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. Archaeology

    Almond Joy, Stone Age Style: Our ancestors had a bash eating wild nuts

    New finds at a 780,000-year-old Israeli site indicate that its ancient residents used stone tools to crack open a variety of hard-shelled nuts that were gathered as a dietary staple.

  2. Infants emerge as picky imitators

    By the age of 14 months, babies display a feel for evaluating the sensibility of an adult's behavior and either imitating the means to a goal or opting for a simpler way to achieve the same result.

  3. Disorder Decline: U.S. mental ills take controversial dip

    Far fewer people suffer from mental disorders requiring treatment than was initially indicated by two national surveys.

  4. Women whiff men in sniff proficiency

    Women of reproductive age exhibit a unique ability to learn to detect specific smells with great sensitivity, an aptitude that may reflect the activity of female hormones in the brain.

  5. Anthropology

    A Fair Share of the Pie

    A cross-cultural project suggests that people everywhere divvy up food and make other economic deals based on social concepts of fairness, not individual self-interest.

  6. Dose of caution: New antipsychotic meds produce muted benefits

    A large clinical trial finds only a modest advantage for a new class of antipsychotic drugs over traditional medications in treating chronic schizophrenia.

  7. Archaeology

    Skulls attest to Iron Age scalping

    Archaeologists identified four skulls, previously found in southern Siberia, that bore incisions attesting to the practice of scalping in that region around 2,500 years ago.

  8. Biology of rank: Social status sets up monkeys’ cocaine use

    Male monkeys' position in the social pecking order influences their brain chemistry in ways that promote either resistance or susceptibility to the reinforcing effects of cocaine.

  9. Much psychosis in elderly may go unnoticed

    Swedish researchers identified hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms in 10 percent of a sample of 85-year-olds, a much larger figure than previously reported for elderly people.

  10. Anthropology

    Stone Age signs of complexity

    Ancient engravings found in South Africa support the theory that humans began to think and behave in symbolic ways a surprisingly long time ago.

  11. Anthropology

    The gene that came to stay

    A gene thought by some scientists to foster a bold, novelty-seeking personality, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), apparently spread substantially in human populations over roughly the past 40,000 years.

  12. Ancient Gene Takes Grooming in Hand

    A gene involved in body development also plays a critical role in regulating the grooming behavior of mice, a discovery that may advance the understanding of certain psychiatric disorders.