Social Sciences

Benjamin Franklin wrote in his 1750 Poor Richard’s Almanac that “There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” The problem of achieving accurate self-knowledge hasn’t gotten any easier in 250 years; and, as shown in a new research report, there are major real-world consequences to this very human attribute.

In “Flawed Self-Evaluation: Implications for Health, Education, and the Workplace,” investigators David Dunning (Cornell), Chip Heath (Stanfo

Far from being a ‘throwaway society’, most of us go to considerable lengths to pass on unwanted household items to others, according to new research sponsored by the ESRC. And when it comes to making our mark in society, it is not just what we acquire but what we decide to get rid of that is important to us, says the study by researchers at Sheffield and Nottingham Universities.

The project examined how households in the Midlands and North-East got rid of ordinary, everyday consumer items

A study by a group of Belgian investigators assessed the effects of aerobic exercise on various psychological dimensions, including well-being.

The first objective of this study was to compare the changes in physical self-concept, global self-esteem, depression and anxiety after participation in one of two 16-week psychomotor therapy programs for nonpsychotic psychiatric inpatients. The second objective was to study the relationship between changes in these variables.

Specialists of the Institute of Comprehensive Social Studies (Modern University for the Humanities) have carried out detailed analysis of changes in the matrimonial relations structure in the world since 1950 to 2000. The researchers considered four types of matrimonial relations: monogamy (one man – one woman) and three types of polygamy – polygyny (one man – several women), polyandry (one woman – several men) and polygyandry (several women – several men). The fifth type of reproductive relatio

One in five people who responded to an internet survey run by The University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation said that ‘yob culture’ has had a significant impact on their business.

Just over one-fifth of respondents to The UK Business Barometer said the growth of yob culture, as reported in the media, was reflected in their own experiences and affected their business highly or quite highly.

Just over one-third of the respondents (35 per cent) said tha

Highest lifetime risk shifts from younger population to middle-aged adults

Findings from the largest survey ever conducted on the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders among U.S. adults indicates a sharper picture than previously reported of major depressive disorder (MDD) in specific population groups. Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) also indicate a strong relationship of MDD to alcohol use disorders, drug disorders a