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Link between sugary drinks and anxiety...???

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Link between sugary drinks and anxiety...???

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Psychology In The News | Sugary Drinks and Anxiety

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A recent meta-analysis of studies has found a possible relationship between high consumption of sugary drinks and increased anxiety symptoms in teenagers. This is one of the first major reviews to focus specifically on the relationship between sugary drinks and mental health in adolescents. Researchers examined results from several previous studies to identify patterns across different groups of adolescents.
The studies reviewed used mainly survey data (e.g. self-report questionnaires) to measure teenagers’ intake of sugary drinks and their anxiety levels.
The research found that teenagers who regularly consumed large amounts of sugary beverages were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety. The drinks included fizzy drinks, energy drinks, sweetened fruit juices, squashes, flavoured milks, and sugary teas or coffees. Across the studies analysed, the findings were generally consistent: higher intake of sugary drinks was linked with higher levels of anxiety.
Traditionally, research into poor diet in adolescents has focused mainly on physical health issues such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, this research highlights that diet may also have important effects on mental health. Anxiety disorders are already one of the most common mental health problems among young people, with around one in five children and adolescents experiencing a mental health disorder in recent years.
Overall, this study suggests that reducing sugary drink consumption could benefit both physical and mental health in teenagers, but further research is needed to understand the exact relationship and establish whether sugary drinks are a causal factor in anxiety disorders.
References:
Sugary drinks linked to rising anxiety in teens. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 February 2026. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260218044624.htm
(accessed 7.5.26)
Karim Khaled, Nathalie Abdulbaki, Orouba Almilaji, Chloe Casey, Fotini Tsofliou. Sugar‐Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2026; 39 (1) DOI: 10.1111/jhn.70217
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
This study used a ‘meta-analysis’. What is a meta-analysis?This study was correlational. Identify the co-variables in this correlation.What type of correlation is shown in this study? Explain your answer.The study used self-report measures (a survey) to measure the co-variables. Explain one problem with this technique in this study (top tip – link your answer to one of the co-variables to make sure your answer is contextualised)Why can we not establish cause and effect in relation to this research?

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AQA A-Level Psychology Topic Tracker | tutor2u

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Track every AQA A-Level Psychology exam question from 2017-2025. Rate your confidence with RAG ratings, discover exam trends, and find your revision gaps.

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Exam Topic Tracker for AQA A-Level Psychology

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Try the new interactive topic tracker for AQA A-Level Psychology here - this includes the ability to RAG rate your confidence with each topic in the spec + greater analysis of how topics have been examined.

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Like it or not, how we look shapes our lives. People seem to prefer more attractive financial partners, for example, and research suggests being conventionally attractive can help us earn more money. But a new study by Bastian Jaeger and colleagues, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suggests we may be far less aware of bias based on appearance, also known as 'pretty privilege', than we are of other forms of discrimination.

The first study explored how people judge the fairness of hiring decisions when those decisions clearly favour certain kinds of people. Four hundred and two adults judged the fairness of hiring decisions involving equally qualified candidates who differed by gender, race, and physical attractiveness. When hiring favoured only men or only White candidates, participants saw the process as clearly unfair - but when it favoured only attractive candidates, most people did not see it as unfair, or judged it only slightly so. A second study, which used a new set of candidate photos containing even more highly attractive people, replicated this pattern.

Next the researchers moved to a legal setting, with 300 participants evaluating court verdicts involving male defendants who varied by race and attractiveness, but were described as equally likely to be guilty. Race-biased verdicts, where all those convicted were Black, were seen as clearly unfair. Verdicts that convicted only unattractive defendants, however, were not judged as less fair than unbiased verdicts. Again, bias based on appearance drew a much weaker reaction.

Study four asked why. Nearly 600 participants witnessed biased hiring decisions and asked to describe what stood out to them. When decisions favoured men, 65% spontaneously mentioned gender discrimination; when they favoured White candidates, 72% mentioned race. But when decisions favoured attractive candidates, only 23% mentioned attractiveness at all. A follow-up study showed that explicitly pointing out attractiveness bias sharply reduced fairness ratings, though such decisions were still seen by participants as more acceptable than race-based ones.

Finally, 785 participants judged the fairness of hiring decisions that either favoured only attractive candidates or were evenly balanced. In one condition, the candidate pool varied by gender and race, as in earlier studies; in the other, all candidates were White women, so gender and race bias were impossible. When gender and race varied, people again saw attractiveness-biased hiring as just as fair as unbiased hiring. But when all candidates were White women, attractiveness-biased hiring was judged as much less fair than unbiased hiring.

Overall, the team argues that this apparent tolerance of attractiveness bias is not about people finding it acceptable per se, but about what they notice in the first place. When people assess whether a decision is unfair, they tend to focus on familiar forms of discrimination such as gender and race, while bias based on appearance is less expected, and therefore goes unnoticed. As a result, people may appear to accept biased outcomes even when they would judge them as unfair, just because they fail to register that a bias is present at all.

Read the paper in full:
Jaeger, B., Paolacci, G., & Boegershausen, J. (2025). Social bias blind spots: Attractiveness bias is seemingly tolerated because people fail to notice the bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 129(6), 1037-1053. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000459

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'Pretty privilege' is noticed less than other types of discrimination | BPS

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Bias based on appearance flies under the radar more often than racial or gender discrimination, says new study.

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Psychology In The News | Punch, the Infant Monkey

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As an A-level Psychology student, you are no doubt familiar with the research conducted in the 1950s and 1960s by Harry Harlow on Rhesus macaque monkeys. You may have also recently seen images of ‘Punch’, the infant Japanese macaque monkey with a soft toy monkey (pictured below). Putting aside the wider debate around animals in captivity, this case gives us a rare insight into the research on the Attachment topic.

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link to all big quizzes. 10Q multiple choice quizzes on specific topics to test your knowledge

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5 stages of the brain through your lifetime - adolescence lasts longer than you think!

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5 stages of the brain through your lifetime - adolescence lasts longer than you think!

