New Trends in Psychological Research

Psychology is a social science, and new findings are constantly being published. I wanted to take some time to identify some of the most interesting recent findings in our discipline.

Intriguing Findings on Antidepressants and Psychedelics

While I have been skeptical regarding the long-term benefits of antidepressant use, just this week, it was reported that a recent study identified no statistically significant difference in reported quality of life between depressed individuals who took antidepressants compared with those with depression who did not (as reported by Wenner Moyer, 2022). This finding is noteworthy given that the clinical trials antidepressants have been FDA-approved for are based on studying participants over an 8-to-12-week period. Thus, the question of whether there are benefits of taking antidepressant meds in the long-term has yet to be scientifically validated, despite the fact that many individuals who are prescribed these meds end up taking them for years.

Moreover, this is consistent with a growing body of research documenting a reportedly strong placebo effect among individuals who take these medications. In other words, even when patients are reportedly experiencing relief on antidepressants, the source of the psychological improvement may be based on patient expectation and belief in the drugs more than any underlying chemical or physiological benefit. This finding further poses the question of whether chronic intake of antidepressants is the most effective way to facilitate healing for individuals suffering from clinical depression.

In fact, there is an emerging movement within some circles of psychology and psychiatry to usher in a new wave of medicinal treatment for mental illness by exposing patients in very controlled environments to psychedelics. As Psychology Today reported in its January 2022 issue, it is likely that by 2023, “the first treatment will be made available to do what no other has been able to accomplish—to peel away an intractable mental health disorder and to do it without the need for a lifetime prescription” (Estroff Marano, 2022). Specifically, MDMA has shown promising effects in potentially curing patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Specifically, a number of trials have been reporting that in a controlled environment with a trained therapist, dispensing MDMA can facilitate a critical breakthrough in patients suffering from PTSD. Such work also suggests that patients continue to report improvements even a year after treatment has stopped (Estroff Marano, 2022). The role that the drug appears to play in triggering relief for the patient is that under its influence, they are more receptive to talking through their trauma and working through the emotions that come up.

It appears that this development is part of a larger trend in exploring the potential healing benefits of psychedelics in the treatment of mental illness. Unlike traditional psychiatric meds, psychedelics are only given in highly controlled therapeutic environments, and so they would not be frequently or chronically dispensed to patients. In fact, “it is the intense psychotherapy that transforms MDMA, psilocybin, and other hallucinogens from an amusement (or bad trip) into medicine” (Estroff Marano, 2022). Patients who have undergone such treatment report having altered their consciousness in transformative ways that shift their perspective and may point to long-term benefits that persist after the sessions themselves. The potential for a new therapeutic model that can facilitate healing in patients who are suffering is very promising indeed.

New Findings on the Effects of Social Media Use

Of course, in identifying new trends in the field, I would be remiss to not also include recent findings regarding the psychological effects of social media for users. I teach a graduate-level course on the psychology of social media, and more than in any other class I teach, I am often inundated with inquiries regarding what the newest research in this particular field is revealing about users’ relationships with technology.

This year, it was reported in Psychology of Popular Media that individuals with symptoms of OCD predict a greater likelihood of engaging in compulsive social media use (Fontes-Perryman & Spina, 2022). Moreover, the researchers identified that fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a real phenomenon that impacts users of these platforms, most often in negative ways. In fact, the researchers identified that FOMO was a mediator between experiencing OCD symptoms and reportedly experiencing social media fatigue. In other words, FOMO can compel an individual to incessantly refresh their social media feeds. The researchers uncovered that participants who had higher levels of OCD to begin with also reported higher FOMO, which in turn predicted a greater compulsion to engage on the platforms (Fontes-Perryman & Spina, 2022).

While we are only beginning to scratch the surface regarding how we are psychologically impacted by our increasingly digitally-mediated lives, findings such as this one further expand our understanding of how preexisting mental health-related issues may be interacting with our social media use. Moreover, they also identify that FOMO is more than just a fleeting phenomenon, but can have a real impact on users.

Copyright Azadeh Aalai 2022