News

5 Ways You Can Change Your Thinking to Improve Your Health

Instead of futilely trying to will yourself just to be more motivated or positive, think strategically.

Maybe you just fell off the wagon, so to speak. You were planning to eat well, and, well, you pigged out on junk food instead. You're hardly the first person to experience this kind of setback. But to you – right now – it feels like this "failure" marks a U-turn.

Here's the thing, though: You don't have to think of it that way.

Post date: Tue, 05/01/2018 - 10:20

Fitness Tracker for Your Mind: Inside our thoughts and emotions

Take a moment to reflect on the landscape of your inner mental experience — the thoughts, feelings and emotions that have shaped you into the person you are today. What do you think about on a day-to-day basis? Are your thoughts a source of happiness, creativity and inspiration? Or do they fuel distress, anxiety and distraction?

Post date: Thu, 03/22/2018 - 15:32

Frequent 'I-Talk' May Signal Proneness to Emotional Distress

Your friends who can't stop talking about themselves may be telling you more than you think.

Research at other institutions has suggested that I-talk, though not an indicator of narcissism, may be a marker for depression. While the new study confirms that link, UA researchers found an even greater connection between high levels of I-talk and a psychological disposition of negative emotionality in general.

Post date: Wed, 03/07/2018 - 13:25

UA online rankings continue to improve

Since the launch of the UA online program in 2015, the program has continued to improve in rankings - recently landing in the top 15% of online undergraduate programs according to U.S. News & World Report and peer universities. Read the full article from the University of Arizona here. UA online has offered a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology since Fall 2016 and is now the largest defined online major on campus behind general studies.

Post date: Fri, 02/16/2018 - 15:48

Virtual-reality support group a new way to deal with grief

By Mary-Frances O’Connor, Lindsey Knowles and Eva-Maria Stelzer Special to the Arizona Daily Star

Over 8 million Americans experience the death of a loved one each year. Nearly half of American women older than 65 are widowed, in addition to one in six American men of the same age.

The Grief, Loss, And Social Stress (GLASS) Laboratory at the University of Arizona is dedicated to examining psychological and physiological aspects of grief and other forms of profound life stress.

Post date: Sun, 01/21/2018 - 00:00

Psychology's power tools

Cognitive behavioral therapy has created interventions that truly help people to change. Here are the best of them

Aeon article by Dave Sbarra

Post date: Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:03

UA Researchers Look at Mental Impairment After Heart Surgery

Doctors are beginning to understand a connection between heart surgery and mental impairment some patients experience upon leaving the operating room.

During recovery, some heart bypass patients say they're unable to concentrate on tasks, others report a rash of poor decision-making and some complain of general mental fatigue.

Two University of Arizona researchers are looking at the issue from two directions: coronary medicine and neurology.

Post date: Thu, 10/12/2017 - 00:00

UA psychologist gives advice on coping with tragedy

UA psychologist Mary-Frances O'Connor appeared on Good Morning Tucson to talk about how to cope with tragedy. Speaking with anchors Pat Parris and Samantha Cortese, O'Connor stressed that it's normal to be unable to sleep or think about much else in the wake of traumatic events. She said people tend to be resilient and that it's important to do something that feels meaningful, whether it be discussing the event with others or giving blood.

Watch the video on KGUN 9

Post date: Thu, 10/05/2017 - 15:47

Here's why we're all so obsessed with the end of the world, according to Psychology

Congratulations, we’ve survived yet another failed doomsday prediction. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before we brace for another. It seems that humanity is truly fascinated by End-of-the-World predictions. A closer look inside our own minds may help to explain why this is.

Post date: Tue, 09/26/2017 - 00:00

In Memorandum: William H. Ittelson

University of Arizona Emeritus faculty member Bill Ittelson passed away after a long and influential career that spanned many of the traditional boundaries within Psychology. Regarded by many as the founder of the field of Environmental Psychology, much of his work focused on how our environment influences cognition and behavior. The scope of his work was broad and interdisciplinary, ranging from topics in visual perception (such as why mirrors reverse

Post date: Thu, 09/28/2017 - 07:30