Behind the news

Behind the news is a new, additional service from the BPS Research Digest helping connect you with the the science behind the news. Now every fortnight, we'll provide you with direct links to the scientific journal abstracts (full text if possible) and lead authors behind the psychological studies that have been filling column space in the mainstream press.

1. 'Girls, a friendly chat won't cheer you up' (The Times).
'Talking over a problem "makes teenage girls more unhappy"' (Daily Mail).

Here's the journal source and the lead researcher.

2. 'Phone mast allergy all in the mind' (BBC).
'Phone mast malaise all in the mind, study finds' (The Times).

Here's the journal source and the lead researcher. Full-text available via Bad Science.

3. 'Study: Men talk as much as women' (Time magazine)
'Study explodes myth of the gossipy woman' (Telegraph)

Here's the journal source and the lead researcher.

4. 'Cannabis doubles risk of psychosis'(The Guardian).
'Cannabis users "are taking huge risk of psychotic illness"' (The Times).

Here is the journal source and the lead author. Update: The Lancet have made the full-text freely available if you register (hat-tip Bad Science) and they interview one of the study's authors in their podcast.

What do you think of our new Behind the News feature: really useful, or a waste of time? Please use comments to let us know.

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