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. Depression linked to heart deaths

    In a community sample, people suffering from moderate to severe depression exhibited an elevated death rate from heart disease over a 4-year study period, even if they had no discernable heart disease to begin with.

  2. Anthropology

    Fossil Skull Diversifies Family Tree

    A 3.5-million-year-old skull found in Kenya represents a group of species in the human evolutionary family that evolved separately from australopithecines such as Lucy's kind in Ethiopia.

  3. Repression tries for experimental comeback

    A laboratory experiment finds that people have difficulty remembering words that they have intentionally tried to forget, providing support for Sigmund Freud's controversial concept of repression.

  4. Learning in Waves

    Learning plays a largely unappreciated role in mental development, according to researchers who examine the variety of tactics children adopt as they attempt to solve problems in mathematics and other areas.

  5. Anthropology

    Yanomami inquiry moves forward

    The American Anthropological Association has launched a formal inquiry into the highly publicized allegations of scientific misconduct by anthropologists and others working in South America among the Yanomami Indians.

  6. Anthropology

    Chimps grasp at social identities

    Researchers contend that neighboring communities of wild chimpanzees develop distinctive styles of mutual grooming to identify fellow group members and foster social solidarity.

  7. Self-illusions come back to bite students

    College freshmen who greatly overestimate their academic potential feel confident and happy for a while, but as they move toward graduation, these students feel progressively worse about themselves and become less involved with their schoolwork, a new study finds.

  8. Some police see through killer’s lies

    For the first time, a person's ability to size up a highly motivated liar has been assessed in a study of police officers viewing videotaped interviews of a murder suspect.

  9. Organ donations take family toll

    Taiwanese people who donate organs from a deceased family member still support that decision 6 months later, despite frequently experiencing negative consequences related to their culture and religion.

  10. Hormone therapy may prove memorable

    Healthy, older women may be protected against losses of verbal memory that typically occur with age if they receive hormone-replacement therapy.

  11. Into the Mystic

    Scientists confront the hazy realm of spiritual enlightenment.

  12. Archaeology

    Maize domestication grows older in Mexico

    Maize cultivation existed in southern Mexico at least 6,300 years ago, according to a recent radiocarbon analysis of two maize cobs unearthed in a cave nearly 40 years ago.