May 20, 2015
Professor of psychology Slater Newman, who joined NC State's faculty in 1957, passed away on May 13.
Feb 19, 2015
A pilot study finds that 25 percent of children who are homeless are in need of mental health services -- highlighting the need for more support for the millions of homeless children in the United States.
Feb 18, 2015
A pilot study finds that people are not consistent in how they prepare mentally to deal with arguments and other stressors, with each individual displaying a variety of coping behaviors.
Dec 3, 2014
Imagine being so engrossed in a task that you don’t notice a gorilla entering the room. (This actually happened in a famous psychological experiment.) The phenomenon is known as “inattentional blindness” and occurs when people are so focused on a task that they fail to notice unexpected events. But it turns out that inattentional blindness isn’t blindness at all.
Nov 18, 2013
If you want teens to avoid risky behavior, you can’t just give teenagers the facts – you have to get them to engage with the information, feel motivated to change, and have the confidence and skills to keep themselves safe. That’s the idea behind a project under way at NC State and the University of California,…
Sep 25, 2013
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jeff Braden, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of psychology at NC State. Braden is leading a study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to determine whether computer-based instruction is as effective as conventional classroom instruction in higher education. What makes…
Sep 19, 2013
Psychology researchers have found that people who build robots form an emotional bond to their creations – though the bond is different from the sort of attachments people form with other people or pets. The researchers surveyed 16 undergraduates who built robots out of LEGOs as part of a robotics education course. All of the…
Mar 5, 2013
New research finds that older adults who play video games report higher levels of emotional well-being. It’s correlation, not causation, but it is interesting. Researchers at NC State’s Gains Through Gaming lab asked 140 people aged 63 and older how often they played video games, if at all. The study participants then took a battery of…
May 10, 2012
Homeless children are at higher risk for mental health problems than other kids, but one researcher from NC State is taking action to give these kids a better chance for a healthy life. Last year, we told you about Mary Haskett’s work with a program called Project CATCH, which aims to provide homeless children with the…
Mar 26, 2012
Editor’s note: Last year we told you about this study (then forthcoming). We’re posting a modestly revised version of that write-up for two reasons. First, it’s a timely read as we head into the Final Four weekend. Second, the paper is now available. We’ve linked to it below. Enjoy! If you’re a sports fan, you…
Nov 1, 2011
Can user responses to changes in one game predict the response to changes in a different game? Apparently there’s math involved. When it comes to video games, imitation can be dangerous. If one game makes changes that players love, there’s no guarantee that players of a different game would welcome the same changes. So, do…
Aug 31, 2011
Researchers have come up with a new way to give programmers access to refactoring tools, hopefully making the process more intuitive and making it more likely that programmers will use the tools. Refactoring is when you change the structure of a piece of a code without changing what the code actually does – you might…
Aug 29, 2011
How one NC State professor saw an aspect of literacy education being neglected, and decided to do something about it.
When John Begeny saw that an aspect of literacy education was getting scant attention in schools, he decided to research it. Then he used that research to develop an effective new tool for teachers, with demonstrated results. Then he decided to give the new program to teachers and parents for free. Cheers to that. As…
Mar 8, 2011
If you’re a sports fan, you want your team to win. You especially want your team to win the big games: championships, rivalry games, etc. Be careful what you wish for. A new study shows that big games with close scores are followed by a significant increase in traffic fatalities – but only for fans…
