mind over matter

To the seven of you, thanks. I just wanted to quickly apologize for my update infrequency these past few weeks. Things have been, well, crazy in my other classes. The good news for you is that I’m making a commitment to post more consistently between now and the end of the quarter. So, thanks for […]

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If you’re searching for evidence that life’s not fair, look no further: a new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology says that acne sufferers shun exercise and experience poorer quality of life.
My first thought was, “No, if you have bad skin, at least build up a nice bod!” After all, being a But-her […]

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One of the largest eating disorder treatment centers in Britain has asked social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to close down pro-anorexia Web sites. In response, the sites made the brilliant excuse that it’s difficult to distinguish between support groups and pro-eating-disorder groups. Aha.
For the answer, let’s turn to my former my newsroom-mate David […]

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Northwestern research always gives me a little thrill (I was an undergrad psych minor and sometimes recognize the names), and the latest study is interesting to boot. Background: High self-monitors are people who can accurately read a social situation and use that to interact with others. They’re generally well-liked and successful. So, for socially adept people, life […]

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I was just thinking about how my “Depression” category, first in the list, has looked sad lately, so I decided to stop ignoring the frequent depression-related research that trickles through my news feeds. But after creaking open the floodgates, I was crushed by the sheer volume of depression news that’s cranked out every day. I’d […]

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Alright, somebody get the Pulitzer panel on the phone, because I have an entry for Best Lede, drawn from an article in the New York Times today:
“Why does it often seem that men enjoy playing video games more than women? Perhaps because they do.”
Poetry. This is actually an interesting study, though. Eleven men and eleven […]

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Valentine’s Week is over, but I’m keeping things lovey-dovey by posting an interview with a dear friend who has recently gotten engaged (aww). Catherine, you must tell me if I’m getting too personal - I forget that others have qualms about strangers peering into their personal lives (I guess it’s easy to be open when there’s little to report, eh?). 
For a […]

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Another quickie today. My friend Megan Brown is writing a three-part series for the Daily Northwestern about her foray into online dating. Going beyond her maverick field reporting, she also spoke with an expert about the stigma attached to internet match-making:
“People don’t want to admit they have to go out and pay for a service,” […]

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Happy Valentine’s Day! I’ll make this one quick so you can get to dinner on time.
College psychology departments love throwing romantically-minded events around Valentine’s Day (witness our own Dr. Finkel’s “Can You Ever Just be Friends?” lecture, held yesterday; if I were a more intrepid reporter, I would’ve attended, but I had a category recitation […]

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I just came across a new study and did a little dance. It is fascinating, it is Valentine’s Day-appropriate, it happened here at Northwestern and - yes indeed - I know some of the subjects myself.
New research shows that men and women are looking for the same thing in a partner - but they don’t […]

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