SUICIDE AND THE PANDEMIC by Dr Raj Persaud FRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist Authors from Iowa State University and Stanford University have recently conducted a study which suggests that fifty thousand extra suicides worldwide is currently the best estimate of the result of the current pandemic. They point out that the forecast could be much higher depending […]

Sadly Dr Peter Bruggen passed away in Sept 2018 so this article was written by Dr Raj Persaud alone. Covid-19 like many infections, can produce such mild symptoms, or maybe none at all, in some, so that they don’t realise they are infected; they then spread the contagion without realising it. This means that Covid-19 […]

Getting Your Head Around the Psychology of Trump’s Wall Does psychology help explain barriers between the two sides of the wall debate? by Dr Raj Persaud Walls, barriers, borders, and boundaries all serve strong emotional functions deep in our psyche, which may explain why they arouse such passion. Whether President Trump will eventually get his […]

You Tube HQ Attack and Workplace Shootings Psychology by raj persaud and peter bruggen Nasim Aghda has been named as the suspect responsible for the You Tube Headquarters shootings which has left one man and two women injured with gunshot wounds. The attacker shot herself dead. Police say they are still investigating a motive, but […]

Are Referees Unfair to Female Players? Does psychological research support the accusation of referee bias? by Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen Commentators, professional tennis players and fans remain embroiled in a bitter dispute over whether Serena Williams is right to accuse Carlos Ramos, the male umpire of her US Open Final, of sexist bias against […]

Can Psychology Reveal Who’s Lying To Senate Judiciary? Psychology accurately distinguishes the truth from falsehoods in sex crimes by Dr Raj Persaud Consultant Psychiatrist and Dr Helinä Häkkänen-Nyholm, Forensic Psychologist The media reports that The US Senate has received an FBI report on sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, but the controversy continues over who was lying, and who […]

Does The Psychology of Time Explain How To Make Better New Year’s Resolutions?   Dr Raj Persaud FRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist   Making New Year’s resolutions might be one of the oldest examples of a psychological error we repeat year after year, taking a stab at personal change, but, it seems, inevitably failing. Surveys suggest most […]

Is It Wise to Give Away Your £115 Million Lottery Win? Giving away fourth biggest lottery prize in UK history—what could possibly go wrong? By Dr. Raj Persaud   On New Year’s Day, Frances and Patrick Connolly from Northern Ireland became the fourth biggest lottery winners in UK history, scooping a jackpot of £114, 969,775, […]

The Psychology of Child Torture   David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, from Perris California, face accusations of torture, child endangerment and holding their 13 children captive. Authorities found some of their kids chained to beds, “in dark and foul-smelling surroundings,” following an emergency phone call from the 17-year-old daughter who escaped […]

Larry Nassar and the Psychology of the Insincere Apology The doctor’s apology been judged insincere. What is the psychology of apology?   By Dr Raj Persaud and Dr Peter Bruggen   Larry Nassar has been sentenced with up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female gymnasts who were under his care.   […]

What Is the Smartest Move to Make on Valentines Day? IQ in the psychology of attraction—is being smart a turn on or a turn off? How sexually attractive is intelligence, as a feature of a person’s personality?   By Dr Raj Persaud and Dr Peter Bruggen   A new study by psychologists Gilles Gignac, Joey […]

Coping With Not Knowing What Happened To A Missing Loved One Is ‘ambiguous loss’, when someone goes missing, the very worst kind of loss? by Raj Persaud and Adrian Furnham One of the most heart-rending aspects of the West London Tower Block fire tragedy, has been the plight of relatives and friends, besides themselves with […]

Inside The Mind Of UK Prime Minister Theresa May raj persaud Consultant Psychiatrist at Private Practice in Harley St Inside The Mind Of UK Prime Minister Theresa May Election poker – the psychology behind calling an early ‘snap’ election By Dr Raj Persaud and Professor Adrian Furnham Professor Alastair Smith from New York University, formerly […]

Does Tom Hanks Movie “Sully” Reveal How To Cope With Anxiety? Consultant Psychiatrist at Private Practice in Harley St Does the Hollywood version of heroism hide the truth about coping with fear? by Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen If you want to learn more about what the film ‘Sully’ might teach us about trauma, overcoming […]

ON VALENTINE’S DAY, CAN YOU ONLY BE HAPPY IF YOU ARE PRETTY? by raj persaud and peter bruggen   On Valentine’s Day those of us not blessed with sacks of cards, mountains of chocolate boxes and snow ploughs clearing the fields of flowers deliveries from our front door, may draw the conclusion that possibly we […]

Perhaps the least contestable thing you can say about the unpredictable Donald Trump is that he is a polarizing politician. Clearly a lot of people idolize him, while it seems almost as many detest the new President. Yet no one appears to have posed the key dilemma that will surely determine the success of his reign […]

Donald Trump has said he would be open to bringing back torture because he “absolutely” believes it works, claiming that “people at the highest level of intelligence” have confirmed to him that torture does work. But this seems to directly contradict the latest psychological research into what professional interrogators themselves really believe to be effective […]

by Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen     Donald Trump’s astounding presidential victory appears to have surprised many, including pollsters, experts, pundits, large swathes of the media and the political intelligentsia. Is it possible that in order to fully grasp what has happened in a tumultuous election, psychological processes need to be invoked? Perhaps it […]

Sam Allardyce has resigned from his “dream job” as manager of the England football team, partly because he discussed accepting a seemingly dodgy £400,000 deal with undercover newspaper reporters, but the psychological puzzle remains; why the pursuit of yet more cash, given he was on a £3 million-a-year contract plus bonuses?   Revelations of widespread corruption […]

Depending on the performance of the candidates, the televised debate between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton might determine the next President of the United States. Psychology dramatically influences the way such debates are perceived by the public and their impact, so both candidates most probably consider deploying psychology in their planning for the encounter. A […]

THE BEST TIME TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK – WHEN DOCTORS ARE AWAY RESEARCH FINDS IT SAFER TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN THE CARDIOLOGISTS LEAVE TOWN by Dr Raj Persaud and Dr Peter Bruggen Large medical conventions – where hundreds if not thousands of doctors converge on some luxury hotel in an exotic location […]

After The Death Of Dr Rose Polge – Who Has A Duty Of Care To Doctors? by Dr Raj Persaud and Dr Peter Bruggen   The UK media are reporting that a body found at the seaside in Dorset has been formally identified as that of missing junior doctor Rose Polge. The press had stated […]

As The Archbishop of Canterbury Discovers His Real Father – Just How Common Is Paternity Surprise?   Raj Persaud and Peter Bruggen   BBC News and other media are reporting how a recent DNA test result reveals that the Archbishop of Canterbury was not fathered by whom he believed had been his dad.   The […]