Big spenders, super savers
Personality characteristics can have a powerful influence on how quickly people spend their retirement savings, suggests a study in Psychology and Aging. Drawing from an ongoing survey of people age 50 and older in the United States, researchers paired psychological data collected in 2012 and 2014 from 3,678 participants with information about the amounts of money the participants withdrew from their retirement accounts. The researchers found that participants with higher levels of conscientiousness, extroversion, positive affect and feelings of control over their finances spent retirement savings at a lower rate, while those with higher levels of openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism and negative affect spent at a higher rate. These results held after controlling for demographic characteristics and other factors such as levels of debt and desire to leave an inheritance. DOI: 10.1037/pag0000424opens in new window
Scarcity drives discrimination
When economic resources are limited, people are more likely to discriminate against those of other races, suggests research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Researchers asked 71 undergraduate students —none of whom identified as black or African American—to look at pictures of black and white male faces on a screen and award each face an amount of money based on perceptions of the recipients’ “deservingness.” Participants were given up to $10 to award to each face. However, one group was told that they could have been allocated up to $100, thus creating a sense of scarcity, while the other group was told that $10 was the maximum they could have been allocated. Participants in the scarcity group took longer to process black faces than white faces, as measured using electroencephalography, and awarded them less money, while participants in the other group took the same amount of time to process faces of either race and distributed money to them evenly. Also, fMRI scans revealed decreased activity in brain regions involved in valuation and choice behavior when participants in the scarcity group looked at black faces. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000168opens in new window
Frayed family ties impact health
Difficult relationships with family members may undermine one’s health more than a troubled relationship with a significant other, according to a study in the Journal of Family Psychology. Researchers examined survey data, collected three times over two decades from 2,802 adults, that asked about strain and support among family and intimate partners. Participants’ health was indicated by the total number of chronic conditions, such as headaches and stroke, that they reported experiencing in the 12 months prior to data collection. The researchers found that increased family relationship strain was associated with more chronic conditions and worse self-reported health 10 years later. There were no significant effects of intimate partner relationships on health outcomes. DOI: 10.1037/fam0000600opens in new window
Losing yourself in the role
Just imagining how others feel can alter self-perception, suggests research in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. In one online study, researchers asked 185 adults to recall memories of personal events and rate how positively or negatively they felt during the events. Participants were then prompted to imagine how a friend (whom they had previously identified) would have felt during the same event and how an “average American” would have felt. Finally, when the participants again rated their own feelings, the ratings had shifted to become closer to their assessments of how their friend would have felt and, to a lesser extent, how they assessed an average American would have felt. An additional study with 310 participants indicated that these changes in self-perception can last 24 hours. DOI: 10.1037/xge0000565opens in new window
Spotting childhood disorders
Brain imaging may help identify children at risk for mood and attentional disorders, suggests a study in JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers performed resting-state fMRI scans on 94 7-year-olds who had no psychiatric diagnosis and followed them for four years. The researchers found that the children with weaker connectivity between the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were more likely to develop anxiety or depression symptoms by age 11. Those with stronger connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were more likely to develop symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by age 11. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.4208opens in new window
Brains of slow walkers age quicker
The walking speed of 45-year-olds can be used as a marker of brain health and aging, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. Researchers followed 904 New Zealanders from birth. At age 3, the participants underwent psychological testing, including assessments of intelligence, language comprehension, motor skills, frustration tolerance and emotional control. Lower scores on all these assessments were associated with slower walking speed at age 45. Also, MRI exams performed at age 45 showed that slower walkers tended to have greater markers of aging such as lower total brain volume, lower mean cortical thickness, less brain surface area and higher incidence of small white matter lesions associated with small vessel disease of the brain. Finally, slower walkers looked older to a panel of eight volunteers who assessed each participant’s “facial age” from a photograph. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123opens in new window
Immune to marketing?
