Bruce Bower

Bruce Bower

Behavioral Sciences Writer

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences since 1984. He often writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues. Bruce has a master's degree in psychology from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Following an internship at Science News in 1981, he worked as a reporter at Psychiatric News, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, until joining Science News as a staff writer. In 1996, the American Psychological Association appointed Bruce a Science Writer Fellow, with a grant to visit psychological scientists of his own choosing. Early stints as an aide in a day school for children and teenagers with severe psychological problems and as a counselor in a drug diversion center provided Bruce with a surprisingly good background for a career in science journalism.

All Stories by Bruce Bower

  1. Monkeys heed neural calls of the wild

    A part of the brain that's involved in sound processing shows pronounced activity when rhesus monkeys hear their comrades vocalizing but not when the same animals hear other sounds.

  2. The Brain’s Word Act: Reading verbs revs up motor cortex areas

    A strip of brain tissue that regulates most voluntary movements also respond vigorously as people do nothing more than silently read active verbs.

  3. Same interviewer, better memories

    Children may remember details of a witnessed crime more accurately if the same person conducts successive interviews with them.

  4. Intimate violence gets female twist

    An analysis of data on relationship violence in the general population finds that, excluding murder and sexual assaults, women prove slightly more likely than men to commit one or more aggressive acts against a partner—though men are more likely than women to inflict injuries that require medical help.

  5. Some teens show signs of future depression

    Certain characteristics typify teens who suffer recurrences of depression as young adults, raising researchers' hopes for devising improved depression treatments.

  6. Unsure Minds

    A controversial set of studies indicates that monkeys and dolphins know when they don't know the answer to certain tasks, an ability that presumably relies on conscious deliberations.

  7. Juggling takes stage as brain modifier

    Marked volume increases occur in visual areas of the brain as people learn to juggle and then are partly reversed when the budding jugglers stop practicing their newfound skill, a brain-scan investigation finds.

  8. Archaeology

    Lion skeleton found in Egyptian tomb

    Archaeologists found the skeleton of a once-mummified lion at an Egyptian site dating to more than 2,000 years ago, confirming suspicions that lions were revered as sacred animals.

  9. Sleeper Effects: Slumber may fortify memory, stir insight

    In two separate studies, researchers found that a specific sleep stage may amplify recent memories and that sleep can inspire problem-solving insights.

  10. 9/11’s Fatal Road Toll: Terror attacks presaged rise in U.S. car deaths

    Federal data indicate that fear of flying after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused a second toll of lives on U.S. roads in the last three months of that year.

  11. Dog personality: His master’s traits

    Personality traits may vary as much from one dog to another as they do from one person to another, a new study suggests.

  12. Human genes take evolutionary turns

    Researchers have identified a set of genes that has evolved an extensive pattern of alterations unique to people.