Psychology in Action

Category: Health Psychology and …

  • How We See Food

    I’m not a great cook, but I know what I like. Or do I? Research from Brian Wansink and colleagues may challenge our ideas about how we think of food. How do we behave at buffets? Can a clever name really encourage us to eat something ordinary? Will placement of food at a cafeteria really…

  • Exercise to cure depression: why moderated effects are so helpful

    One of the areas of research I’m interested in is exercise. Most of us are aware that exercise benefits our well-being. It helps keeps our heart strong, maintain a healthy weight, and combat stress. However, is exercise so good it works as well as pharmaceuticals? The more radical exercise evangelicals claim it can. Some assert…

  • How Self-Regulation Works

    Self-regulation is an extremely important skill to develop.  In fact, as I am writing this post, with no outside person or institution forcing me to do, on a vacation day when it is sunny outside, I am demonstrating formidable self-regulation.  I believe that teaching children, and adults, how to self-regulate is one of the best…

  • Do Animals Suffer Like People?

    Imagine walking into a room filled with people crying. They are all wearing black; makeup running; tissues clutched hard in their hands. Instinctively, you too are overcome by the grief that is flowing through the room, knowing the cause of their misery and empathizing with their suffering.

  • ‘Tis the Season for Giving!

    It’s that time of year again, where malls and websites (and hopefully some local businesses, too!) are overrun with holiday shoppers hoping to score the perfect gift to give a loved one. But why are we so obsessed with finding that perfect present? Recent research by Tristen Inagaki, a fourth year graduate student in the…

  • How do ethnic and family identities affect adolescents in immigrant families?

    In recent decades, the United States has seen a dramatic rise in immigration from Latin American and Asian countries, which has raised questions (and staunch political opinions) about how immigration policies affect everyday life for U.S. citizens.  However, equally important questions concern how living in America affects the immigrant families themselves.  What exactly is life like for…

  • It’s the Season of Eating, Should We Be Concerned?

    Co-authored by Nicole Yu and Alexandra Dupont The candy and treat gorging associated with Halloween has come and gone but the holiday season of eating has just started.  This leaves many of us excited, yet concerned about our fitness and maintaining a healthy weight.  As tempting food surrounds us this season, it is not uncommon…

  • Depression and the immune system: recent research

    Behavioral scientists have been studying depression and depressive symptoms for a long time, yet the etiology is still not fully known.

  • New findings about the behavioral immune system

    In a recent issue of Psychological Science, researchers report on a new finding that our immune systems may be dictating our behavior.  When we notice that someone else is sick or has a rash, we instinctively try and avoid that person to keep ourselves healthy. This is called the “behavioral immune system” – we preform…

  • Can’t Get No (Body) Satisfaction: Media Effects on Body Image

    A  version of this article will appear in the next Psychology in Action Newsletter. Turn on the TV or open a magazine these days, and chances are your eyes will be filled with images of “beauty”: ultra-thin models, men with bulging biceps and washboard abs, celebrities with perfect complexions and flawless figures. In some cases, even…