AllPsych Psychology Articles

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What Makes a Good Swear Word?

What Makes a Good Swear Word?

The idea that something is a swear word doesn’t seem to be defined by innate properties of the word as much as by the fact that you’re simply not supposed to say ...
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/ / Behavioral Psychology, Language
Sadness and Smoking

Sadness and Smoking

The idea that drugs can be an escape from negative emotions is well known. A recently published study from researchers at Harvard University gives us some more evidence for that idea, but ...
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/ / Addiction, Behavioral Psychology, Emotion-Affective Psychology, Sadness, Smoking
Even a Little Alcohol Can Lead to Riskier Decisions on a Moped Simulator

Even a Little Alcohol Can Lead to Riskier Decisions on a Moped Simulator

The stakes of taking to the roads with alcohol in one’s bloodstream are extremely high, both for the person under the influence and for other drivers, passengers and pedestrians. For the person ...
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/ / Alcohol, Behavioral Psychology, Risk
Older People Are More Attentive to Positive Information. What About Older Dogs?

Older People Are More Attentive to Positive Information. What About Older Dogs?

Being able to focus on the positive is something we can all benefit from, and it may be a skill that becomes easier with age. Psychology researchers have found that older adults ...
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/ / Animals, Developmental Psychology, Older Adults, Positive Psychology, Young Adults
Personality Traits and Holiday Spending

Personality Traits and Holiday Spending

Not everyone approaches the holiday season in the same way, financially speaking. Some will run up credit card bills with heaps of lavish gifts while others take a more tightfisted approach. A ...
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/ / Clinical Psychology, Holidays, Money, Personality
A Happiness Intervention for Teachers

A Happiness Intervention for Teachers

Teaching is a stressful job. From managing a classroom, to taking work home at night, to trying to adequately explain new concepts and keep pace with a curriculum at the same time, ...
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/ / Children, Gratitude, Happiness, Positive Psychology, Teaching, Treatment
Is Getting Up Too Early Worse Than Going to Bed Too Late?

Is Getting Up Too Early Worse Than Going to Bed Too Late?

To some extent, we have all conducted our own one-person real-life experiments with sleep deprivation. One thing I’ve noticed in my own such experiments is that if I’m going to have my ...
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/ / Performance Psychology, Sleep
School Cafeteria Setup Can Promote Healthy Eating Habits

School Cafeteria Setup Can Promote Healthy Eating Habits

The idea of "nudges" often comes up in research on the psychology of dietary choices. The theory being that certain cues can "nudge" people toward healthier eating habits. I wrote about this ...
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/ / Children, Developmental Psychology, Health Psychology, Nutrition, School
Depression Might Be Part of the Reason Psychopaths Go to Bed Later

Depression Might Be Part of the Reason Psychopaths Go to Bed Later

When the sun sets, all kinds of creatures come out of the woodwork. Owls, bats and … psychopaths? Some previous research suggests that the darker side of human nature really does have ...
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/ / Antisocial, Clinical Psychology, Depression, Personality, Sleep
Can a Cartoon Character Fight Stigma Against Autism?

Can a Cartoon Character Fight Stigma Against Autism?

Cartoons might seem like nothing more than a fun way to pass the time. Presumably, though, children who watch cartoons are integrating the things they see into how they view the world, ...
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/ / Art, Autism, Children, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology