Stories by Christie Nicholson

If you're in an up mood, you may walk more energetically. But a study finds that purposefully walking more energetically may improve your mood. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Absence from work due to illness increased dramatically for those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night. Christie Nicholson reports

 

The direction of your gaze when looking at someone offers an unconscious, automatic giveaway of whether your initial reaction is romance or sex. Christie Nicholson reports

People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.

Children who experience neglect, abuse and/or poverty can have smaller amygdalas and hippocampuses, brain regions involved in emotion and memory, compared with kids raised in nurturing environments. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Our ability to pinpoint pain varies across the body, and in a specific pattern. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Researchers could tell what sounds blindfolded volunters were hearing by analyzing activity in their visual cortexes. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Thirty-three families allowed themselves to be recorded for up to six nights. Parents who said they supported corporal punishment did it often and with little provocation. Christie Nicholson reports

 

In a study covering five different countries, subjects reported feeling best on the days when they practiced what are considered extroverted actions. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Food’s texture in your mouth—also called “mouthfeel” or “oral haptics”—influences estimates of calorie counts. And people might eat more crunchy stuff assuming (often incorrectly) it has fewer calories than softer fare. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Teenage drivers who have a high sensitivity to stress actually have lower rates of car accidents than their more mellow friends. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Children who heard descriptions of animals behaving like humans were less likely to attribute to a real animal a newly learned biological fact than were kids who heard realistic information. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Moms were better able to sway a child's perception of risk when they explained the reasons an activity was dangerous and its possible consequences rather than just saying no. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Adults who had been members of gangs in their adolescence had poorer outcomes on a variety of measures, including physical and mental health, than those who'd never been in a gang. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Babies learning speech figure out what an object is by listening to others talk about what that object does. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Recent and easily retrievable information can overwrite the details of memories, thus altering them in your mind. Christie Nicholson reports

Psychologists found that encouraging newlywed couples to watch romance flicks, and then discuss them cut the three-year divorce rate in half. Christie Nicholson reports

A meta-analysis of 47 previously published studies concludes that there's moderate evidence for meditation offering some relief of anxiety and depression, and low or insufficient evidence for effects on other conditions. Christie Nicholson reports

 

Men and women may have different roles when it comes to comedy, but laughter is crucial from flirtation through long-term commitment

Unmanned aerial vehicles hold great potential in their ability to provide crucial data about tornado behavior--if only the FAA allowed scientists to use them

Men and women may have different roles when it comes to comedy, but laughter is crucial from flirtation through long-term commitment

Recent research explores the effects of a schizophrenia risk factor (DISC1) and its influence over the onset of the disease

Mobile music rocked the record industry

Where do rainbows come from? What about flying cars, love and LSD?