Eric W. Dolan

3 weeks ago | psypost.org | Eric W. Dolan

A new study published in American Behavioral Scientist sheds light on why some citizens embrace right-wing populist attitudes, particularly in Western democracies. Researchers found that when people feel disrespected or unrecognized by political elites—not as individuals, but as members of the national community—it can trigger feelings of social identity threat.

3 weeks ago | psypost.org | Eric W. Dolan

People who regularly practice mindfulness meditation appear to experience bodily sensations more readily than others, but this heightened awareness may not actually make them more accurate. A new study published in Psychophysiology found that experienced meditators were more likely to report feeling a faint touch, even when no touch was delivered — a behavioral shift linked to changes in brain activity before the sensation.

3 weeks ago | psypost.org | Eric W. Dolan

A new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests that people who had consumed classic psychedelics before experiencing an extreme traumatic event reported lower levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms in the following weeks. The research, conducted among survivors of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack at the Nova music festival in Israel, provides rare real-world data on how psychedelics might affect the way trauma is encoded in memory.

3 weeks ago | psypost.org | Eric W. Dolan

A new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience offers insight into how small grooves in the brain’s surface — known as tertiary sulci — might help explain individual differences in reasoning ability. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that the depth of these tiny brain folds in children and adolescents was linked to stronger communication between two areas known to support higher-order thinking: the lateral prefrontal cortex and the lateral parietal cortex.

3 weeks ago | psypost.org | Eric W. Dolan

A new study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior highlights how sexuality plays a pivotal, and often painful, role in the lives of individuals who leave ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Drawing from 37 in-depth interviews with disaffiliates in Israel, the research uncovers how disaffiliation can lead to experiences of sexual confusion, exploitation, and identity conflict, as individuals navigate between two vastly different worlds.