British Psychological Society Annual Conference

Last weekend the British Psychological Society had its Annual Conference. It’s a chance for psychologists to show off what they’ve been up to for the last year. Here’s some of the research that caught my eye.

The key to finding love on the net is honesty. Would you believe that it’s bad for your chances of finding true love if you lie about your personal appearance? And yet how many people are still doing this? A lot.

If you’re still unsuccessfully trying to give up smoking then psychologists may know why. Apparently it makes all the normal activities of life less pleasurable. Certainly disheartening news for those trying to give up, but still it can help to know the worst.

As people are finding more health related information on the internet, GPs are re-evaluating their roles. Instead of being the initial point of access to knowledge, they now tend to see themselves more as information filters.

In a related vein, researchers are also asking which websites people trust when looking for health information. The findings make for worrying reading: people were ignoring reputable organisation in favour of more ‘attractive’ sites.

Confident communicators are more persuasive. So you’ve got to fake it ’till you make it.

About the author

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology.

He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book “Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2003) and several ebooks.

But don’t worry if it all gets too much for you then there is one easy way to make the pain go away and reduce your anxiety: listen to some music.

SOURCE: PSYBLOG