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Psychology In The News | The Adolescent Brain

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Researchers at Cambridge University have identified five distinct phases of brain development by scanning around 4,000 people up to age 90. The study used MRI diffusion scans (a type of MRI scan) to track how water molecules move through brain tissue, revealing neural connections. The research shows our brains don’t change smoothly from birth to death, but undergo dramatic shifts at specific ages: 9, 32, 66, and 83 years old.
The Five Brain Phases:
Childhood (0-9 years): The brain rapidly increases in size while grey and white matter grow. However, it becomes less efficient as excess synapses created at birth are pruned away—like ‘a child meandering around a park’ rather than going straight from A to B.Adolescence (9-32 years): At age nine, the brain undergoes its most profound shift. White matter continues developing, and connections become ruthlessly efficient—the only time in life when neural efficiency increases. Brain function peaks in our early thirties. This extended adolescent phase also carries the greatest risk for mental health disorders emerging. Adulthood (32-66 years): The longest and most stable era, lasting three decades. Brain architecture stabilises, and efficiency improvements reverse. This aligns with plateaus in intelligence and personality that many experience. Networks become more segregated and compartmentalised.Early Ageing (66-83 years): Not an abrupt decline, but a gradual reorganisation. The brain becomes increasingly separated into regions working independently—like ‘band members starting solo projects’—rather than coordinating as one whole organ. White matter begins to degenerate, and connectivity reduces.Late Ageing (83+ years): Regional patterns become even more pronounced as whole-brain connectivity continues declining. There’s increased reliance on local rather than global connections, though data is more limited for this group.
Whilst this study reveals fascinating new information about brain development, the researchers didn’t analyse men and women separately and are keen to state that the changes may not be universal, with not everyone experiencing these network changes at the same ages.
Reference: Scientists identify five ages of the human brain over a lifetime https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/... ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS!
This study used a form of an MRI scan. Outline fMRI scans as a method of studying the brain.This study involved approximately 4,000 participants. How does the sample size affect the generalisability of findings?The researchers used a cross-sectional design (different people at different ages). What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using a longitudinal design (where the same people are studied across their life span) instead?How does synaptic pruning during the childhood phase demonstrate plasticity?What practical applications could arise from the adolescent phase being at the greatest risk for mental health disorders developing?

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Tutor2u revision blasts - live and on demand

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Tutor2u revision blasts - live and on demand

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Psychology | A-Level Live Revision Sessions

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Here are the replays of the live-streamed revision AQA A-Level Psychology sessions held by the tutor2u Psychology team. You can download all the PowerPoints ...

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The Psychology Big Quiz | 19 January 2026 - Behaviourist Approach

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Welcome to the weekly Psychology Big Quiz! Each week during term time, tutor2u will be publishing a 10-question multi-choice quiz to support AQA A-Level Psychology revision.

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What does caffeine do to the sleeping brain? | BPS

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New research finds caffeine increases the complexity and criticality of brain activity during sleep, affecting various age groups differently.

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We have a tasty new episode of our podcast, PsychCrunch, for you this week. Join us over on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts, for a research-packed feast with Dr Jon Sutton and Dr Andrea Oskis (Food Writer and Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University, London).

Laying our their hypothetical meal, they navigate the deep and meaningful connections between us and the food we eat. From appetiser to dessert, every dish opens the door to exploring fascinating studies from across food psychology, whether that be our attachment to kebabs, or the vengence that can be extracted with hot sauce.

See you at the table!

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PsychCrunch is the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Each episode we explore whether the findings from psychological science can make a difference in real life. Just how should we live, according to psychology? We speak to psychologists about their research and whether they apply what they've discovered in their own lives.

Routledge Psychology is part of the Taylor & Francis Group, and publishing partner for the BPS Core Textbooks Series. Browse over 5 million articles at www.tandfonline.com, and related books at www.routledge.com.

Check out our latest episode, number 34, on the psychology of making new friends:

Despite it being easier than ever to communicate, so many of us find it challenging to make new friends - especially as we get older. Opening up conversations with strangers can leave us feeling like a bother, and fizzle into nothing more than a one-off interaction. The loneliness this can create isn't just a passing sting, it can have ongoing impacts to both our mental and physical health. So, just how do we make friends as adults?

To get to the bottom of this problem, Ginny Smith speaks with our expert guests Dr. Marissa G. Franco (Professor, speaker, and the New York Times bestselling author of Platonic) and Dr Gillian Sandstrom (Senior Lecturer in the psychology of kindness at the University of Sussex). Together, they give their insights on why so many of us run into problems expanding our social circle, and share some practical advice on how to make more connections.

Find all our past episodes below:

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PsychCrunch is the podcast from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Each episode we explore whether the findings from psychological science can make a difference in real life. Just how should we live, according to psychology? We speak to psychologists about their research and whether they apply what they've discovered in their own lives.

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Make it stick the science of successful learning

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Psychology In The News | Seasonal Affective Disorder

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As we transition into the darker months, it’s important to understand how seasonal changes could affect our mental health. This week, we’re exploring Seasonal Affective Disorder, a condition that affects over a million people in the UK each winter.
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a recurring depression triggered by shorter days and reduced daylight exposure. First identified in the early 1980s, SAD occurs when a lack of sunlight disrupts our circadian rhythms and reduces serotonin production in the brain. Reduced light exposure also affects melatonin regulation, leading to disrupted sleep patterns and daytime drowsiness.
SAD shares several symptoms with Clinical Depression: low mood, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and loss of interest in activities. However, SAD has distinctive features including excessive sleepiness (hypersomnia) rather than insomnia, increased appetite and carbohydrate cravings, and a predictable seasonal pattern with remission in spring and summer. While Clinical Depression can occur at any time and typically requires long-term treatment, SAD follows a cyclical pattern directly linked to seasonal light availability.
The impact varies dramatically across the UK. During the winter solstice (December 21st), Shetland experiences just 5 hours 49 minutes of daylight, while southern England receives over 8 hours. This two-hour difference significantly affects those living in northern Scotland and the islands, where access to mental health support may also be limited.
The BBC reports that exciting new research from the University of Glasgow’s ‘Living with SAD’ project demonstrates a possible solution. Their ‘Wintering Well’ boxes are being handed out through libraries in Orkney and East Dunbartonshire. The boxes contain therapeutic light lamps to help counteract the effects of SAD, as well as an activity guide which includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques to help people maintain good mental health.
Such research emphasises changing our attitudes toward winter, taking inspiration from Scandinavian cultures that embrace the season. Simple tools like winter sky frames (encouraging 10 minutes of sky observation through a cardboard cut-out frame), alongside creating cosy, well-lit interior spaces, can significantly improve mood and well-being during darker months.
Reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art... (accessed 3.11.25)
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS!
What biological explanation (s) are there for the onset of SAD?What similarities and differences exist between clinical depression and SAD?The ‘Wintering Well’ boxes were borrowed 200 times and renewed 349 times by 100 initial users. (a) This is an example of a pilot study. What is a pilot study? (b)What additional research methods would you recommend using next to establish if the ‘Wintering Well’ programme is effective?What could be the economic implications of research into the ‘Wintering well’ boxes?

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Regular use of Up Learn is hugely beneficial

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Regular use of Up Learn is hugely beneficial

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Up Learn

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Case Study 1: Grade U to C – Significant Improvement Through Independent Study.

At the end of Year 12, Student A was on a U grade and at risk of being removed from the A-level science course. Committing to at least four hours a week of Uplearn and related deliberate exam questions practice, they showed rapid progress — improving from a U in July to a D in the autumn and a C by the January mocks. This demonstrates the power of consistent effort and independent study.

