Author Archives: Roberta Cocker

About Roberta Cocker

Learning and Blogging about how the mind works!

Can Food Be Male or Female?

food gender associations

Is your lunch male or female? Odd question to ask isn’t it? But odd as it might seem, western culture does show strong associations between gender and food. We live in a world where ladies are expected to eat either fruit or vegetable salads while manly men consume red meat. And it is not difficult to see why we have these perceptions: meat, as a product of the hunt, has been associated with strength and power for ages — two features usually linked with masculinity. In fact, so prominent is the meat-male linkage that researchers Paul Rozin, Julia M. Hormes, Myles S. Faith and Brian Wansink carried out a series of experiments to investigate it. Continue reading

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Why Do Children and Teenagers Exclude Peers From Their Cliques?

Children and Social Exclusion

Just as it is common for youths to form friendship cliques, it is also common for some kids to be left out. Much research has paid attention to what it is like to be rejected or excluded. However a new study by Holly Recchia and her team took an unusual approach, they asked children and adolescents to relate the times that they had excluded someone, and then to give reasons for their actions. Continue reading

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Depression More Common Among Stroke Caregivers

Stroke caregivers and depression

A stroke is a health condition where the flow of blood to specific sections of the brain is interrupted. This predicament results in a reduction in the levels of oxygen and glucose that reach the brain cells, ultimately causing the death of these cells.

Researchers at Loyola University claim that caregivers for persons who have survived a stroke are at a higher risk of becoming diagnosed with depression than individuals without similar responsibilities. Continue reading

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Surprising Biological Markers of Autism

biological markers of autism

Autism is a disorder which impacts greatly upon a baby’s ability to mature and acquire normal social skills; the condition causes children to communicate in odd speech patterns such as speaking repetitively or echoing the speech of others. For some time scientists believed that autism could only be detected when a child had grown old enough to be able to speak with others. However recent studies conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas have suggested that autism may soon be detectable even before a child learns the alphabet. Continue reading

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