Psychology news

• Glum? Stressed? Obsessed? How to know when it’s time to let go of a goal

  04-01-2026 15:00
  Sticking with the wrong goal can lead to stress, some scientists say. Could abandoning or modifying a goal be healthier?Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJanuary is often a time to take stock. New year’s resolutions roll into back-to-work blues and a determination that this year will be different, somehow. A reset might be just the tonic, according to some scientists, with a recent study showing that giving up on a goal, or even just modifying it, could lead to a h
  
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• As a student, he was involved in a drunk-driving incident that killed a cyclist. Years later he would become expert in the healing powers of guilt

  04-01-2026 13:00
  Psychologist Chris Moore saw first-hand how powerful and complex an emotion it isFuelled by the relief of having finished end-of-year exams, the pleasure of a warm late spring evening and quite a lot of alcohol, the house party was one of those that should have been remembered for all the right reasons. At some point, later in the night, Chris Moore and three friends were ready to leave. The party was some way out of town – Cambridge – and too far to walk, and, anyway, there was
  
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• Chatbots and Digital Companions Are Reshaping Emotional Connection

  04-01-2026 10:20 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorOnce the realm of science fiction, human-AI relationships are becoming normal aspects of daily life. While generative AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have become common tools for many users, a new wave of AI apps—such as Replika, Character.AI, and dozens more—are specifically designed to simulate human companionship, in some cases even initiating and maintaining romantic relationships.
  
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• Many Psychologists Agree: The Time to Take Action Is Now

  04-01-2026 10:19 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorIn 2025 many new laws and executive orders posed major challenges to the field's core priorities, including health equity, access to care, and research funding. Amid those changes, record numbers of psychologists began joining APA's advocacy initiatives, meeting with policymakers, and responding to action alerts. By late September 2025, psychologists had sent over 110,000 messages to Congress and regulatory agencies—nearly triple the total for...
  
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• Trump, Atoms, AI, and a Texas Data Center Gusher

  04-01-2026 10:09 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Politico Energy and ClimateOn a 5,800-acre swath of dusty plains outside the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, crews are piling up mounds of dirt for a colossal monument to Donald Trump's presidency: the world's largest private energy grid and AI campus, run partly on nuclear power and named the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. "A real superpower has nuclear submarines, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered AI," said the CEO. "This is a...
  
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• AI, Neuroscience, and Data Fuel Personalized Mental Health Care

  04-01-2026 10:09 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorHistorically, psychologists have relied on patients' self-reported symptoms and history to diagnose mental health conditions, often followed by a potentially lengthy period to determine which treatment—if any—improves the symptoms. Now, psychologists are using a patient's brain scans plus data from phones and wearables to determine the best intervention before beginning treatment, coupled with AI, to bypass trial-and-error efforts and...
  
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• Scientists Discover Reason Why Mental Disorders So Often Overlap

  04-01-2026 08:09 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA massive global genetics study is reshaping how we understand mental illness—and why diagnoses so often pile up. By analyzing genetic data from more than six million people, researchers uncovered genetic connections across 14 psychiatric conditions, showing that many disorders share common biological roots. These findings, published in Nature, help explain why depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, and other disorders so frequently occur...
  
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• Rise of Deepfake Cyberbullying Poses Growing Problem for Schools

  04-01-2026 08:06 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourSchools are facing a growing problem of students using artificial intelligence to transform innocent images of classmates into sexually explicit video and photo "deepfakes." This problem was highlighted recently when AI-generated nude images swept through a Louisiana middle school. Two boys ultimately were charged, but not before one of the victims was expelled for starting a fight with a boy she accused of creating the images of her and her...
  
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• Hidden Brain Problem May Be Early Warning for Alzheimer's

  04-01-2026 08:05 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers have discovered that clogged brain "drains" show up early in people at risk of Alzheimer's disease. These blockages, easily seen on standard MRI scans, are tied to toxic protein buildup linked to memory loss and cognitive decline. In some cases, they may signal Alzheimer's earlier than other commonly used brain markers, which could help physicians detect the disease before irreversible damage sets in. The findings appear in the...
  
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• Elon Musk's Grok AI Is Stripping Women and Minors, Review Finds

  04-01-2026 08:02 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - World NewsElon Musk's xAI is under international scrutiny over allegations that it is filling its platform with sexualized, AI-generated images of women and minors. A review of content on X, xAI's social media platform, found more than 20 cases in which women—and some men—had images digitally stripped of clothing using the AI company's chatbot, Grok. Ministers in France said in a statement Friday that the "sexual and sexist" content was "manife
  
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• Masculine Personality Traits Predict Drinking After Romantic Fights

  04-01-2026 07:54 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostA new study has found that personality traits associated with masculinity may influence alcohol use following romantic conflicts. The findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of masculine orientation—regardless of their biological sex—are more likely to drink alcohol after a disagreement, largely due to the intense negative emotions they experience. The findings appear in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
  
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• Psychologists’ Expanding Role in Prescribing Medication

  04-01-2026 07:37 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorThe number of psychologists who can prescribe medication is growing rapidly. Since New Mexico became the first state to allow licensed psychologists to prescribe in 2002, the field has grown from a few dozen to more than 300 today, with another 1,500 psychologists also holding master's degrees in clinical psychopharmacology. This growth has prompted the American Psychological Association to update its guidelines related to the prescription of...
  
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• A Weak Body Clock May Be an Early Warning for Dementia

  04-01-2026 07:37 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA new study suggests that disruptions in the body's internal clock may be tied to a higher risk of dementia. Research published on December 29, 2025, in the journal Neurology found that people with weaker and more irregular circadian rhythms were far more likely to develop dementia than other people. The study also showed that individuals whose daily activity levels peaked later in the day faced a higher risk than those who peaked earlier.
  
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