Case Study 2: Grade D to B - If only they'd started earlier.

Student B began A-level sciences with A-grade targets after strong GCSEs (mostly 7+). A disappointing Year 12 mock (grade D) triggered a surge in effort and Uplearn usage. By Year 13, they achieved two B grades — just one below target. This begs the question: what could they have achieved if they’d started sooner?

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Psychology In The News | Exercise and Personality

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Struggling to stick with your fitness routine? The secret might be matching your workouts to your personality, according to new research.
UK Researchers recruited participants by advertising their study to the general public via email newsletters (sent to companies and those who attended/worked at University College London (UCL) where this study was based) as well as social media advertisements (e.g. on LinkedIn and Facebook). 232 participants expressed an interest in taking part in the study, 132 came forward for baseline fitness testing to be included in the study, they were then matched and randomised into an intervention group and a control group by age, birth sex, BMI and V̇O2peak. Any participant with an illness or injury was not allowed to take part in the study.
The intervention group received an 8-week home-based fitness program (cycling and strength training), and the control group continued with their usual lifestyle. All participants completed questionnaires measuring enjoyment of training sessions during lab testing, the first intervention week, and after the intervention. The researchers assessed five personality traits—extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness—and found distinct exercise preferences. Extroverts thrived in high-energy group sports, while those high in neuroticism preferred private workouts with short, intense bursts followed by breaks. Conscientious individuals exercised regardless of enjoyment levels, and those high in openness were driven by curiosity.
The stress-reduction benefits were particularly striking. Before intervention, both groups showed similar stress levels, but afterwards, people scoring high in neuroticism showed the strongest stress reduction. ‘Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviours’, explains lead researcher Dr. Flaminia Ronca from UCL’s Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health. The key is finding activities you genuinely enjoy rather than forcing yourself through workouts you dislike.
References: Frontiers. “Matching your workouts to your personality could make exercising more enjoyable and give you better results.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 July 2025. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250708045651.htm (accessed 17.7.25)
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS!
1. What method of sampling was used to obtain the participants for the study? Justify your answer with reference to the study.
2. Outline one limitation of this sampling method, with reference to the study.
Participants completed questionnaires about their enjoyment of their training sessions. 3(a) Write one question which would produce quantitative data which could have been included in the questionnaire.
3 (b) Write one question which would produce qualitative data which could have been included in the questionnaire.
4. Outline one way (outlined in the study description) in which the researchers tried to control for any extraneous variables.
Challenge: What are the economic implications of this piece of research?

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Secrets of the Brain - Series 1: Episode 2

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From playing computer games with chimpanzees to studying modern relationships, Jim Al-Khalili investigates how the brain evolved and how it differs from AI.

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Secrets of the Brain - Series 1: Episode 1

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Professor Jim Al-Khalili unravels the mystery of how the most complex structure known in the universe - the human brain - came to exist.

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BBC World Service. Do babies have memories...??

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BBC World Service. Do babies have memories...??

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BBC World Service on Instagram: "Do you remember when you were a baby? If so, scientists think those memories may not actually be real and that we can't remember the first few years of our lives - they call it infantile amnesia.⁣
⁣
But why does it happen?⁣
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🎧 CrowdScience explores why we forget our childhood memories - hit the link in our bio to listen.⁣
⁣
#bbcworldservice #science #memory"

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770 likes, 13 comments - bbcworldservice on October 4, 2025: "Do you remember when you were a baby? If so, scientists think those memories may not actually be real and that we can't remember the first few years of our lives - they call it infantile amnesia.⁣
⁣
But why does it happen?⁣
⁣
🎧 CrowdScience explores why we forget our childhood memories - hit the link in our bio to listen.⁣
⁣
#bbcworldservice #science #memory". 

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice)

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Regular sleep pattern, not just sleep duration, supports mental health | BPS

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While getting enough sleep is crucial, the regularity of when we go to sleep also plays a protective role when it comes to depression and anxiety, says new study.

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Does it matter where you have a first date? | BPS

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New research yields mixed findings about the influence of environment on connecting to potential partners.

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Could ‘off-the-shelf’ music therapy boost memory for everyone? | BPS

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New research finds that the extent to which any given piece of music moves us influences how much it could help our memory.

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Spouses tend to share psychiatric conditions | BPS

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Across cultures and generations, a huge new study suggests that those with psychiatric conditions prefer to marry those with similar diagnoses.

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Editor's note: This is a supplementary, research-focused article for our website; it supports a forthcoming piece for print that the authors wrote to tell the story through several police cases.
Evidence provided by eyewitnesses can be crucial for solving crime. In two previous articles in The Psychologist, in 2008 and 2012, we explained how we have helped these observers create the face of an offender to assist police investigations. Here, we review this work and explain more recent research. These developments have enabled eyewitnesses to routinely construct an identifiable face and assist the police in solving crimes.

Composite research 1998-2008

As we describe in our 2008 article in The Psychologist, when a crime has been committed, the police will try to establish the identity of the perpetrator. Clues to identity may be available not just from the many surveillance (CCTV) cameras installed in public places (e.g., Bruce, 1998), but recently from video devices fitted into doorbells, sheds and even cars (Daraghmi & Shawahna, 2023). However, some crimes occur in places without cameras (e.g., rural areas), or where the footage itself can be insufficient to establish identity, such as when the quality is poor or when offenders try to conceal their identity (e.g., by wearing a face mask or a baseball cap pulled over the face). In these situations, the police appeal to witnesses for help.

If the offender's identity remains unknown and the offence is serious (e.g. sexual or indecent assault, abduction and exploitation), the police may ask a witness (or victim) to construct a likeness of the face. These facial composites are circulated within a police force, or more widely to the public, with the hope that someone will be familiar with the depicted identity and provide their name. See Fig. 1 for examples. Suggested names offer investigative leads, and through further investigation, the police determine whether the relevant person(s) can be eliminated from their enquiries or should become the focus of the investigation.

Systems for constructing composites have a long history (Frowd, 2021). While originally artists worked alongside a witness to draw a likeness by hand, computerised systems were developed to allow construction by those with less artistic ability. These 'feature' systems (e.g., E-FIT, PRO-fit and FACES) required witnesses to select individual facial features (e.g., hair, eyes, nose) that matched their memory of the offender's features from amongst photographed examples. Initial data demonstrated that these systems had the potential to create identifiable composites (e.g., Davies et al., 2000).

