Discover how dopamine impacts your mood, motivation, and mental health—and learn simple ways to naturally boost it for a happier, more rewarding life.| Psychology Today
Casinos are intentional environments, designed for a purpose. The purpose is to take your money and make you feel good about it—no easy task. How do they do it?| Psychology Today
Software developers know what makes us click. So what does Internet addiction really mean?| Psychology Today
Our brain's natural ability to turn our attention inside our body can help us overcome stress, anxiety, and trauma to gain greater control over our well-being.| Psychology Today
Popular media are full of scare headlines and articles about harmful effects of video gaming. But what have researchers actually found? Is gaming really "Digital Heroin"?| Psychology Today
The concept "video game addiction" has been rejected by the APA, by many video game researchers, and by many therapists who work with video gamers. Here is why.| Psychology Today
Boredom is at once both easy to identify and difficult to define. A small but growing collection of scientists have devoted their research to boredom, and some conceive of the state as a signal for change. Boredom indicates that a current activity or situation isn’t providing engagement or meaning—so that the person can hopefully shift their attention to something more fulfilling.| Psychology Today
Genetics is the study of genes and the variation of characteristics that are influenced by genes—including physical and psychological characteristics. All human traits, from one's height to one's fear of heights, are driven by a complex interplay between the expression of inherited genes and feedback from the environment.| Psychology Today
A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as alcohol, inhalants, opioids, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling.| Psychology Today
Thinking about divorce? This can be terrifying. "How will I know if divorce is the right decision?" Here's how to gain clarity in the fog of indecision.| Psychology Today
.Mark S. Gold, MD, is an author, inventor, and mentor who has had over 1,000 peer-reviewed publications since beginning his academic career at the University of Florida College of Medicine and Yale University School of Medicine in the 1970s. He is best known for developing the pioneering translational laboratory to human research methods of discovery for addiction and psychiatry. He has over 30,000 academic research citations and an H index of 93. He has made impactful contributions to psychi...| Bridges to Recovery
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy or usually just "therapy," is a form of treatment aimed at relieving emotional distress and mental health problems. Provided by any of a variety of trained professionals—psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, or licensed counselors—it involves examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced by individuals, couples, or families. Therapy sessions refer to structured meetings between a licensed provider and a client with a...| Psychology Today
Dopamine is known as the feel-good neurotransmitter—a chemical that ferries information between neurons. The brain releases it when we eat food that we crave or while we have sex, contributing to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as part of the reward system. This important neurochemical boosts mood, motivation, and attention, and helps regulate movement, learning, and emotional responses.| Psychology Today
Consumer behavior—or how people buy and use goods and services—is a rich field of psychological research, particularly for companies trying to sell products to as many potential customers as possible. Since what people buy—and why they buy it—impacts many different facets of their lives, research into consumer behavior ties together several key psychological issues.| Psychology Today
Stress generally refers to two things: the psychological perception of pressure, on the one hand, and the body's response to it, on the other, which involves multiple systems, from metabolism to muscles to memory. Some stress is necessary for all living systems; it is the means by which they encounter and respond to the challenges and uncertainties of existence. The perception of danger sets off an automatic response system, known as the fight-or-flight response, that, activated through hormo...| Psychology Today