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. Humans

    Recession-sensitive parenting

    Economic downturn led to temporarily more severe parenting tactics among genetically predisposed mothers.

  2. Humans

    Stress spears deployed service personnel

    Supply officers draw as much or more emotional fire as combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  3. Psychology

    Spoilers freshen up stories

    Giving away the plot may aid, not ruin, story enjoyment.

  4. Humans

    Ancient Saharan head cases

    Skulls from a North African civilization provide glimpses of what may be early cranial surgery.

  5. Psychology

    Moms talk, daughters’ hormones listen

    A familiar voice, but not instant messaging, may trigger a kind of hormonal reassurance in girls.

  6. Humans

    Water’s Edge Ancestors

    Human evolution’s tide may have turned on lake and sea shores.

  7. Psychology

    Kids share, chimps stash

    Divvying up goods comes easily to 3-year-old kids but not to adult chimps, a finding with evolutionary implications.

  8. Psychology

    Narcissists need no reality check

    Masters of vanity know they’re arrogant and disliked, but see own bigheadedness as justified.

  9. Humans

    Crime’s digital past

    Computer science makes history, gleaning new findings from centuries' worth of transcripts from a Victorian-era courthouse.

  10. Animals

    Baboon bosses get stressed for success

    In the wild, the most powerful males reign tensely.

  11. Animals

    Chimp has an ear for talk

    Human-raised Panzee challenges the notion that only people can discern acoustically altered words.

  12. Psychology

    Sleeping babies learn in an eyeblink

    To learn about spoken words and other sounds, 1-month-old babies sleep on it.