However, when following ecologically valid procedures (Frowd et al., 2005) - a 'gold' standard - wherein unfamiliar faces were constructed one or two days after seeing a face, and naming was later attempted by people familiar with the corresponding identity, composite naming was usually woeful (~5% correct). The research revealed that the problem was our inability to accurately construct the internal features (e.g., eyes, brows, nose and mouth) of an unfamiliar face, the area that is important for familiar-face recognition and thus naming of a witness's composite (e.g., Ellis et al., 1979; Frowd, Skelton, Butt et al., 2011).

Improving the internal features

Given the importance of the internal features' area of the face, we focused our efforts on helping constructors create composites with better-matching internal features. This endeavour was successful in three main ways, as we now describe.
Developing a new system
Many witnesses are unable to describe the offender's face in detail, a situation that, following police guidelines (e.g., NPIA, 2009), prevented construction of a composite. A new approach was proposed that broke the dependence on face recall, while capitalising on face recognition. Rather than using a witness's description to select features or draw feature shapes, these 'holistic' systems presented screens of whole faces, initially with random characteristics selected from an age-appropriate face model, for witnesses to select the best matches to their memory of the 'target'. Selections were combined to 'evolve' a likeness, with the resulting face enhanced using 'holistic' tools (to alter weight, age and other overall aspects of the face) and 'shape' tools (e.g., to widen the mouth or move the eyes apart). Our solution was called EvoFIT (Frowd et al., 2004).

We spent considerable effort making the construction procedure as effective as possible. However, using the aforementioned gold-standard method of assessment, composites from EvoFIT were named at only about 10% correct (Frowd et al., 2007a). Though this was slightly better than other systems tested in the same way, it did not seem to be a worthwhile alternative for policing.
Further enhancing the Cognitive Interview
A description of the perpetrator's face is usually collected using a modified version of the classic event-recall Cognitive Interview (CI; e.g., Geiselman et al., 1985). Here, witnesses are prompted to visualise the crime scene (to reinstate the context) and to recall the face in detail. However, describing a face typically leads to a focus on facial features (i.e., 'the eyes were blue, the nose was long and thin').

While this information can help artists to sketch facial features, and operators to locate suitable examples within a feature system, recall often omits holistic information (e.g., how features are arranged on the face) that more effectively differentiates between facial identities and strongly contributes to our recognition experience (e.g. Tanaka & Sengco, 1997).

A well-known way to increase the focus on holistic information is to reflect on elements of a face's character or personality (Santos & Young, 2011).We therefore adapted the pre-construction interview: after recalling the face, witnesses were asked to reflect silently on the face's character for 1 minute and then make seven ratings - the extent to which the face is masculine, healthy, extroverted, etc.

These exercises for the witness are additional mnemonics, following face recall, and constitute a technique that, together with the more usual mnemonics of the CI, is sometimes conveniently referred to as a Holistic Cognitive Interview (H-CI). We (Frowd et al., 2008b) found that, applied to a feature system, the H-CI dramatically increased correct naming (by 32%) relative to standard procedures.

The H-CI appears to be efficacious, as while face recall activates memory traces for facial features, holistic recall shifts attention to the important internal features and facilitates congruency of processingfrom one stage (the interview) to the next (face construction) (Skelton et al., 2020).
Facilitating recognition of completed facial composites
It is also possible to facilitate composite naming by manipulating how the completed composite is viewed. We presented composites as a series of alternatives that progressively exaggerated (caricatured) and then de-emphasised the shape information in the face (Fig. 2). The alternatives improve correct naming for the main facial composite systems (feature, sketch and holistic) and can be conveniently shown to the police and public as a moving sequence. It supports recognition by accommodating individual differences in how the appearance of the face is remembered (i.e., at least one of the representations better resembles memory for the face than others; Frowd et al., 2007b).

Composite research 2008-2012

In a subsequent article published in The Psychologist (Frowd et al., 2012c), we expressed our struggle to create an identifiable face. While attempting to improve internal features, we realised that the presence of external features (hair, ears and face shape) was hindering the process. The work revealed that internal features (eyes, brows, nose and mouth) could be evolved more accurately when external features were presented de-emphasised using Gaussian blur, allowing witnesses to create composites with 25% correct naming using the gold-standard procedure (Frowd et al., 2010). We then conducted police field trials that revealed similar performance for the identification of suspects (20%) (Frowd et al., 2011).

We (Frowd et al., 2012a) then assessed the H-CI, revealing (as expected) that this interview increased the focus on internal features and allowed witnesses to create more accurately named composites (from 24 to 39% correct). Also, we looked again at the impact of external features, assessing their importance as a contextual cue for selecting internal features, leading to the surprising finding that more effective faces were evolved when arrays comprised only internal features (see Fig. 3), with external features added later (Fig. 4; Frowd et al., 2012d). This change increased naming in the lab, from 23% to 45% correct, and led to a striking composite being constructed in a real case (Fig. 6). The system clearly had utility for policing and was adopted for use by several police forces.

Composite research 2012-

Following our 2012 article, we realised that, while composites could be created with good naming using current procedures and systems, much more could be done to make the most of eyewitness memory. In the following sections, we outline advancements that have enabled a more effective EvoFIT to be constructed, an approach that has also improved composites from a modern feature system.

Next, we mention developments made to the initial witness interview, along with further research that has provided a better understanding of the context around which a face is encoded. Finally, we describe two novel procedures for helping the police and members of the public recognise finished composites, and outline some more recent work.

Creating a more effective EvoFIT composite
Combining techniques
First, we realised that the two developments mentioned above, holistic face recall and removal of external features, independently facilitated the construction of the internal features, and so should be additive if they were used together. When we tested this suggestion, the research involved a novel technique for facilitating recognition. Here, we asked observers to view a composite side-on (see Fig. 5), giving an effect that appeared to reduce error and further facilitate recognition (Frowd et al., 2014). In Frowd et al. (2013), we replicated the independent benefit of holistic recall, removal of external features and side-on naming. When used together, average naming of the composites emerged at an astonishing 74% correct!

To be confident of results, further police field trials were conducted (Frowd et al., 2012b). This exercise revealed that evolving the face using the new internal features method (Fig. 3), 60% of EvoFIT composites led to identification of a suspect, with 29% of these cases leading to conviction. The field trials thus demonstrated that EvoFIT was valuable in the hands of the intended user. They also indicated that performance was broadly similar between correct naming of composites created in the laboratory (74%) and identifications arising from composites from real witnesses (60%).

However, while the moving caricature procedure (described earlier) was used for some police appeals for information (see Fig. 2), it was not always used. Obviously, a moving image cannot appear in printed newspapers, where many composites are published (and while individual frames in a caricature sequence could be printed, this format would be a problem by taking up considerable space). Also, some investigators preferred to use enhancement techniques (such as a vertical stretch) should a re-appeal be necessary. As such, real-world composites were unlikely to be identified optimally. We therefore focused our endeavours on creating composites that were sufficiently effective so as not to require enhancement.
Shifting the focus of attention
One way that face construction was improved emerged through the reflection of a criminal case, an important part of forensic practice ( BPS, 2017). Consider the EvoFIT constructed in Fig. 6. While the likeness in the upper region is striking (especially the eyes and the area surrounding them), we wondered whether the accuracy of the lower region could be improved. In Fodarella et al. (2017), we asked witnesses to select one face for the best match from face arrays (Fig. 3) for the lower half and one for the upper half.

