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Second Life Data Offers Window Into How Trends Spread

Do friends wear the same style of shoe or see the same movies because they have similar tastes, which is why they became friends in the first place? Or once a friendship is established, do individuals influence each other to adopt like behaviors?

Healthy Sex Life After A Cardiac Event

Resuming sexual activity is expressed by patients as extremely important after a myocardial infarction (MI). In spite of this, sex counseling is an area of nursing practice that is frequently neglected and needs more evidence-based knowledge.

Lonely Old Men?

Researchers have studied loneliness among older people. A common stereotype about older people is that loneliness is typical for older women, rather than for older men. One problem with this stereotype is that feelings of loneliness are not particularly common among either men or women in the Nordic countries.

Teenagers In Northern Ireland Are Experimenting With Cocaine

Some Northern Ireland teenagers are experimenting with cocaine. Researchers found that 7.5% of young people who took part in the Belfast Youth Development Survey had tried cocaine at least once by the age of 16.

Partner Relationship As A Buffer Against Stress

A good partner relationship can act as a buffer for those exposed to work-related stress. The relationship reduces the negative effects of this kind of stress on our health. But poor relationships will amplify the negative effects, says a young researcher.

Conversing Helps Language Development More Than Reading Alone

A new study shows adult-child conversations have a more significant impact on language development than exposing children to language through monologic reading alone.

Black Gay Men May Be At Increased HIV Risk

In a study looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, researchers show that social barriers faced by black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.

Vibrator Use Common, Linked To Sexual Health

Two studies conducted among nationally representative samples of adult American men and women show that vibrator use during sexual interactions is common, with use being reported by approximately 53 percent of women and 45 percent of men. Not only is vibrator use common, but the studies also show that vibrator use is associated with more positive sexual function, and being more proactive in caring for one's sexual health.

Online Ethics And The Bloggers' Code Revealed

Whatever their reason for posting their thoughts online, bloggers have a shared ethical code, according to a recent study. Key issues in the blogosphere are telling the truth, accountability, minimizing harm and attribution, although the extent to which bloggers follow their own ethical ideals can depend on the context and intended audience.

Partner Issues Significantly Influence Women's Sexual Activity In Later Years, Study Shows

As a woman gets older, physical problems are less likely to influence whether she is sexually active than her partner's health or interest in sex, according to a new study.

Changes In Brain Architecture May Be Driven By Different Cognitive Challenges

Scientists trying to understand how the brains of animals evolve have found that evolutionary changes in brain structure reflect the types of social interactions and environmental stimuli different species face.

Monkeys And Humans Use Parallel Mechanism To Recognize Faces

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time rhesus monkeys and humans share a specific perceptual mechanism, configural perception, for discriminating among the numerous faces they encounter daily. The study provides insight into the evolution of the critical human social skill of facial recognition, which enables us to form relationships and interact appropriately with others. This study with rhesus monkeys suggests the human ability to distinguish faces is 30+ million years old.

Less Frequent Social Activity Linked To More Rapid Loss Of Motor Function In Older Adults

Researchers have found that, among the elderly, less frequent participation in social activities is associated with a more rapid decline in motor function. The data raise the possibility that motor decline can be slowed, and its adverse health consequences possibly delayed, by supporting social engagement -- a relatively low-cost solution to a very large public health problem.

Baby-boomers Need Social Network Sites Based On Their Own Needs

Social network sites should be designed to meet the needs of 55-65-year-old people. Researchers found out that many baby-boomers think social network sites like Facebook are unfit to them. This is the reason why so few of them use any social network services on the Internet.

Heavy Women Have Lower Quality Relationships, But Same Is Not True For Men, Study Finds

Associations between body mass index (BMI) and relationship quality and other partner/relationship perceptions were investigated in 57 couples in New Zealand. Heavier women had lower quality relationships, which they predicted were more likely to end. They partnered with less desirable men and thought their partners would rate them as less warm/trustworthy.

Disney Elevates Heterosexuality To Powerful, Magical Heights

In the world of Disney, falling in heterosexual love can break a spell, save Christmas, change laws, and stop wars. While such dramatic plot twists may keep kids glued to television and movie theater screens, they send a memorable message to impressionable young viewers that heterosexual love is not only the norm, but that it is also exceptional, powerful, transformative and magical, concludes a new analysis of top-grossing G-rated children's films.

