Slightly Blighty

Relationships

The Benefits of a Romance With Your Best Friend

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 14, 2024

Hollywood may be skeptical about whether genuine friendship can transform into deep romance, but the latest psychological research reports surprising findings on this issue.

Memory

How to Evaluate the Memory of Anybody, Including the President

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 12, 2024

If learning new things can increase the size of parts of your brain, should all politicians have a brain scan?

Chronic Illness

Cancer, Charles, the King: The High and Low of Emotions

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 7, 2024

Positive emotions are associated with longer survival and lower mortality from cancer.

Addiction

Is Becoming Famous Hazardous to Your Health?

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on November 2, 2023

Research confirms that the famous die sooner than the general population, but given its numerous advantages, how does fame become lethal?

Body Language

The Psychology of the Trump Mug Shot

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on August 28, 2023

Why does the Mona Lisa face in one particular direction, and is it the same head tilt that Donald Trump deploys in his police mug shot?

Psychoanalysis

The Coronation on the Couch

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on May 4, 2023

A coronation fills our psychological need for a glimpse of the inner sanctum of the elite.

Career

How Did a Fake Psychiatrist Work for 20 Years in U.K.'s NHS?

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on March 31, 2023

The pretend doctor was first prosecuted for forging the will of a former patient.

Media

What We Find Inside Us When Searching for Missing People

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on March 5, 2023

Psychologically sophisticated questioning by police could powerfully assist the family in providing better information about where a missing person might be.

Relationships

What Can Valentine’s Day Reveal About Your Love?

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 14, 2023

Research suggests that men's and women’s generalized depression is greater for those not receiving a gift relative to those who do receive a Valentine’s Day gift.

Resilience

The Psychology of Surviving an Earthquake

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 13, 2023

Trying to establish a sense of control over apparently random disasters appears to be a deep human need.

Family Dynamics

Sibling Rivalry Psychology Predicts Royal Family Revelations

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on January 6, 2023

The later-born in any family, and maybe therefore particularly a Royal Family, could be more prone to rebelliousness

Sport and Competition

Cognitive Strategies of Elite Soccer Players and Athletes

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on November 30, 2022

These authors contend that if perceptual time for an elite athlete slows down, this enables them to see more of what is happening on the field of play.

Psychology

The Psychology of Queuing to Pay Respects to the Queen

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on September 19, 2022

...the British Ministry of Food was sufficiently worried about social unrest that it began sending staff to infiltrate queues and report back on what people were moaning about.

Leadership

Judging a Dictator by His Face

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on February 24, 2022

People favor leaders with dominant faces during wartime, but those with more feminine and trustworthy faces when at peace.

Happiness

The Secret to Giving the Very Best Gifts

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on December 24, 2021

We can divide gifts into "occasion-based" and "non-occasion-based" categories. Here's how new research finds that each affects a recipient's happiness.

Personality

Are the Politically Ambitious Less Agreeable?

Raj Persaud MD FRCPsych on December 9, 2021

The study found the higher the office that those already in politics were ambitious for, the lower they scored on the personality measure of agreeableness.