This procedure actually reduced naming compared with the current procedure, to select two faces based on their overall likeness. We then asked witnesses to select both faces for the upper half, a procedure that increased correct naming, highlighting the importance of this area for face recognition. Indeed, upper internal features include the eyes and brows, attention to which is important for various biological and psychological functions (e.g., Henderson et al., 2005; O'Donnell & Bruce, 2001; Vatikiotis-Bateson et al., 1998).

Recently, we have found that de-emphasising the lower half of the face using a Gaussian (blur) filter, as we had done previously for external features (e.g., Frowd et al., 2010, 2013), improves attention to the eye area, increasing composite naming (manuscript in preparation).

There was, however, a curious side effect: when witnesses selected from arrays based on the requested match for the upper facial region, the benefit of holistic recall (the extra mnemonics of the CI) disappeared! We suspected that the benefit of the holistic interview was being lost as, while the interview necessarily requires the witness to focus on the face as a whole, this revised array selection instruction in EvoFIT did not, and so the witness experienced incongruence in processing.

Indeed, the benefit returned when techniques were re-aligned - that is, when witnesses were asked to make further ratings of character with a focus on the eye area during the H-CI (Skelton et al., 2020). This enhanced - now, three-stage - holistic recall protocol is routinely administered by police practitioners.

Further research did suggest a situation where this enhancement should not be used. We simulated face encoding at two and eight metres, with face selection from arrays requested for best match, either overall or for the eye area (manuscript in prep.). While focus on the eye region was effective at the shorter encoding distance, correct naming halved when used by witnesses who had encoded the face at the longer distance. Here, poor encoding of the eye region hindered the ability to accurately select from face arrays. As such, when offenders have been seen from around eight metres or more, best practice suggests an overall focus on the face at both initial interview and construction, an approach that has good empirical sense (e.g., Jarudi et al., 2023).
Reducing cognitive load
EvoFIT works by presenting a range of possible faces and allowing witnesses to select those that best resemble the target. There is an obvious trade-off: have too few faces and none may resemble the target sufficiently, or have too many and risk overwhelming the user (e.g., Sweller at al., 2011). As originally developed, EvoFIT presented four screens of 18 faces that varied only in shape and then another four with variations of 'texture' - the grayscale colouring.

There are then screens to select the face that best represents the overall combination of shape and texture information. We have recently been revisiting the optimal number of faces to show and found that the smallest number tested, 18 faces for both shape and texture, produced the best correct naming (Frowd et al., in preparation) - a result that is almost as good as Frowd et al. (2013), but without the need to facilitate naming (e.g., by stretching the face or looking at it from side-on). Current work is attempting to reduce extraneous load further, for example, by distributing faces over more than one screen.
Facilitating feature composites
Alongside EvoFIT developments, we were keen to improve feature systems since they are still in use around the world. Using the EvoFIT approach with PRO-fit software, Skelton et al. (2020) found that creating the internal features first, with external features concealed, turned out to reduce the effectiveness of feature composites! Unwittingly, we had created an incongruence in processing: face recall led to activation of features in the whole face, but witnesses were presented only with internal features for selection. We realised that congruence could be achieved by following face recall with holistic recall, thus shifting attention to the internal features. Indeed, when tested with side-on viewing (Fig. 5), the work demonstrates that, when witnesses have good face recall, very identifiable faces can be constructed using a feature system.

These projects also highlight the importance of the initial witness interview. In fact, we have had considerable success in developing mnemonics to enhance this interview further, as we discuss next.

Enhancing the Witness Interview

As many readers will know, the Cognitive Interview (CI) has been extensively developed (e.g., Memon & Gawrylowicz, 2024). Our work assessed the potential benefit of bolstering context reinstatement, bringing forward the timing of the interview and changing the modality of face recall.
Recalling the environment
It is established that reinstating the context in which a face has been encoded greatly benefits both face recognition (e.g., Shapiro & Penrod, 1986) and face construction using the archaic PhotoFIT system (e.g., Davies & Milne, 1985). In recent research, creating the face at the place of encoding - physical reinstatement of context - did not help witnesses to create an improved computerised composite.

However, when witnesses mentally recalled the environment, in detail, total information recalled about the face increased, and the ensuing composite was more identifiable when created from both feature and holistic systems (Fodarella et al., 2021), and from a hand-drawn sketch (Kuivaniemi-Smith et al., in prep.). As such, asking witnesses for a detailed recall of the location of the crime is the best interviewing practice.
Early composite construction
One way to facilitate face recall might be to interview a witness sooner, an approach that is effective with event recall (e.g. Gabbert et al., 2009). Our research (Portch et al., 2025) indeed suggests that earlier construction benefits feature composites. When attempted in the past, however, practitioners have deemed this process too demanding for a witness impacted by trauma, and so face construction usually takes place when a witness is ready, a day or two later.

The situation is changing, at least for EvoFIT, presumably as the process is less taxing, with several forces constructing about 10% of composites on the same day as the offence. In the lab, we (manuscript in prep.) indeed found that correct naming of EvoFIT composites increased when created 3-4 hours (cf. 1 day) after encoding. The benefit is small, translating as 16 more correct identifications per 100 composites, an improvement that is nonetheless valuable. The work demonstrates that access to a more vivid memory for the face can enhance recall ability, facilitate selection of faces and support decisions about how holistic and shape tools can be used to enhance the likeness.

For witnesses who are unable to create the face sooner, we tried to protect their memory from decay (Portch et al., 2025). First, we asked witnesses to recall the face in the interim between encoding and the CI. This verbalisation helped composites from a feature system, but it hurt EvoFIT: while improving access to memory, the side effect was greater focus on facial features, that, for a holistic system, is damaging.

However, writing down a detailed description of the face does not seem to cause such a shift in processing. Indeed, this simple technique carried out 3-4 hours or 1 day after encoding promotes correct naming of composites created the following day for both computerised systems and sketches. The benefit is best described as a Testing Effect (e.g., Roediger & Karpicke, 2006): face construction is facilitated when preceded by an exercise that primes and consolidates the required cognitive mechanisms. Early written recall can be requested by an investigating officer (cf. practitioner), and is currently undergoing field trials in the UK and Europe.
Further facilitating face recall
In another project, we (Davidson et al., in press) attempted to improve a witness's face recall as part of the initial witness interview. The approach was based on the idea that sketching the scene of a crime is an effective way for eyewitnesses to reinstate the context (e.g., Dando et al., 2009, 2020). Here, immediately prior to face recall, participants were asked to sketch the face themselves. While most of us are not good artists and so do not create professional drawings, the technique led to more detailed recall of the face and a more identifiable sketch-based composite relative to those of eyewitnesses who did not complete this exercise. Ongoing research is investigating whether this novel mnemonic of the CI is effective for other systems for face construction.

