A study reported in Psychological Science looks at some of the small signals that seem to be
important for social interaction.
An international team of psychologists argue that there appears to be
truth in the saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression'.
People identify the personality traits of people who are physically attractive
more accurately than others during short encounters, according to a new University of British Columbia study.
Similar personality traits have been found in male and female perpetrators of domestic violence in a group
of psychiatric patients - further study may extend this to the wider community.
Research led by Wake Forest University identified an association between the degree to which individuals perceive others in positive terms and their own happiness and emotional stability.
Attractive women may experience discrimination when applying for jobs traditionally considered "masculine" and
where appearance is not considered important.
Volunteers were able
to accurately judge aspects of a stranger's personality by looking at photographs.
Women are as complicated as men say they are when evaluating potential mates.
Psychological research on racial prejudice tends to give the impression that
'colour' and ethnic groupings are clearly defined. But a study research published earlier this year points to confusion in the way people identify themselves and in official classifications,
at least in the United States.
Couples in which both partners
suppressed their anger when unfairly attacked by the other died earlier than those in relationships where one or both expressed their anger
and resolved underlying conflict.
Research from Yale School of Medicine has identified an apparent link between bullying or being bullied and suicide
in young people. Also, young people who bully tend to have problems in other relationships, such as with
parents and friends.
Men find forgiving more difficult than women but this gender gap closes if men develop empathy toward an offender by
seeing they may be capable of acting in a similar way themselves.
New research shows that people were less distressed and coped much better with ending a relationship than they predicted and that this
unanticipated effect was particularly marked for those described as "madly in love".
People from Western cultures such as the United States find it particularly difficult to understand someone else's point of view because they are part of a culture
that encourages individualism.