levels of narcissism were related to lower satisfaction for both partners. Finally, any expression of Machiavellian behaviors, such as taking advantage of others and a lack of empathy, decreased satisfaction in both partners. DOI:10.1111/jopy.12857
Politics and ADHD
According to a study in PLOS ONE, people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to participate in politics than individuals without symptoms of the disorder. Researchers surveyed 1,369 Jewish Israelis ahead of the 2019 election cycle in Israel about ADHD symptoms, demographic information, news consumption habits, and political attitudes. They also asked about political participation, including traditional political actions (for example, voting, contacting politicians, participating in demonstrations) and digital political activities (for example, connecting with politicians through social media, as well as expressing political opinions and sharing news on social media). Compared with participants who did not report ADHD symptoms, the 15% of study participants who reported ADHD symptoms noted higher levels of overall political participation (both in traditional forms and through digital means), more passive news consumption, and less tolerance of differing opinions. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280445
Opioid RX prevents overdoses
Increasing access to prescription opioid maintenance drugs to treat dependence may reduce opioid overdose deaths in the United States, according to a study in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. Researchers examined toxicology data, death records, and prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data from 2,682 accidental overdose deaths that occurred from 2016 to 2021 in a large U.S. metropolitan area. They found that fewer than half of all decedents (43.3%) had a PDMP record, meaning they had never had any prescriptions for opioids. Of the 10.6% prescribed buprenorphine—the opioid commonly used for patients with opioid addiction—most (64.7%) were prescribed treatment more than 30 days prior to death, suggesting they were not actively seeking treatment. The researchers also found racial disparities in buprenorphine and opioid analgesic prescriptions, with dispersal for Blacks significantly lower than for Whites (7.3% and 21.9% versus 92.7% and 77.7%, respectively). DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209053
OCD chemical imbalance
According to a study in Nature Communications, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be caused by a chemical imbalance in two frontal lobe brain regions. Researchers used a powerful type of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to scan the brains of 31 people clinically diagnosed with OCD and 30 people with no OCD diagnosis. They found that participants with OCD had higher levels of the neurochemical glutamate and lower levels of the neurochemical GABA in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared with people without OCD. Furthermore, the severity of OCD symptoms was related to higher glutamate levels in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Slightly elevated glutamate levels in the SMA were also observed in healthy participants with milder compulsive tendencies. The ACC and the SMA are both involved in deciding the balance between our conscious goals and more automatic habits. The findings suggest that medications regulating glutamate levels may effectively treat OCD. DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-38695-z
Instability inherent in ADHD
While previous studies have indicated that young people with ADHD report that they are more prone to instability in various domains of their lives compared with those without the disorder, a new large-scale study in BMC Psychiatry extends those findings to older adults using national registry data. Researchers analyzed data from a longitudinal study from 2000 to 2014 involving 3,448,440 adults in Sweden, including 31,081 with an ADHD diagnosis. They found that people with ADHD switched residences at twice the rate of those without ADHD. Those with the diagnosis also experienced an increased incidence of job hopping and relationship instability as determined by counting how many children individuals had with different partners. These associations tended to increase with age. Women with ADHD in all age groups had a higher relational instability rate than men with ADHD. DOI:10.1186/s12888-023-04713-z
‘Wake therapy’ brain area located
For at least half a century, psychologists have known that a night of sleeplessness can immediately boost the mood of roughly half of people suffering from depression. Now, research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has finally identified the brain regions responsible for this “wake therapy.” Researchers evaluated 30 people in the United States with major depressive disorder who all underwent sleep deprivation. They also assessed another 54 people without depression, 16 of whom did not undergo sleep deprivation. They performed resting-state fMRI scans on all participants after a normal night’s sleep, after a sleepless night, and after two nights of recovery sleep. About 43% of those with diagnosed depression experienced mood improvement after sleep deprivation. Most, but not all, of those without depression reported a worsened mood after losing sleep. Imaging in all respondents reporting improved mood showed increased connectivity between the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex. These two areas have previously been implicated in depression and the effects of sleep deprivation. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2214505120
Older adults less anxious
Research in NeuroImage indicates that as people get older, they tend to get faster at processing negative emotions, resulting in lower anxiety levels. Researchers first assessed the trait anxiety of 88 healthy adults ages 21 to 85. Then, the participants underwent MRI scans while performing a task matching faces that exhibited similar emotions. The researchers found that older participants had lower anxiety levels and were quicker to identify negative emotional faces than neutral or positive ones, without sacrificing accuracy, suggesting that age-related cognitive declines did not play a role. A region of the brain called the dorsal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex, which is involved in processing emotions, showed reduced activation in older adults when identifying negative emotional faces. This finding suggests that as people age, they more automatically recognize and respond to negative emotional information. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120207