Couples' Treatment For Sexual Problems On The Agenda For Sexual Medicine Experts

Couples' treatment for sexual problems and other innovative approaches to improving sexual health for men and women are on the agenda of sexual medicine experts.

Naps With Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Increase Receptiveness To Positive Emotion

Naps with rapid eye movement sleep refresh the brain's empathetic sensitivity for evaluating human emotions by decreasing a negative bias and amplifying recognition of positive emotions, according to new research.

Stroke Survivors Report Loss Of Sexual Desire, Blurred Gender Roles, Anger And Fatigue

Suffering a stroke can have a profound effect on relationships and lead to significant changes in how couples relate to each other on a physical, psychological, social and emotional level.

Test That Found Widespread Unconscious Racial Bias Validated

A new study validates the controversial finding that the Implicit Association Test indicated that about 70 percent of those people who took a version of the test that measures racial attitudes have unconscious preference for white people compared to blacks. This compared with figures general under 20 percent for self-reported measures of race bias.

Hybrid System Of Human-Machine Interaction Created

Scientists have created a "hybrid" system to examine real-time interactions between humans and machines (virtual partners). By pitting human against machine, they open up the possibility of exploring and understanding a wide variety of interactions between minds and machines, and establishing the first step toward a much friendlier union of man and machine, and perhaps even creating a different kind of machine altogether.

Same-sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds

Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research.

Why Do We Choose Our Mates? Ask Charles Darwin, Prof Says

Charles Darwin wrote about it 150 years ago: animals don't pick their mates by pure chance -- it's a process that is deliberate and involves numerous factors. After decades of examining his work, experts agree that he pretty much scored a scientific bullseye, but a very big question is, "What have we learned since then?" asks a biologist who has studied Darwin's theories.

The Dark Side Of Gifts: Feeling Indebted May Drive People To The Marketplace

You need to move out of your apartment. Do you call in your friends and family to haul boxes and furniture or contact a moving company? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that sometimes the emotions connected with asking for favors can actually drive people to the market.

Poor Sleep Is Associated With Lower Relationship Satisfaction In Both Women And Men

A bidirectional association exists between couples' sleep quality and the quality of their relationship, according to new research.

Individuals With Family History Of Genetic Disease At Risk Of Discrimination

People with a family history of genetic disease are often discriminated against by insurance companies and their relatives and friends, according to new research.

Depending On The Problem, Media May Be An Escape Or A Way To Cope

The last thing most people in a bad love affair want to do is to read informational articles about romance. But people facing financial difficulties often choose to read articles which may help them cope with their money problems. Those are some of the findings of a new study that aimed to discover whether people use the news media to escape from their problems or find information on how to cope with them.

Connection Between Evolution And Classroom Learning Found

Over thousands of years, humans have evolved to naturally understand things like facial expressions and social interactions. But a researcher has found there is an ever-widening gap between what humans can naturally learn and what they need to learn to be successful adults in today's modern society. Schools have traditionally helped bridge the gap between evolution and new knowledge, but in the US more may need to be done.

Be Your Best Friend If You'll Be Mine: Alliance Hypothesis For Human Friendship

Psychologists have determined that how you rank your best friends is closely related to how you think your friends rank you. The results are consistent with a new theory called the Alliance Hypothesis for Human Friendship, distinct from traditional explanations for human friendship that focused on wealth, popularity or similarity.

Women May Not Be So Picky After All About Choosing A Mate

Men and women may not be from two different planets after all when it comes to choosiness in mate selection, according to new research. Women, it turned out, were not any pickier than men in choosing that special someone to date, according to the speed dating study.

Sexual Partner Status Affects A Woman's, But Not A Man's, Interest In The Opposite Sex

Neuroscientists have found that a woman's partner status influenced her interest in men. In the study, women with and without sexual partners showed little difference in their ratings of photos of men when considering such measures as masculinity and attractiveness. The women without partners spent more time evaluating photos, demonstrating more interest in the photos. No such difference was found between men who had sexual partners and those who did not.

Feeling Close To A Friend Increases Progesterone, Boosts Well-being And Reduces Anxiety And Stress

Why does 'dishing' with a girlfriend do wonders for a woman's mood? A new study has identified a likely reason: feeling emotionally close to a friend increases levels of the hormone progesterone, helping to boost well-being and reduce anxiety and stress.