Facilitating recognition of witness composites

While composites continue to improve, their recognition is not perfect, and so we have continued to explore further ways to improve their naming.
Familiarisation with composites
Most of us are unfamiliar with composites. They are constructed from memory and so contain inaccuracies (as illustrated in Fig. 1), the presence of which leads to individual differences in their naming. However, the Testing Effect would suggest that recognition should be enhanced through practice because we become accustomed to adjusting for the inevitable error.

Participants in Birchenough et al. (in prep.) were asked to repeatedly identify a set of 24 composites, with the intended face presented alongside the composite after each attempt. This 20-minute exercise facilitated correct naming for an unrelated set of composites. The benefit was strongest when tested immediately, but nonetheless remained valuable after a day or two.

We are assessing a shorter version of the task, with the current version undergoing a field trial. The ultimate aim is for this procedure to help police, who see composites regularly and are arguably familiar with many criminals, but also to help members of the public recognise an image they see published by the police in newspapers, online, etc.
Adding characteristic motion
The characteristic way in which we move provides cues to identity (e.g., Lander & Bruce, 2000). As such, recognition of composites should be facilitated when seen with characteristic (or person) motion. Indeed, celebrity composites were correctly named more often when shown with the intended person's motion, or when these motion cues were exaggerated (to give a positive caricature) - although exaggerated motion also increased mistaken names given (Lander et al., in prep.). The research also demonstrated that this motion benefit to composites extends to 'super recognisers', people with exceptional recognition ability (e.g., Bobak et al., 2016) who may be called upon to recognise forensic evidence (Davis et al., writing in The Psychologist, 2013).

The impact of face encoding

Most composite research simulates best conditions for face construction - something largely within the control of the Criminal Justice System (i.e., system variables) (Wells, 1985). However, it is also important to understand the influence of factors that are out of our control. In this line of research, we consider estimator variables: influences involving the context around which faces are encoded. This endeavour has considered the impact of the role of the observer, the presence of a weapon, intake of alcohol, face masks and changes in facial appearance.
The role of the observer
In one of the earlier projects, we (Hancock et al., 2011) increased the level of realism of an 'incident', expecting a negative impact on the strength of face encoding (e.g., Valentine & Mesout, 2009). Composites from EvoFIT were created by witnesses who either encountered a target individual's face when (a) playing a psychological action thriller game or (b) passively viewing gameplay. Faces constructed by passive viewers were twice as identifiable as those constructed by active players.

These results speak to the potential negative impact anxiety can have on face encoding (along with an anticipated increase in cognitive load) if involved in a crime (i.e., as a victim) compared with observing a crime being committed (i.e., as a witness), although excellent likenesses are clearly achievable in forensic practice for the former when correct procedures are followed, as Fig. 6 illustrates.
Weapon focus
Witnesses may also experience anxiety and/or be distracted when a weapon is present during a crime. This can result in a witness retrieving fewer accurate details about the event and the perpetrator's appearance, and having reduced face identification ability (e.g., Loftus et al., 1987). We anticipated that a weapon at encoding would also inhibit EvoFIT face construction, but found little difference when the weapon (a threatening-looking knife) was shown at the same time as the face for 30 seconds (Erickson et al., 2022).

However, when encoding was reduced to 10 seconds, naming greatly reduced (from 69 to 47% correct) when the weapon was present (cf. when the face was shown without a weapon). In contrast, without the weapon, naming remained unchanged between these two encoding durations, indicating that as long as a face has been encoded sufficiently, weapons may have little effect. The work also indicates that a short (10-second) encoding period can be sufficient for effective face construction.
Alcohol
Many crimes are also committed where alcohol is involved. We (Bayless et al., 2018) gave participants either a placebo drink, or a moderate level of alcohol that led to intoxication below the UK and US drink driving limit. Alcohol or placebo was consumed gradually over 15 minutes, followed by a 15-minute rest period.

Taken prior to face encoding, this level of alcohol was damaging (cf. a placebo drink) to an EvoFIT composite created the next day, although there was little overall effect if alcohol had instead been ingested prior to face construction itself. This research indicates the more damaging effect of alcohol on face encoding rather than at retrieval, as well as highlighting the role of state-dependent cues in accessing memory (e.g., Eich et al., 1975)
Face masks
Offenders may wear a face mask - a common occurrence, of course, during the Covid pandemic.Much research has explored the impact of face coverings (e.g., Carragher & Hancock, 2020). We (Skelton et al., in prep.) found that when a surgical mask was present on the face at encoding and superimposed during face construction, naming was reduced for these masked EvoFIT images.However, even when masked, composites remained identifiable.

The work also revealed a startling finding: naming of faces encoded and subsequent composites created with a mask actually improved when the mask was removed! While unlikely to be used in a real case, as it would give rise to evidence not provided by a witness, the result shows that the EvoFIT model captures regularities of facial appearance sufficiently so as to generate unseen parts of the face (here, the lower facial half) that, when revealed, facilitate recognition.
Changes in appearance
Offenders may alter their appearance in other ways to avoid detection. We (Brown et al., 2019) found that changes to a face's external features (a different hairstyle or addition of a hooded top) at encoding were impactful: not only were external features of constructed composites a worse match for the person, but the change also inhibited construction of the internal features.

However, we showed that these effects could be ameliorated at naming by presenting three alternatives for the composite: one with a hat (to conceal changed hair), another with opaque sunglasses (to compensate for worse internal features) and a third with both concealments.

While it seems sensible to present alternative images when it is suspected that perpetrators have changed their appearance, the research revealed that these alternatives provide wider benefit by obscuring areas that themselves had been constructed inaccurately. The approach proved useful in a criminal case in Wales wherein the suspect's appearance changed after committing a crime (Fig. 7).

Other areas of research

We are also developing a version of EvoFIT that interviews witnesses directly - that is, without the need for a trained practitioner. Such a self-administered system seems to be ideal for less serious ('volume') crime, or when funding necessitates. The current system is performing well (Ford et al., 2025) and is being trialled by several UK police forces.

Other research is attempting to reduce cognitive load further during holistic face construction, tailor the process for younger and elderly witnesses, further improve naming of finished composites, and assess another potentially valuable method of identification: the use of composites to search identities in the Police National Database.

Summary

The 14 years since our last article in The Psychologist have been a very productive time. It is very pleasing to be able to report that improvements have been made to the witness interview, face-production systems and presentation of finished composites.

