Personality and ability to relate affect career choices, says visiting Professor Shmuel Shulman

Some theories point to delayed commitments and the instabilities inherent in today's youth as the prime determinant of their careers, but psychology Professor Shmuel Shulman of Bar-Ilan University in Israel says their vast array of experiences, their individual personalities and their ability to relate to others may also play a role. Shulman, a visiting scholar at the LaMarsh Centre […]

Professor Ellen Bialystok speaks to the New York Times about the bilingual advantage

A cognitive neuroscientist, Ellen Bialystok has spent almost 40 years learning about how bilingualism sharpens the mind, wrote The New York Times May 30: Her good news: Among other benefits, the regular use of two languages appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Dr. Bialystok, 62, a distinguished research professor of psychology at […]

Professor Myriam Mongrain's psychology study on kindness attracts media coverage

There is karma in kindness. It seems that the Biblical adage of doing unto others, as you’d have them do unto you, pays off in happiness, reported the Toronto Star May 17: A York University study found that people who performed small acts of kindness – every day for five to 15 minutes for a […]

Professor Myriam Mongrain's study asks: Is there a scientific proof for karma?

Practicing small acts of kindness will make you a happier person, and the boost in mood stays with you for months, according to research out of York University. More than 700 people took part in a study that charted the effects of being nice to others, in small doses, over the course of a week. Researchers […]

Want compassinate sons? Professor Raymond Mar says get them reading novels

If you follow the advice below, chances are, your son will turn into the kind of man you want him to be, wrote WomensDay.com May 11, in a story about parenting advice for mothers: Encourage him to read novels. Ongoing studies at York University [by psychology Professor Raymond Mar and colleagues in the Faculty of […]

York Autism Research Alliance shares research findings with wider autism community

Some 24 outside agencies came to the inaugural York Autism Research Alliance’s Research Showcase at York last week to hear what researchers were working on – everything from isolating three to 20 genes potentially responsible for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to looking at how children with ASD process visual and auditory information. “The take home […]

Professor Debra Pepler argues you can't just punish children who bully

Punishment isn’t the answer for kids who learned to bully at home, says a Toronto psychology professor, wrote Halifax’s Chronicle-Herald April 9. "If a child is bullied at home by his or her parents or siblings, they’re going to learn the patterns they need to learn about the use of power and aggression in relationships," […]

Psychology students show off fourth-year research projects

Students Angela Deotto and Lilly Solomon recognized for poster projects If you were wandering through Vari Hall last Wednesday afternoon, you could have stopped and chatted with fourth-year psychology students about some pretty esoteric subjects. The rotunda was a maze of posters featuring the thesis projects of 78 students ready to explain whether eating disturbances are symptoms of depression, how to […]

Forum brings academics, hospital researchers, government and community groups together seeking better systems to help youth at risk

Youth at risk fail at school, have mental health issues and get in trouble with the law. Would they be better served if all three systems – education, mental health and justice – worked together? That question animated discussion at a recent forum organized by the York Centre for Education and Community (YCEC). Sponsored by […]

SSHRC-funded study: Military kids under stress, isolated, depressed

Teens in military families are often burdened by additional emotional stress when a parent is deployed to Afghanistan, according to a new Canadian study, wrote CBCNews.ca March 25: Researchers from the University of New Brunswick, the University of Alberta, Ryerson University, and York University released the findings of their groundbreaking research on Thursday that examined […]