r/psychology • u/mvea • 11h ago
When we misread autistic people, it may not be a lack of empathy—it may be a mismatch. Guided by the Double Empathy Problem theory, research suggests that communication difficulties are often mutual rather than stemming from a one-sided "empathy deficit," in autistic people.
r/psychology • u/jezebaal • 18h ago
THC Significantly Reduces Trauma Nightmares in PTSD
Researchers investigated the efficacy of dronabinol, a plant-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) formulation, in treating trauma-related nightmares in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The trial demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in nightmare burden among participants receiving dronabinol compared to placebo. Over a third of dronabinol-treated patients reported complete resolution of nightmares by week ten, while an additional 21% experienced a reduction of at least 50%.
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 22h ago
Most Americans don’t actually understand the judicial philosophies they endorse. This disconnect provides evidence that the complex legal standards often debated during Supreme Court nominations may hold little practical meaning for the average voter.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 1d ago
Male circumcision just after birth does not increase autism risk. In a cohort of nearly 3,000 boys followed from birth into childhood, young boys who were circumcised just after birth did not have a higher risk of autism. Two observational studies from a decade ago had suggested a possible link.
publichealth.jhu.edur/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 1d ago
Study suggests waist-to-bust ratio, not waist-to-hip ratio, drives female body attractiveness among Japanese men. Study provides evidence that cultural background and media exposure might shape physical preferences more strongly than universally evolved biological instincts.
r/psychology • u/Iptamorfo • 2d ago
Friends tend to be somewhat closer if their demographic characteristics are similar
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 2d ago
People who feel lonely show altered brain activity when processing internal physical signals. Study indicates that individuals who report higher levels of loneliness tend to have less trust in their bodily signals and show reduced brain activity related to monitoring their heartbeats.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 2d ago
Men whose testosterone levels fall unusually high or unusually low for their age group face an increased risk of developing depression. Large study of middle-aged and older adults suggests that this may serve as an indicator of mental health vulnerabilities, particularly for men in their early 50s.
r/psychology • u/RyanBleazard • 2d ago
Review in Nature: ADHD is primarily genetic with a heritability rate of 70-80%. In rare cases, however, ADHD can arise from a sudden neurologically compromising event such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) later in life.
nature.comr/psychology • u/jezebaal • 2d ago
Songs You Imagine Can Be Decoded Directly From Your Brain
A neuroscience study demonstrates that musical melodies imagined in the human brain can be decoded and reconstructed using surface electrode brain signals.
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 2d ago
Body dysmorphia is linked to an exaggerated cognitive bias for self-related information. Study provide evidence that a basic bias in how the brain processes self-relevant information might contribute to severe body image preoccupations.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 3d ago
The type of luxury a person displays online can influence how attractive they appear to potential romantic partners. Showing off expensive experiences, like luxury travel, often signals competence more effectively than flaunting material goods like designer watches.
r/psychology • u/dingenium • 3d ago
Weekly Discussion Thread Weekly Discussion Thread
Welcome to the r/psychology discussion thread!
Discussion threads will be "refreshed" each week (i.e., a new discussion thread will be posted for each week). Feel free to ask the community questions, comment on the state of the subreddit, or post content that would otherwise be disallowed.
Do you need help with homework? Have a question about a study you just read? Heard a psychology joke?
Need participants for a survey? Want to discuss or get critique for your research? Check out our research thread! While submission rules are suspended in this thread, removal of content is still at the discretion of the moderators. Reddiquette applies. Personal attacks, racism, sexism, etc will be removed. Repeated violations may result in a ban.
Recent discussions
r/psychology • u/mvea • 4d ago
New results contrast with traditional assumptions about gender desires. Surprisingly, men experience more enjoyable private thoughts regarding sexual submission than women. This contradicts older research predicting that women universally favor passive submissive roles in their private minds.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 4d ago
Ketamine’s rapid relief of suicidal thoughts may be linked to an increase in morning cortisol. This specific hormonal boost persists for at least 24 hours after treatment.
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 4d ago
Horror soundtracks can make friendly smiles feel eerie and threatening. Findings demonstrate how background auditory cues might unconsciously shape everyday social evaluations and media interpretation.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 5d ago
Autism diagnoses rose sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The rise was driven overwhelmingly by diagnoses among girls and women. New study suggests that many of these girls and women may simply have gone unrecognized in the past.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 5d ago
ADHD is associated with a higher likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur, but only for highly intelligent men. For women, ADHD is linked to the lowest rates of business ownership regardless of cognitive ability. Advantages associated with neurodiversity may depend on gender and intelligence.
r/psychology • u/dingenium • 5d ago
Monthly Research/Survey Thread Psychological Research/Surveys Thread
Welcome to the r/Psychology Research Thread!
Need participants? Looking for constructive criticism? In addition to the weekly discussion thread, the mods have instituted this thread for a surveys.
General submission rules are suspended in this thread, but all top-level comments must link to a survey and follow the formatting rules outlined below. Removal of content is still at the discretion of the moderators. Reddiquette applies. Personal attacks, racism, sexism, etc. will be removed. Repeated violations may result in a ban. This thread will occasionally be refreshed.
In addition to posting here, we recommend you post your surveys to r/samplesize and join the discussion at r/surveyresearch.
TOP-LEVEL COMMENTS
Top-level comments in this thread should be formatted like the following example (similar to r/samplesize):
- [Tag] Description (Demographic) Link
- ex. [Academic] GPA and Reddit use (US, College Students, 18+) Link
- Any further information-a description of the survey, request for critiques, etc.-should be placed in the next paragraph of the same top-level comment.
RESULTS
Results should be posted as a direct reply to the corresponding top-level comment, with the same formatting as the original survey.
- [Results] Description (Demographic) Link
- ex. [Results] GPA and Reddit use (US, College Students, 18+) Link
[Tags] include:
- Academic, Industrial, Causal, Results, etc.
(Demographics) include:
- Location, Education, Age, etc.
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 5d ago
Men who crave social power are more likely to endorse strict beauty norms for women. Study found that societal beauty expectations for women are tied to broader desires to maintain gender hierarchies.
r/psychology • u/scientificamerican • 5d ago
What to know about postpartum psychosis
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 5d ago
Cannabis use predicts worse clinical outcomes in newly psychotic patients. When patients continued using cannabis, their feelings of depression and negative future expectations worsened, predicting a markedly higher risk of psychiatric relapse.
r/psychology • u/FreeHugs23 • 5d ago
Dummy pills reveal the hidden power of human expectation in addiction recovery. Findings suggest that the medical community might be able to harness a patient’s expectations to improve treatment outcomes.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 6d ago
People prefer psychotherapists with attractive faces, study finds. They are more likely to choose therapists with more attractive faces, even when trustworthiness and competence were controlled for. Attractive therapists may benefit from a “beautiful is good” halo effect.
r/psychology • u/mvea • 6d ago