Mental Health
Is Too Little Play Hurting Our Kids?
A long-term decline in unsupervised activity may be contributing to mental health declines in children and adolescents.
Psychology134 articles archived since 1845
Psychology
Machine Learning Creates a Massive Map of Smelly Molecules
Scientists can finally predict a chemical’s odor without having a human sniff it
Psychology
Beliefs about Emotions Influence How People Feel, Act and Relate to Others
Thinking about a range of emotions as friends rather than foes improves the quality of our life
Psychology
Learning to Accept Discomfort Could Help You Thrive
Equanimity, a key ingredient of mindfulness meditation, helps people face life’s ups and downs
Psychology
Training Bartenders, Barbers and Divorce Attorneys as Counselors Could Reduce Gun Suicides
Some of the tens of thousands of suicide deaths in the U.S. each year would not have happened if people in the community had been schooled to provide advice about gun safety
Psychology
This Is How Often People Lie in a Day
Deception researchers investigate under what circumstances we are liable to let loose a whopper
Psychology
To Lead a Meaningful Life, Become Your Own Hero
From Gilgamesh to Star Wars, the narrative blueprint underpinning many heroic tales can offer a powerful way to reframe experiences
Psychology
Children Face Unequal Treatment in the Classroom—With Devastating Consequences
Students often receive feedback that conveys expectations linked to their socioeconomic background
Behavior
Morbid Curiosity Is Linked to Conspiracy Theories
Those fascinated with true crime podcasts may be more vulnerable to conspiratorial beliefs
Psychology
The Evolutionary Reasons We Are Drawn to Horror Movies and Haunted Houses
Scary play lets people—and other animals—rehearse coping skills for disturbing challenges in the real world
Psychology
People Who Speak Backward Reveal the Brain’s Endless Ability to Play with Language
Argentine researchers studied a regional slang that reverses the order of word syllables or letters. Their findings give insight into our natural ability to engage in wordplay
Psychology
Zoom Time May Be Linked to Discontent with One’s Own Appearance
How do people make peace with the image reflected back at them in a video conference?
Psychology
Know Yourself Better by Writing What Pops into Your Head
The exercise of writing down unfiltered thoughts enhances self-knowledge
Creativity
‘AI Anxiety’ Is on the Rise—Here’s How to Manage It
Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence have prompted big questions about the future of work and even human creativity. Experts have suggestions for how to manage all these unknowns...
Psychology
Stop Trying to ‘Find’ Your Passion—There’s a Better Way to Love What You Do
Recognizing that interests are malleable and can be developed can make us more resilient, open and creative
Psychology
How Family Trauma Perpetuates Authoritarian Societies
Pioneering scholar Riane Eisler describes her lifelong quest to understand why warlike societies are the norm
Psychology
Your Brain Looks for ‘Winning Streaks’ Everywhere—Here's Why
This is why we misinterpret life’s weird and wonderful random events
Psychology
Moon Landing Denial Fired an Early Antiscience Conspiracy Theory Shot
Apollo moon landing conspiracy theories were early hints of the dangerous anti-vax, antiscience beliefs backed by politicians today
Psychology
Online Talk Therapy Works as Well as an In-Person Session, a New Study Shows
A study of 27,500 patients in the U.K.’s health system suggests that getting people into mental health treatment faster is a huge boon of online therapy
Psychology
What Is Narcissism? Science Confronts a Widely Misunderstood Phenomenon
Researchers debate whether grandiosity always masks vulnerability
