Psychology

A squirmy, slimy, crunchy new potential staple of the American diet

Psychologist Paul Rozin discusses how it’s possible to get past the ick factor of eating bugs (the key is exposure), and how the insects actually taste. It’s all part of his research focusing on the emotion of disgust as it relates to food.

Michele W. Berger

Testing the reproducibility of social science research

A team co-led by Gideon Nave of the Wharton School replicated 21 high-profile social science studies and found discrepancies with the original research. Researchers betting in prediction markets, however, were quite accurate at predicting which findings would replicate and which would not.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Study finds most teens avoid rash, impulsive behavior

A new study found that the majority of teenagers avoid the kind of impulsive behavior commonly associated with “typical teenagers,” citing that imbalance models in brain development is evident in only a subset of teens.

Penn Today Staff

Greening vacant lots reduces depression in city dwellers

People living within a quarter mile of greened lots had a 41.5 percent decrease in feelings of depression and a nearly 63 percent decrease in self-reported “poor mental health,” compared to those who lived near the lots that received no intervention.

Katie Delach, Michele W. Berger

Why people don’t prepare for disasters

Wharton's Robert Meyer discusses the lack of disaster preparedness individuals take in response to hurricane season, and the psychology of decision-making in relation to disasters.

Penn Today Staff

Brain stimulation decreases intent to commit assault

Research from Penn Medicine and the Criminology department shows that using minimally invasive electrical currents on the prefrontal cortex can reduce the desire to carry out such violence and increase the perception that it’s morally wrong.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


Philadelphia Inquirer

Expect to see AI ‘weaponized to deceive voters’ in this year’s presidential election

Cristina Bicchieri of the School of Arts & Sciences says that AI-generated misinformation exacerbates already-entrenched political polarization throughout America.

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Kiplinger

Can money buy you happiness? Yes, it can. However…

Research by Matthew Killingsworth of the Wharton School reveals there is no monetary threshold at which money's capacity to improve well-being diminishes.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Philadelphia hospital program adds psychologists to bridge mental health services for trauma survivors

A new psychology team at the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program has provided about 46 survivors with short- and long- term therapy, featuring remarks from Elinore Kaufman and Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine.

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Jerusalem Post

Early humans had ADHD, scientists say after making people play game online

A collaborative study by researchers from Penn suggests that the impulsive component of ADHD may provide a competitive advantage to learn from rivals and “catch” new methods of achievement.

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Psychology Today

Why hasn’t the new me shown up yet?

In his book “What You Can Change and What You Can’t,” Martin Seligman of the School of Arts & Sciences says that some personal qualities and habits can’t be changed without extreme difficulty.

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Yahoo! Life

The real reason you’re obsessed with spicy food

Paul Rozin of the School of Arts & Sciences agrees that it’s actually the pain that keeps us coming back for more spice. 

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