Is a foreign name a disadvantage?
Do we discriminate against people with foreign-sounding names? A clever experiment with fictional girls who wanted to play football yields some answers that might surprise you.
Psychology
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Many developers forget that even the most intelligent systems have to interact with humans
The last dent in your car, two tragic aviation accidents, and the blow out at the Deepwater Horizon platform may all have had the same underlying cause.
Sexually active women are not judged more harshly than men
It’s not true that women are subjected to sexual double standards, researchers say. Most people tend to be more liberal than they think other people are. But not all behaviour is OK.
You can find the flow – and scientists can measure it
Sometimes you become so absorbed in a task that you forget everything else. We call it finding the flow. A new test can measure it.
Some stroke patients become more fatigued afterwards
Some people feel worse than others after a stroke. Stroke patients with cognitive and emotional problems tend to experience fatigue more often and sleep more during the day, according to recent research.
Children learn to read faster – given appropriate challenges
Many children struggle with reading. A new method offers hope. The focus is on giving children the right challenges.
Yes, it’s true – a walk in the woods actually helps with anxiety and depression
Now it’s well documented: forest therapy is an effective and simple method for dealing with something many people struggle with.
Children need rough and tumble play
Children engage in rough play today, just like they did in the past. What’s the same and what has changed? Researchers have taken a closer look and have a clear recommendation for today’s parents and kindergarten and school staff.
True crime in 19th century Norway
People have always been fascinated by real-life crime mysteries. True crime has become a popular genre in films, TV series, podcasts and books. The 19th century also had its own way of cultivating the genre.
How terrorism affects our attitudes
Some types of terrorist acts affect people much more than others. Islamist violence apparently produces the strongest counter-reactions.
Keeping the faith – or your willingness to push yourself – as you grow older
Did you ever want to get really good at something when you were younger? Over the years, you tend to lose some of the spark and the belief in yourself that you’ll succeed. But – there’s hope.
Ruminating on our ruminations causes more depression
A lot of young people have depressive symptoms. Ruminative thinking, and even thinking about how much you ruminate, reinforces the symptoms. But there is hope.
This kind of flirting works best
Some people succeed at flirting more often than others. Plenty of people are obviously more attractive than the rest of us, but it also seems that a lot of them know what works. Now researchers do, too.
Using the internet to identify signs of depression in young people
Is it possible to identify signs of depression by analysing the content young people post online and in chat rooms? The answer is yes!
Hope for children at risk of relapse in depression
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in adolescence and is found in children as young as kindergarten age. Unfortunately, the disorder often lasts into adulthood, but an NTNU study gives cause for optimism.
Pandemic has people hungering to be touched
Many people have been robbed of a very basic need during the pandemic: physical contact. Human touch triggers hormones like serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin. Hormones that make us feel good flourish when we touch each other.
Your sense of smell resembles that of insects
Scientists find remarkable similarities in the olfactory pathways of such diverse creatures as humans and insects.
Provoking climate engagement
As you walk around the city, nature “pops up” in unexpected places. Like a “lung tree” – a tree that breathes. The Nature in Your Face research project wants to use art to create engagement.
Kids still play like their grandparents did
For generations, children have played blind man’s bluff, hide-and-seek, hopscotch and climbed trees. But in the “olden days,” free play could more often end in injury and death.
Boys’ problems with body size and eating need to be taken seriously
Much more research has been done on eating problems in girls than in boys. There are major differences between the genders when it comes to symptoms and bodies, and the same technique is not as suited to detecting problems in boys, says NTNU researcher Farzaneh Saeedzadeh Sardahaee.
Our mood fluctuates in rhythm with the day and week
People’s mood on Twitter varies according to more or less fixed patterns. Guess when we’re happiest.
Feel-good hormone dopamine affects passion and autism
Dopamine is often called the “happy” or “feel-good” hormone. It can help explain both autistic behaviours and men’s need for passion in order to succeed.
An automated box on wheels — with personality
Robots are becoming more and more omnipresent in our lives, even though we may not notice. New research shows that when a boxy motorized hospital robot can talk, people find it funny and engaging. And that may help people be more willing to accept new technologies, like robots, in their everyday lives.
When does the green-eyed monster of jealousy awake in people?
Women and men are often jealous for completely different reasons. This gender difference occurs so early that it surprised the researchers.