The negatives of body positivity
A study in Computers in Human Behavior suggests that viewing sexualized body-positivity images on social media is linked with increased body surveillance and body dissatisfaction in women. Researchers asked 493 Italian women between the ages of 18 and 30 to report frequency of body surveillance, body satisfaction ratings, acceptance of cosmetic surgery, and frequency of viewing sexually objectified body-positive selfies on Instagram. They found that the frequency of viewing sexualized body-positivity images was associated with higher levels of body surveillance, which itself was negatively associated with body satisfaction. In addition, exposure to this sexualized content was associated with increased acceptance of plastic surgery. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2022.107586
Personalized placebos are extra effective
Placebo treatments are more effective when they are presented as personalized for the user, indicates research in eLife. Researchers administered painful stimulation to the forearms of 102 participants in Canada, followed by pain relief from a medical device which was actually a placebo. Some participants were told the device was personalized to match their genetic makeup and physiology, while other participants were told it was just a standard, nonpersonalized medical device. They found that participants who thought the placebo medical device was personalized reported feeling less pain when using it compared with those who believed the device was a one-size-fits-all treatment. The effect was more pronounced for those who value individuality and a deep desire to be seen as different from others. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.84691
Heartbeat helps shape time perception
Our perception of time might be in part driven by our heartbeats, according to a study in Psychophysiology. Researchers outfitted 45 university students in the United States with electrocardiographic devices to precisely measure the length of their heartbeats. They then presented the participants with 80- to 180-millisecond-long audio tones and asked them to estimate the tones’ length. They found that participants with long intervals between their heartbeats perceived the tone as longer, whereas those with shorter intervals thought it was shorter. Hearing a tone led participants to focus their attention on the sound, which produced an “orienting response” that, in turn, altered their heart rate and readjusted their experience of time. DOI:10.1111/psyp.14270
Driving while (cognitively) impaired
The majority of older adults who have cognitive impairment are still driving, but only a third of their caregivers had concerns about them driving, suggests a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers surveyed 635 U.S. adults older than 65 with cognitive assessment scores indicative of impairment. They also surveyed the respondents’ caregivers. About 61% of the cognitively impaired adult respondents were current drivers. About 35% of those respondents’ caregivers expressed concerns about their care recipient driving. Caregivers were primarily concerned about respondents driving at night, driving in the rain, and driving in busy traffic. DOI:10.1111/jgs.18493
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . next!
It can take as little as 5 seconds for people to figure out if they like a new or familiar song, suggests a study in Music Perception. Researchers asked 643 university students in the United States to listen to and rate their fondness for and familiarity with 260 complete songs (about 50 of which were deemed obscure by experts) from a wide variety of genres as well as random excerpts from these songs lasting 5, 10, or 15 seconds. They found that participants’ preference for songs—whether they listened to a clip (of any of the three durations) or the entire song—aligned, indicating that even the shortest clips predicted whether listeners liked or disliked whole songs. DOI: 10.1525/mp.2023.40.3.220
Most happiness hacks are unproven
Activities often touted as boosting happiness—including meditating, exercising, and spending time in nature—lack the scientific evidence to back up claims that they impact mood, according to a study in Nature Human Behaviour. Researchers coded 494 previously published studies about happiness that had appeared in stories in the popular media. They identified the five most recommended strategies for lifting mood: expressing gratitude, enhancing sociability, exercising, practicing mindfulness or meditation, and spending time in nature. Of the 494 studies, only 57 met the researchers’ criteria for good science: sufficient numbers of participants to draw statistically significant conclusions and scientifically sound hypotheses (that is, hypotheses established before data analysis was undertaken). Even among the 57 robust studies, the researchers found little solid evidence that exercise, meditating, and spending time in nature increased happiness, though they saw better support for the effects of expressing gratitude and pursuing more social interaction. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01651-4
Less sleep, more stress
According to research in PLOS ONE, parents who had sleep disorders or had children with sleep disorders experienced greater stress than those without sleep disorders in the family. Researchers analyzed data on 14,009 employees at a company in the United States, all of whom had children. They found that 2.2% of the employees filed insurance claims for treating stress and 12.5% filed claims for treating a sleep disorder, including insomnia, hypersomnia, or sleep apnea. About 2% of employees filed one or more claims for a sleep disorder for their children. Rates of parental stress were 3 times greater for those with insomnia and 1.9 times greater for those with sleep apnea. In addition, parental stress was 1.9 times greater if their child had any sleep disorder, and 2.9 times greater if their child had insomnia. The researchers also found that if a child had a sleep disorder, the rate of parental insomnia and sleep apnea both nearly doubled. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0279476
