Category: Psychology
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A Wandering Eye: Sexually explicit media usage of MSMs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I was asked to write for this open access journal. The article is available here. Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted lifestyles, including sexual behaviors. With the lack of data on men who have sex with other men (MSM) and their usage of sexually explicit media (SEM), this research focused on examining if COVID had…
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Synergy Between Cults and Terror Groups: A Systematic Review of Recruitment Processes
I started working on this article during the pandemic lockdown. Abstract Previous research has shown that religious organizations are moresimilar to terror or violent extremist organizations than they aredissimilar (Banisadr, 2009; Centner, 2003; Levine, 1999). Individualswho join both usually have similar characteristics. Becausecontemporary researchers have focused more on terror groups than oncults, the archival knowledge…
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Optogenetics: Could this be the key to conquering fear?
Optogenetics is the scientific technique of using light to control parts of the brain with light. It was in 2010 when news about the term hit Scientific America. Recently, a team of international investigators working with mice were able to use optogenetics to turn fear off and on. Read the article here.
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Big Five: Conscientiousness a Strong Predictor of Academic Performance
Mammadov’s (2021) metaanalysis on the Big Five personality traits and academic performance is an interesting read. He concludes by linking conscientiousness as explaining a good portion of academic performance variance. For background, the Big Five or the Five Factor Model (FFM) is a personality theory proposed made popular by Costa and McCrae (1999). The FFM…
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Attraction Preferences of Men who have Sex with Men
The attraction preferences of men who have sex with men (MSM) are largelyunknown. While previous research has examined certain aspects tied to masculinity and race, no comprehensive study has been conducted. The current research addressed this gap by conducting two comprehensive surveys of the attraction preferences for MSM participants. The two surveys had participants identify…