CCU Psychology Department

06/16/2026

Dr. Terry Pettijohn and student Molly Myers published the article "Level of concern: COVID-19 threat and music preferences in college students" in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who felt more threatened by COVID-19 reported a greater preference for reflective and complex music.

IntroductionMusic preferences can be influenced by a variety of factors, including feelings of environmental threat. The COVID-19 pandemic caused increased l...

06/15/2026

A recent study reveals that negative feedback can actually boost women's creative performance. However, women who strongly identify with traditional feminine traits tend to struggle more after facing such criticism.

06/15/2026

Physical exercise is known to improve mental health. A new study reveals that a muscle-released protein called apelin travels to the brain during exercise, promoting neuron growth and alleviating depression.

06/15/2026

Researchers have discovered that damage to specific communication pathways in the brain makes it harder to suppress unwanted traumatic memories, leading to intense, "here-and-now" flashbacks for people with PTSD.

06/15/2026

Curious about innovation in mental health care? Practice Innovations (PRI) is a cross-disciplinary publication that features clinical, practical, and research articles on evolving standards, practices, and methods in professional mental health practice.

PRI supports innovation through coverage of the following topic areas:
🔹Population-based practice issues
🔹Procedure or technique-based practice issues
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Learn more about the journal and read free sample articles: https://bit.ly/4tVHRVL

PRI is a publication of APA Division 42 | Psychologists in Independent Practice

06/15/2026

When students are taught how to ethically integrate artificial intelligence into academic writing, they use text generators sparingly. A recent study shows undergraduates prefer using chatbots for brainstorming and revision rather than generating whole essays from scratch.

06/13/2026

A new study reveals that white blood cells in people with depression show abnormal activity in genes usually associated with brain connections. The findings highlight depression as a whole-body condition, potentially paving the way for future blood-based diagnostics.

06/13/2026

A recent psychology study found that people who are highly motivated by growth and advancement tend to have an inflated sense of their own attractiveness, giving them the confidence to pursue highly desirable romantic partners.

06/13/2026

A new study challenges the idea that people simply prefer "like-minded" individuals. Through a series of experiments, researchers found that the belief that someone is factually wrong, not just different, is what truly drives social division and avoidance.

06/13/2026

While previous research has established associations between life history strategy (LHS) and risk-taking behaviors, the underlying psychological mechanisms remain underexplored. Drawing on recent theoretical advances linking temporal cognition to adaptive decision-making, the present study examined....