Our focus has also shifted to maximise composite naming without the need for enhancement techniques (e.g., moving caricature), although generic techniques are still being developed (e.g., to familiarise the public with composites). The work has involved an element of 'co-evolution' to ensure that successive procedures complement each other: improving one part of the process (e.g., a change in the composite system) has necessitated changes to the way that face descriptions are obtained (via the Cognitive Interview).

Our research continues to have the same aim: to help witnesses generate composites that give the police that 'all important name' to correctly identify an offender.

Intended identities

Fig. 1. From left to right, the intended identities for the composites are Simon Cowell, Will.i.am, Einstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Anthony (Ant) McPartlin and Julia Styles.

Fig. 2. The composite is intended to resemble Donald Trump.

Fig. 5. The composite is intended to resemble Boris Johnson.
Charlie D. Frowd (University of Lancashire), Faye C. Skelton (Edinburgh Napier University), Charity Brown (University of Leeds), Cristina Fodarella (University of Lancashire), Emma Portch (Bournemouth University) and Peter J. B. Hancock (University of Stirling).
References

Bayless, S. J., Harvey, A. J., Kneller, W., & Frowd, C. D. (2018). Do intoxicated witnesses produce poor facial composite images? Psychopharmacology, 235(10), 2991-3003.

Bobak, A. K., Hancock, P. J. B., & Bate, S. (2016). Super-Recognisers in Action: Evidence from Face-matching and Face Memory Tasks. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30, 81-91.

BPS (2017). How psychologists work, DOI: 10.53841/bpsrep.2017.inf115.3.

Brown, C., Portch, E., Skelton, F. C., Fodarella, C., Kuivaniemi-Smith, H., Herold, K., Hancock, P. J. B., & Frowd, C. D. (2019). The impact of external facial features on the construction of facial composites. Ergonomics , , 575-592.

Bruce, V. (1998). Fleeting images of shade: Identifying people caught on video. The Psychologist, 11, 331-337.

Carragher, D. J., & Hancock, P. J. B. (2020). Surgical face masks impair human face matching performance for familiar and unfamiliar faces. Cogn Res Princ Implic, 5, doi: 10.1186/s41235-020-00258-x.

Daraghmi, Y. A., & Shawahna, I. (2023). Digital Forensic Analysis of Vehicular Video Sensors: Dashcams as a Case. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 23(17), 7548-. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23177548

Davies, G. M., & Milne, A. (1985). Eyewitness composite production: a function of physical reinstatement of context. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 12, 209-220.

Erickson, W. B., Brown, C., Portch, E., Lampinen, J. M., Marsh, J. E., Fodarella, C., Petkovic, A., Coultas, C., Newby, A., Date, L., Hancock, P. J. B., & Frowd, C. D. (2024). The impact of weapons and unusual objects on the construction of facial composites. Psychology, Crime & Law, 30(3), 207-228.

Fodarella, C., Frowd, C. D., Warwick, K., Hepton, G., Stone, K., Date, L., & Heard, P. (2017). Adjusting the focus of attention: Helping witnesses to evolve a more identifiable composite. Forensic Research & Criminology International, 5, DOI: 10.15406/frcij.2017.05.00143.

Fodarella, C., Marsh, S. Chu, P. Athwal-Kooner, H. Jones, H., Skelton, E. Wood, E. Jackson, E., & Frowd, C. D. (2021). The importance of detailed context reinstatement for the production of identifiable composite faces from memory, Visual Cognition , 29, 180-200.

Ford, C. J., Portch, E., Bate, S., & Mestry, N. (2025). Going it alone: Combining self-administered interview techniques with EvoFIT's self-administered facial composite construction. Poster presented at the meeting of the Experimental Psychology Society, 8-10 January 2025, London.

Gabbert, F., Hope., L., & Fisher, R. (2009). Protecting Eyewitness Evidence: Examining the Efficacy of a Self-Administered Interview. Law and Human Behavior, 33, 298-307.

Geiselman, R. E., Fisher, R. P., MacKinnon, D. P., & Holland, H. L. (1985). Witness memory enhancement in the police interview: Cognitive retrieval mnemonics versus hypnosis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 401-412.

Hancock, P. J. B., Burke, K., & Frowd, C. D. (2011). Testing facial composite construction under witness stress. International Journal of Bio-Science and Bio-Technology, 3, 65-71.

Henderson, J. M., Williams, C. C., & Falk, R. J. (2005). Eye movements are functional during face learning. Memory & cognition, 33(1), 98-106. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03195300

Jarudi, I. N., Braun, A., Vogelsang, M., Vogelsang, L., Gilad-Gutnick, S., Bosch, X. B., Dixon, W. V., & Sinha, P. (2023). Recognizing distant faces. Vision Research (Oxford), 205, Article 108184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2023.108184

Lander, K., & Bruce, V. (2000). Recognizing famous faces: exploring the benefits of facial motion. Ecological Psychology, 12, 259-272.

NPIA (2009). Facial Identification Guidance. National Policing Improvement Agency. Unpublished.

Roediger III, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17 (3), 249-255.

Skelton, F. C., Frowd, C. D., Hancock, P. J. B., Jones, H. S., Jones, B. C., Fodarella, C., Battersby, K., & Logan, K. (2020). Constructing identifiable composite faces: the importance of cognitive alignment of interview and construction procedure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 26, 507-521.

Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive load theory. Springer.

Tanaka, J. W., & Sengco, J. A. (1997). Features and their configuration in face recognition. Memory & Cognition, 25, 583-592.

Valentine, T., & Mesout, J. (2009). Eyewitness identification under stress in the London Dungeon. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 151-161.

Vatikiotis-Bateson, E., Eigsti, I. M., Yano S., Munhall, K. G. (1998). Eye movement of perceivers during audiovisual speech perception. Percept. Psychophys., 60(6), 926-940.

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Evolving (and co-evolving) the face of a criminal | BPS

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Charlie D. Frowd, Faye C. Skelton, Charity Brown, Cristina Fodarella, Emma Portch and Peter J. B. Hancock share a research journey.

