Psychology | Penn Today

Veterans with PTSD struggle to parent, but help is available

Leah Blain of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the difficulties of parenting for veterans with PTSD. “That feeling being jumpy or on guard—you can imagine how that is going to translate with the kiddos. They have so much energy, which is wonderful, but it is a lot to process all the time if your symptoms are working all the time,” she said.

What your Facebook posts say about your mental health

Sharath Chandra Guntuku of the Center for Digital Health and Lyle Ungar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about a study they authored that measured loneliness in Twitter posts.

A person sitting at a desk covered in papers, with a computer screen in the background. Four people are blurry, in the foreground. They are all engaged in conversation.

What factors predict success?

New research from Angela Duckworth and colleagues finds that characteristics beyond intelligence influence long-term achievement.

Women are more than twice as likely as men to suffer from PTSD. Studies are underway to find out why

Edna Foa of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about her research on the effects of estrogen on fear extinction, a process of “unlearning” fear related to recovery from PTSD.

Suicide attempts rising for black teens, study shows

Two studies, one led by Terry Richmond of the School of Nursing and the other by Atheendar Venkataramani of the Perelman School of Medicine, were cited in an article about the emotional impact of trauma on black people.

Taking off the blinders to our social blunders

Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts and Sciences wrote about how easy it is to “act like a jerk and not realize it” when committing social blunders.

The virtual assistant

Artificial intelligence has permeated many corners of life, from consumer purchasing and media consumption to health care—sometimes in ways we don’t even know.

A young child at a table with an adult, playing a game with blue plastic cups.

Minds in the wild

As part of a MindCORE effort to bring research into the community, behavioral psychologist Elizabeth Brannon and her team spent the summer conducting two studies at the Academy of Natural Sciences to better understand how children learn.

Personality tests are the astrology of the office

Adam Grant of the Wharton School weighed in on the lack of evidence behind personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Myers-Briggs and analogs create “the illusion of expertise about psychology,” he said.

Two people in traditional Tanzanian clothing sitting on the ground outdoors.

Hunter-gatherers agree on what is moral, but not who is moral

In determining whether there is a universal concept of moral character, research could provide insight into ways to improve our interactions with one another.

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