Psychology | Penn Today

The Guardian

Are you a busybody, a hunter, or a dancer? A new book about curiosity reveals all

Dani S. Bassett of the School of Arts & Sciences speaks on their new book, “Curious Minds: The Power of Connection,” co-authored with identical twin Perry Zurn, which investigates the foundations of curiosity.

A colorful illustration of people on a bridge that looks like a puzzle. Each person carries something, including a cog, a lightbulb, a megaphone, and a beaker, to indicate collaboration.

In the pursuit of scientific truth, working with adversaries can pay off

The Adversarial Collaboration Project, run by Cory Clark and Philip Tetlock, helps scientists with competing perspectives design joint research that tests both arguments.

A large grassy area covered in a display of t-shirts erected with names of people killed by gun violence around a sign that reads MEMORIAL TO PHILADELPHIANS MURDERED BY ILLEGAL GUNS.

Managing mental health amid gun violence

In 2021, Philadelphia saw a record number of 486 homicides by shooting as well 1,846 non-fatal shootings. According to clinical psychologist Leah Blain, exposure to trauma, including to gun violence, increases the risk of negative health outcomes.

Replica of a torso with a brain embedded in place of the digestive system.

Helping the brain to heal the gut

In the second edition of her book on irritable bowel syndrome, Penn psychologist Melissa Hunt explores advances made in the past decade. Her aim is to offer accessible, effective, self-help psychological treatment for those who suffer from the disorder.

The door of a prison cell open, with closed cells behind it.

Incarceration associated with negative mental health risks for Black men

A review of literature from the past decade found that for this group in the U.S. such a detention was linked to higher levels of psychological distress, more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, and more.

SciTechDaily

Scientists have established a key biological difference between psychopaths and normal people

Adrian Raine of the School of Arts & Sciences is quoted on how biological traits can cause the brains of offenders to not develop normally throughout childhood and adolescence.

Forbes.com

Resilience should not be a solitary pursuit

Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences contends that success is about far more than innate ability and it needs long-term adherence and an acceptance that setbacks can be overcome with hard work.

graphic of person tending to plants growing out of a person's head, suggesting a flourishing mind

Both nature and nurture contribute to signatures of socioeconomic status in the brain

In the first study of its kind, Penn researchers and an international team of collaborators found that genetics and environmental factors contribute to how socioeconomic status shapes the architecture of the brain.

Book cover that reads "Oxford Library of Psychology, edited by Louis Tay, James O. Pawelski, The Oxford Handbook of The Positive Humanities" next to a picture of James Pawelski.

The past, present, and future of the Positive Humanities

A new Oxford Handbook from Penn’s James Pawelski and Louis Tay of Purdue explores this emerging field, which brings together positive psychology, philosophy, the humanities, and the arts.

Three adults rhesus macaques and two infants macaques sitting on a rock in a forest located on the island of Cayo Santiago.

Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques

Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.

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