Even though people readily acknowledge that advertising and political campaigns can exploit psychological research to control behaviors, they don’t think such marketing efforts influence their own choices, suggests research in Consciousness and Cognition. In one study, researchers asked 399 adults from four countries (Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States) to give examples from everyday experiences where psychological research has been used to manipulate people’s behavior. About 45% cited advertising and 6% cited political campaigns. In two additional studies, 298 participants indicated that despite the use of psychological research in advertising and political contexts to manipulate their behavior, they were still able to maintain free will when it came to their purchasing or voting decisions. This contrasted with examples where psychological research was used in therapeutic situations, such as hypnotherapy or the use of placebo treatments, in which people felt less in control of their choices. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102860opens in new window
Eureka!...Or not
Experiencing a profound sense of insight when deciphering a statement can make people more likely to believe that the statement is true, even when it isn’t, according to a study in Cognition. Researchers presented 268 online participants with 26 statements containing anagrams (e.g., “ithlium is the lightest of all metals”). The participants had 20 seconds to solve the anagram (i.e., ithlium = lithium) and read the completed statement. They then judged how likely the statement was to be true on a 12-point scale and indicated whether they had experienced an “aha!” moment while working out the anagram. Half the statements were true (lithium is indeed the lightest metal) and half were false. In the 60% of trials in which participants successfully solved the anagram, they rated the statements as more likely true, on average, (even if they were false); this effect was enhanced in trials in which participants also reported an “aha!” moment. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104122opens in new window
Socially transmitted placebo
Medical treatments may be more effective when your physician seems to believe they will work, according to research in Nature Human Behaviour. Across three studies, researchers cast 194 U.S. undergraduates in the role of either doctor or patient. Next, the researchers led the “doctors” to believe that one of two identical petroleum jelly–based creams, called “Thermedol,” worked better than the other in reducing pain. The researchers had the “doctors” apply the creams to the “patients,” who reported feeling less pain in reaction to a heat exposure when treated with Thermedol. The patients also showed less arousal, as measured by skin conductance response, when receiving Thermedol. Analyses of videotapes indicated that the “doctors” may have conveyed their expectations about the effectiveness of the treatments through their facial expressions. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0749-5opens in new window
Which competitors intimidate us most?
Even when competitors are evenly matched, players perform worse against opponents they know have been rising in rank, suggests research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers analyzed the outcomes of 59,200 tennis matches and 2.75 million online chess games. They found that players’ performance in both types of competition was negatively affected when they faced an opponent with positive momentum. In two more studies, the researchers placed 473 online participants in various competitive scenarios and measured how threatened they felt by different types of opponents. The researchers found that upwardly mobile opponents were more intimidating than opponents with the same rank who lacked momentum. In two additional online studies with 1,350 participants, researchers found that players who self-affirmed their skills before a potential matchup felt less threatened. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1908320116opens in new window
Schizophrenia biomarker
A series of studies with mice and humans suggests that concentrations in hair follicles of an enzyme involved in producing hydrogen sulfide could serve as a biomarker for schizophrenia, finds research in EMBO Molecular Medicine. Researchers found higher levels of hydrogen sulfide—as well as of the enzyme Mpst, which plays a role in its production—in the brains of mice bred to show behavioral characteristics similar to those in schizophrenia, as compared with the brains of other mice. In another study, the researchers found higher levels of hydrogen sulfide and Mpst in the postmortem brains of 22 people with schizophrenia compared with the brains of 14 people without the condition. Finally, the researchers found that hair follicles from 149 people with schizophrenia showed greater expression of the gene that codes for Mpst as compared with hair follicles of 166 control participants. In addition to pointing to a potential early biomarker for schizophrenia, the research suggests new targets for medication development. DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201910695opens in new window
Morning sickness and autism
Mothers who experience a severe form of morning sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarum are 53% more likely to have a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a study in the American Journal of Perinatology. Researchers reviewed electronic health records of 469,789 pregnant women and their children born in Southern California between 1991 and 2014. Hyperemesis gravidarum was associated with increased risk of autism when the condition was diagnosed during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, but not when it was diagnosed only in the third trimester. In addition, the association between hyperemesis gravidarum and ASD was stronger in girls than in boys and among whites and Hispanics than among African Americans and Pacific Islanders. Use of medications to treat hyperemesis gravidarum did not affect the risk of ASD. DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1696670opens in new window
CBT slows cellular aging
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) not only helps reduce anxiety but also seems to protect against accelerated cellular aging, finds a study in Translational Psychiatry. Researchers took blood samples from 46 patients with social anxiety disorder to assess the activity of two enzymes (telomerase and glutathione peroxidase) that protect telomeres, the small stretches of DNA that maintain the integrity of chromosomes. Telomere degradation is considered a marker of cellular aging and has been linked to psychiatric and other disorders. Following a nine-week online course of CBT, the participants provided another blood sample. The researchers found that after CBT, participants’ anxiety symptoms were reduced and the activity of telomerase and glutathione peroxidase was increased, with the degree of symptom reduction correlated with the degree of increased enzyme activity. DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0668-2opens in new window