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Youth and Dementia - Psychology in the news

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Youth and Dementia - Psychology in the news

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Psychology In The News | Youth and Dementia

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In 2025, the Guardian reported on research which reveals encouraging trends in dementia prevalence across generations. Australian researchers analysed data from 62,437 people aged 70+ across the US, England, and Europe, finding that younger generations show lower dementia rates at equivalent ages compared to their predecessors.
The study used analysis of cognitive tests and daily functioning assessments to identify likely dementia cases across eight generational cohorts. Results consistently showed age-related increases in dementia prevalence, but crucially, more recent birth cohorts demonstrated reduced risk at comparable ages.
Particularly striking examples emerged from the US data: among 81–85-year-olds, 25.1% of those born 1890-1913 had dementia, compared to just 15.5% of those born 1939-1943. Similar patterns appeared across Europe and England. Women showed more dramatic improvements, especially in Europe and England, potentially reflecting increased educational access during the mid-20th century. However, the World Health Organisation notes women remain disproportionately affected overall, representing a significant portion of the 57 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2021.
Experts attribute these positive trends to various interventions: compulsory education, smoking bans, and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hearing loss—all dementia risk factors. Despite this progress, the absolute number of dementia cases continues to rise due to ageing populations. Researchers emphasise that nearly half of dementia cases might be preventable through addressing 14 key risk factors, from lifestyle choices to environmental conditions. However, some experts caution that the steepest improvements may already be behind us, particularly given recent policy changes and potential plateauing of health advances.
References:
Younger generations less likely to have dementia, study suggests https://www.theguardian.com/so... (accessed 6.6.25) ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS!
Calculate the percentage decrease in dementia prevalence between the 1890-1913 and 1939-1943 birth cohorts in the US (ages 81-85). Show your working.Evaluate the cultural bias and population validity issues in this study.The study used ‘analysis of cognitive tests and daily functioning assessments to identify likely dementia cases’ rather than diagnosis by a medical specialist. Why might this be a problem?Discuss the potential economic implications of declining dementia rates across generations.
Challenge: Researchers emphasise that nearly half of dementia cases might be preventable through addressing 14 key risk factors, from lifestyle choices to environmental conditions. Research what these factors are and use your knowledge of psychology to consider what intervention you could put in place to address one.

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Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong | Johann Hari | TED

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Evolutionary explanation ‘the language of love’

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Evolutionary explanation ‘the language of love’

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BBC Science | Human Body & Mind | Language of Love

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Why do we all fall in love? What qualities do we look for in a potential partner? Find out the psychology behind the language of love.

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In Close Relationships, Opposites Might Attract After All

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The adage “opposites attract” is generally regarded in relationship research to be untrue. Similarity seems to breed stronger attraction at least in a relationship’s early phases. Research on joint goal pursuits by romantic couples shows that if you want something done, however, your best bet for a partner is your psychological opposite.

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Does Being Similar to You Make Me More Attractive, Darling?

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Concerning the classical question of whether “birds of a feather flock together” or “opposites attract,” there is consistent evidence in support of similarity, but very little evidence supporting opposites. However, significant similarity may reduce attraction. To what extent, then, does similarity between lovers enhance or inhibit romance?

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The sense of closeness increases if self-disclosures are emotional rather than factual.

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Various 30 min Radio programmes covering a range of psychological content. 

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Various 30 min Radio programmes covering a range of psychological content. 

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BBC Radio 4 - Mind Changers - Available now

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Series exploring the development of the science of psychology during the 20th century

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Still Alice (film - A linguistics professor is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease) 

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The other side of silence. A psychiatrists memoir of depression. Linda Gask. (Book) 

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Side effects (film - A young woman's world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects)

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The man who mistook his wife for his hat. Oliver Sacks (book)

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Before I go to sleep. S.J. Watson. (Film or book) 

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Classic case studies in psychology. Geoff Rolls (book)

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Elephants on Acid, and other bizarre experiments. Alex Boese. (Book)

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Psychology. The science of mental life. George Miller (book) 

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Psychology. The science of mental life. George Miller (book) 

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The Skeleton Cupboard. Tanya Byron (book) 

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Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole. Allan Ropper and B.D. Burrell (book) 

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Opening Skinners Box. Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century. Lauren Slater (book)

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Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will. Robert Sapolsky (Book - determinism) 

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Free-will. Sam Harris (Book - Free will) 

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Invisible Women.  Caroline Perez (book - gender bias) 

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A long way from home. Cathy Glass (book)

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Three identical strangers. (Film - Nature/Nurtue)

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Friends, Lovers, And the big terrible thing. Matthew Perry (book)

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Inventing ourselves. The secret life of the teenage brain. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. (Book)

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A dangerous method. (Film - psychodynamic approach )

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Hidden valley road. Robert Kolker (book)

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Hidden valley road. Robert Kolker (book)

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Matt Willis. Fighting addiction. (Documentary)

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Matt Willis. Fighting addiction. (Documentary)

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Busted’s Matt Willis explores his addictions and how they affect his family.

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Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn’t happen or remember them differently from the way they really were. It’s more common than you might think, and Loftus shares some startling stories and statistics -- and raises some important ethical questions.

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Girl, interrupted. (Film - based on a true story about a woman’s stat in a mental institution) 

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Girl, interrupted. (Film - based on a true story about a woman’s stat in a mental institution) 

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Browse our massive collection of over 2 million used books. World of Books is one of the largest online sellers of second-hand books. Free US shipping on orders over $15.

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Attachment : Volume One of the Attachment and Loss Trilogy used book by E. J. M. Bowlby: 9780712674713

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Buy a used copy of Attachment : Volume One of the Attachment and Loss Trilogy book by E. J. M. Bowlby. In this classic work of psychology John Bowlby examines the processes that take place in attachment and separation and shows how experimental studies of children provide us with a recognizable behaviour pattern which is confirmed by discoveries in th…

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The scientific realities of biological sex (podcast/video)

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The scientific realities of biological sex (podcast/video)

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The Scientific Realities of Biological Sex || Debra Soh, Marco Del Giudice, & Buck Angel

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My Brothers Name is Jessica. John Boyle (book)

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My Brothers Name is Jessica. John Boyle (book)

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The man who couldn’t stop. David Adams. (Book - OCD)

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The man who couldn’t stop. David Adams. (Book - OCD)

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The placebo experiment. Can my brain cure my body? Michael Mosley. (Documentary) 

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The placebo experiment. Can my brain cure my body? Michael Mosley. (Documentary) 

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BBC Two - Horizon, 2018, The Placebo Experiment: Can My Brain Cure My Body?

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Dr Michael Mosley cures real pain with fake pills in Britain’s largest ever placebo trial.

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The brain that changes itself. Norman Doidge. (Book)

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The brain that changes itself. Norman Doidge. (Book)

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Why has nobody told me this before. Dr. Julie Smith (book)

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Why has nobody told me this before. Dr. Julie Smith (book)

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The opposite of butterfly hunting. Evanna Lynch. (Book - eating disorders)

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The opposite of butterfly hunting. Evanna Lynch. (Book - eating disorders)

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Behind the shock machine. Gina Perry (book)

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Behind the shock machine. Gina Perry (book)

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The lucifer effect. Philip Zimbardo (book)

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The lucifer effect. Philip Zimbardo (book)

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Obedience to authority. Stanley Milgram (book)

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Obedience to authority. Stanley Milgram (book)