People With Parents Who Fight Are More Likely To Have Mental Health Problems In Later Life

People with parents who were violent to each other are more likely to have mental health problems when they grow up, reveals new research.

Are Humans Genetically Programmed To Care About Long-term Future And Climate Change?

Humans may be programmed by evolution to care about the long-term future, suggests new research. A study finds that individuals may have an innate tendency to care about the long-term future of their communities, over timescales much longer than an individual’s lifespan. This in turn may help to explain people’s wish to take action over long-term environmental problems.

Genetic Basis Of Musical Aptitude: Neurobiology Of Musicality Related To Intrinsic Attachment Behavior

Music is social communication between individuals -- humming of lullabies attach infant to parent and singing or playing music adds croup cohesion. The neurobiology of music perception and production is likely to be related to the pathways affecting intrinsic attachment behavior, suggests a recent Finnish study. The study gives new information about genetic background of musical aptitude.

Understanding The Therapeutic Process Of Mother-infant Psychotherapy

Given the documented detrimental effects of postpartum depression on infants and the mother-infant relationship, mental health professionals are anxious to understand models of best practices. This focus group study of psychotherapists, who treat mothers suffering from PPD and other mood disorders with their infants, have developed a proven process that contributes to a greater positive experience with immediate insights for the mothers to develop healthy connections between their maternal experiences and their infants' behaviors.

Psychologists Find That Head Movement Is More Important Than Gender In Nonverbal Communication

Psychologists and computer scientists have found that gender is less important than head motion in the nonverbal dynamics of how people converse.

Abusive Relationships Increase Women’s Risk Of HIV Infection

A new study of nearly 14,000 U.S. women reveals that those who are in physically abusive relationships are at higher risk for HIV infection.

Online Learning Communities Flourish Best If Individual Learners Have Self-governance

Online learning communities have many benefits because they offer learners social networks to effectively and easily acquire and share knowledge among themselves. However, key to success, they have found is individual self-governance. Self-governance, or personal empowerment, can be measured in terms of self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control and personal outcome expectations regarding the interactions between learners and the online technology.

Area Of Brain That Makes A 'People Person' Discovered

Researchers have discovered that whether someone is a "people person" may depend on the structure of their brain: the greater the concentration of brain tissue in certain parts of the brain, the more likely they are to be a warm, sentimental person. This area is in the same region linked to processing of pleasures such as sweet tastes and sexual stimuli.

Fathers Respond To Teens' Risky Sexual Behavior With Increased Supervision

Findings from a study following more than 3,200 teenagers over a period of four years show that fathers react differently than mothers to their children's sexual behavior. When teens engaged in risky sexual behavior, instead of parents becoming less involved, as previously seen, fathers actually boosted their involvement, learning more about their children's friends and activities. This study also identified involvement in family activities as a protective force.

For Adolescent Crime Victims, Genetic Factors Play Lead Role

Genes trump environment as the primary reason that some adolescents are more likely than others to be victimized by crime, according to a criminologist.

Following The Leader: Social Networks Of Schoolchildren

Kids always seem to be ahead of trends, and marketers realize the importance of new products and services taking off with the younger set. A new study helps identify which children might be the trendsetters of their generation.

New Robot With Artificial Skin To Improve Human Communication

Work is beginning on a robot with artificial skin to be used to investigate how robots can help children with autism learn about social interaction.

Mother's Talk About Feelings and Intentions Help Children Develop Social Understanding

The way that mothers talk to their children when they are young has a lasting effect on children's social skills, according to a new research study. The researchers found that children whose mothers often talked to them about people's feelings, beliefs, wants, and intentions, developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not include much 'mental state talk' in their conversations.

For Your Health, Pick A Mate Who Is Conscientious And, Perhaps, Also Neurotic

Conscientiousness is a good thing in a mate, researchers report, not just because it's easier to live with someone who washes the dishes without being asked, but also because having a conscientious partner may actually be good for one's health. Their study, of adults over age 50, also found that women, but not men, get an added health benefit when paired with someone who is conscientious and neurotic.

Why People Are Better At Lying Online Than Telling A Lie Face-to-face

In the digital world, it's easier to tell a lie and get away with it. That's good news for liars, but not so good for anyone being deceived.

Mealtime Interaction Encourages Hospitalized Seniors To Eat More

Sharing a meal in good company can stimulate the appetite -- particularly among hospitalized seniors -- according to a new study.