Young women in China, living in a rapidly changing society with more personal independence, disposable income and exposure to Western media than ever before, are also altering their views of female beauty. “The beauty industry is booming in China, and these young women I interviewed in focus groups are really endorsing the Anglo-European image of...
Culture
Why Are Some Americans Changing Their Names?
In 2008, Newsweek published an article on then-presidential candidate Barack Obama titled “From Barry to Barack.” The story explained how Obama’s Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., chose Barry as a nickname for himself in 1959 in order “to fit in.” But the younger Barack – who had been called Barry since he was a child...
Photos in Social Media Reveal Socio-Cultural Value of Landscapes
Every day, users upload millions of photos on platforms, such as Flickr, Instagram or Facebook. A study of researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now shows that these photos can be used to assess the social importance of certain landscapes. For this purpose, they developed a new image analysis method based on artificial intelligence....
Use of Tobacco & Marijuana Products Frequently Featured in Hip-Hop Music Videos
Over the past decade, hip-hop music has become a world-wide phenomenon and, in 2017, surpassed rock as the biggest music genre in the United States. Up until now little has been known about how often, or in what context, tobacco and marijuana products and imagery appear in hip-hop music culture. In order to get a...
Fear of Muslims in American Society
Roughly 1% of the U.S. adult population are Muslims. The political and social scrutiny focused on this small group has led to major political figures advocating discriminatory practices based on religion alone. In the 2016 Chapman University Survey of American Fears, we explored how Americans as a whole view Muslims. This year, we’ve reexamined many...
How to Avoid Raising a Materialistic Child
If you’re a parent, you may be concerned that materialism among children has been on the rise. According to research, materialism has been linked to a variety of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, as well as selfish attitudes and behaviors. But there’s some good news. A new study published in the Journal of...
Selfish People Have Fewer Children and Earn Less Money
What happens to those who behave unselfishly and make sacrifices for the sake of others? According to an interdisciplinary study by researchers from Stockholm University, the Institute for Futures Studies and the University of South Carolina, unselfish people tend both to have more children and to receive higher salaries, in comparison to more selfish people....
Going to Bed with Your Ex Might Not Be as Bad You Think
Conventional wisdom holds that people set themselves up for even greater heartache when they jump into bed with their ex-partner after a breakup. However, according to the findings of a study in Springer’s journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, having sex with an ex doesn’t seem to hinder moving on after the breakup. This is true even...
What’s in the Man Box? Increased Violence & Suicidal Thoughts
An Australian first study involving 1000 men aged 18 to 30 has found those who conform to traditional definitions of manhood – dubbed ‘the man box’ – are twice as likely to consider suicide and seven times more likely to be violent towards others. The Man Box: A study on being a young man in...
Do Lovers Always Tease Each Other? Study Shows How Couples Handle Laughter and Banter
Laughter plays an important role in romantic relationships – whether or not it’s shared together or directed at the significant other. If partners handle laughter or being laughed at in a similar way, they tend to be quite content with their relationship. People who are afraid of being laughed at, on the other hand, are...