Clothes make the man
People judge the competence of others within milliseconds, based partly on economic cues picked up from their clothing, according to research published in Nature Human Behaviour. Across six studies, researchers asked 399 online and inperson participants to view photos of 36 people—one in which the person was wearing “rich” clothes and one in which they were wearing “poor” clothes—then rate the competence of the people in the photos on a scale of 1 to 9. The same person when seen with “richer” clothes was judged significantly more competent than with “poorer” clothes. The findings held even when participants viewed the images for just 130 milliseconds or when they were instructed to ignore the clothing. Additional studies indicated the effect persisted even when participants were provided information about the photographed person’s profession and income, and when participants were financially incentivized to ignore the peoples’ clothes. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0782-4opens in new window
Alcohol use linked to brain volume
Alcohol consumption has long been associated with reduced brain volume, but rather than being the result of heavy drinking, reduced brain volume may be a heritable risk factor for heavy alcohol use, suggests a study in Biological Psychiatry. Researchers examined neuroimaging data across three independent studies with 2,423 individuals spanning adolescence to middle age. They found that genetically conferred reductions in gray matter volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and insula—two brain regions that play roles in emotion, memory, reward and decisionmaking—were predictive of the age at which people start drinking and of alcohol use in young adulthood. The researchers also found no differences in gray matter volume in the brains of same-family siblings in which one sibling drank more heavily than the other—the brains of both looked like heavy drinkers. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.08.029opens in new window
We do little to prevent dementia
Nearly half of all older adults fear developing dementia, but only 1 in 20 has discussed ways to reduce dementia risk with their doctors, finds a study in JAMA Neurology. Researchers asked 1,019 U.S. adults ages 50 to 64 whether they were concerned about developing dementia, whether they have discussed dementia risk with their physicians and what strategies they use to maintain their memory. About 48% of respondents said they felt they were at least somewhat likely to develop dementia. Respondents reported using a handful of non-evidence-based strategies to maintain or improve memory, including ginkgo biloba (4%), fish oil or omega-3 supplements (31%), other vitamins and supplements (39%) and crossword puzzles (53%). Only 5%, though, sought guidance on preventing and treating dementia from their health-care providers. DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.3946opens in new window
Potluck pariahs
People on specialized diets tend to feel more isolated and lonely than those who can eat everything, according to research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In two studies with 495 adults and 710 grade-school children in the United States, researchers found that food restrictions (reported by 28% of adults and 15% of children) predicted loneliness among both groups. Two additional online studies with 701 total participants found that worry over how they were perceived by others was a source of restricted eaters’ loneliness. In another study with 83 undergraduate students, assigning a food restriction to normally unrestricted eaters increased reported feelings of loneliness. DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000223opens in new window
ADHD hampers financial success
Adults who had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as children will earn, on average, $1.27 million less over their lifetimes than adults without a history of the condition, suggests a study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Researchers examined the financial outcomes of 364 participants in the United States who had childhood ADHD, as well as 240 demographically similar participants without the disorder, at age 25 and then again at age 30. At age 30, adults with a history of ADHD—including those who no longer met the criteria for an ADHD diagnosis—were worse off across almost all financial indicators, including income, savings, employment status and dependence on parents and other adults. Moreover, on several indicators, the differences between those with and without a history of ADHD were greater at age 30 than at age 25. DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000461opens in new window
Twins can differ in autism severity
Identical twins with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are raised together can show significant differences in symptom severity, according to research in Behavior Genetics. Researchers analyzed data from three studies with a total of 366 identical twin pairs (ages 4 to 15) with and without ASD. The children’s behavioral traits related to autism (e.g., social interaction and repetitive behavior) were assessed by standard instruments involving parents’ or clinicians’ observations. The researchers reported a 96% likelihood that if one twin had ASD, the other had it, too. However, trait scores varied much more between twins diagnosed with ASD than between twins without ASD. The researchers suggest that ASD may be associated with greater vulnerability to influences from the environment that are not shared between siblings. DOI: 10.1007/s10519-019-09987-2opens in new window
A for effort
Children with low confidence in their academic competence can boost their performance on math tests if they use self-affirmations centered on effort rather than ability, suggests a study in Child Development. Researchers asked 212 children ages 9 to 13 years in the Netherlands about their competence in school. A few days later, the children were given a standardized math test. Halfway through the test, the children were asked to engage in self-talk focused on effort (“I will do my very best”) or ability (“I’ve always been good at math”), or no self-talk. Children whose self-talk focused on effort improved their performance on the second half of the test; no improvement was observed among children who engaged in self-talk focused on ability or those who performed no self-talk. The effort-based self-talk specifically benefited those children who rated themselves low in academic competence. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13347opens in new window
