Posts by Neil Petersen
Envy Might Drive Some of Social Media’s Mental Health Effects
Social media has facilitated both new ways of connecting with others and new ways of tallying how our lives stack up against theirs. In the twenty-first century, keeping up with the Joneses has become keeping up with the hundreds of people on your Facebook feed. Several previous studies have suggested that comparing yourself with others…
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The Good and Bad Risks That Teenagers Take
We tend to talk about “risk taking” in two contradictory ways. On one hand, being able to take risks is a necessary part of life. When we try an unfamiliar activity, or ask someone out on a date, or challenge ourselves to accomplish a goal that we might fail at, we’re taking a productive risk.…
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Psychopaths Don’t Care About Cute Animals
Above is a picture of a very cute kitten. Surely that picture warms your heart. If you don’t look at that picture and go “aww,” what kind of person are you, a psychopath? Well, maybe so, says a new study. The authors of the study started with a premise we all know to be true:…
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Jobs That Involve Dealing With New Information Might Help Brain Health
Do you have a job where you regularly find yourself having to take into account and adjust to new information? That can keep you on your toes, but it might also help keep your brain in top shape over time, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University. In the study, researchers analyzed…
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The Mental Health Unknowns of COVID-19
For people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a major disruption to familiar ways of life. With changes being implemented rapid-fire in response to the immediate need to slow the spread of COVID-19, relatively little is known about what the long-term, secondary consequences of those changes will be. When it comes to mental…
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Crochet, Crafts and Mental Health
If you’re looking for a new hobby to take up, consider crochet. Why? The results of a recently published study from researchers in Australia give some possible reasons. In that study, the researchers surveyed over 8,000 crocheters to learn about how people saw the hobby as affecting their mental health. The vast majority of the…
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Internet Haters Might Be Psychopaths
Spend much time on the internet, and you’ll see that online comment sections can easily degenerate into a swirling, toxic stew of humanity’s worst impulses. Which makes them a perfect subject of study for psychologists. A new study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology picks up on the theme of comment section psychology by looking…
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4 Factors That Link Stress to a Decline in Work Ability
Some amount of stress is often a part of work, but too much stress can start to interfere with people’s ability to get their work done. An important question is under what conditions stress begins to derail people’s work lives. Understanding that might help with knowing what strategies people can use to cope with stress…
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Five Hours of Sleep a Night Biases People Toward Negative Interpretations
We all know that nothing good comes from cutting sleep out of your life. First, there are the cognitive effects. Sleep deprivation influences people’s performance in ways similar to alcohol consumption, which is what makes drowsy driving similarly dangerous to drunk driving. Then there’s the simple feeling of tiredness, having to get through the day…
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Lessons in Coping From a Teacher Who Rowed Across the Atlantic
In 2018, a biology teacher from Cincinnati named Bryce Carlson decided to row across the North Atlantic. That feat is about as difficult as it sounds. Carlson faced no shortage of obstacles on his journey, from a capsized boat to $85,000 in debt. But ultimately, he became the first American to row across the Atlantic…
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