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. Psychology

    Mental rotation gears up by age 5 for both boys and girls

    Kid-friendly test suggests that the ability to visualize objects from different angles starts early.

  2. Psychology

    Poker pros’ arms betray their hands

    Top players' arm motions when betting provide clues to whether or not they hold strong cards.

  3. Psychology

    Bad acts spark a ‘cheater’s high’

    Committing low-stakes acts of dishonesty enhances perpetrators’ moods.

  4. Humans

    Babies perk up to sounds of ancient hazards

    Evolution has primed infants to focus on noises linked to longstanding dangers, a new study finds.

  5. Humans

    The Tune Wreckers

    People who can’t carry a tune, or can but think they can’t, are a rich resource for researchers studying musical ability.

  6. Psychology

    Poverty may tax thinking abilities

    Scarce funds reduce mental abilities of U.S. shoppers and Indian farmers, experiments suggest.

  7. Psychology

    Behavioral research may overstate results

    'Soft' sciences inflate support for what scientists expected to find, data check suggests.

  8. Astronomy

    ‘Space beads’ push back origins of iron working

    Ancient Egyptians used advanced techniques to make beads out of 'metal from the sky.'

  9. Psychology

    Highlights from the American Sociological Association annual meeting

    Research on social media's reluctant users, marital ideals and single parenthood and intimate victims of cybernastiness presented August 10-13 in New York City.

  10. Psychology

    Mental disorder seen as ‘badness, not sickness’

    Health workers tend to consider borderline personality disorder a tag for patients who are difficult or impossible to treat.

  11. Psychology

    Ratio for a good life exposed as ‘nonsense’

    A heralded calculation of people’s ability to flourish is a mathematical mirage, researchers say.

  12. Neuroscience

    Brainwashed

    The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience by Sally Satel and Scott O. Lilienfeld.