Leiden Psychology Blog

Thanksgiving: who feels most grateful?

Last week was Thanksgiving – a day to reflect on things we are grateful for. People who dwell on past experiences are generally less happy in life than people who are able to detach themselves. How would ‘detachers’ and ‘dwellers’ feel after Thanksgiving?

Marijke van Putten • 05-12-2013

Tis better to have feared and fled, than never to have feared at all

Fleeing from a fearful situation is not always a good response to threat. However, the program of Social Anxiety & School Refusal points out that for some school refusers the choice of self-preservation can be a valuable lesson.

David Heyne • 18-11-2013

Don't go to sleep!

Feeling down? Perhaps experiencing some winter blues? Sleep deprivation might be the answer. Neuroscientists at Tufts University have revealed an interesting mechanism behind this puzzling solution, by investigating the role of astrocytes.

Claudia Pama • 11-11-2013

Do the peanut butter sniff test

By using the peanut butter test it is possible to determine whether someone is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This is the outcome of a study published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

Rebecca Joubert • 06-11-2013

Compassion and when to feel it

People can feel compassion when they see somebody in physical or psychological pain. Not every observed suffering, however, leads to feelings of compassion. What exactly is compassion, and can we predict under which circumstances we experience it?

Fieke Harinck • 04-11-2013

Neuroscience in the classroom?

Neuroscientific results are increasingly popular amongst teachers. But what does it mean if children with learning disabilities show less activity in a certain brain area, and can we really use this information in the classroom?

Sabine Peters • 30-10-2013

Learning is a series of sprints, not a marathon

Many students (and people in general) like to mass their efforts to boost short-term performance when an important exam or deadline is approaching. Scientific research points to a more functional and efficient long-term strategy to raise performance.

• 28-10-2013

Bad hair day? What strands of hair can tell us about stress

Hair analysis has been used for decades to detect drug abuse. However, recent studies suggest that hair also contains levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This yields unique retrospective information about stress exposure.

Jiska Peper • 09-10-2013

Winter blues?

Depressed people report seeing the world as “dim, and lacking in color”. Is this a nice figure of speech, or a real perceptual shift? We investigated this question, particularly relevant now that the days are getting shorter and shorter…

Roy de Kleijn • 30-09-2013

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