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

    Social judgments take touching turns

    New evidence suggests that the sense of touch influences people’s willingness to drive a hard bargain or endorse a job candidate.

  2. Anthropology

    Lucy fossil gets jolted upright by Big Man

    Scientists have unearthed a 3.6-million-year-old partial hominid skeleton that may recast the iconic species as humanlike walkers.

  3. Humans

    For sight-reading music, practice doesn’t make perfect

    Individual memory differences may set upper limits on pianists’ sight-reading skill, regardless of their experience.

  4. Psychology

    Travelers have southern bias

    Southern routes to a destination often get picked over same-distance northern routes, possibly because people equate north with “up.”

  5. Humans

    Ancient shoe steps out of cave and into limelight

    Excavations in an Armenian cave have uncovered the oldest known leather footwear, a 5,500-year-old shoe.

  6. Humans

    Secondhand smoke linked to mental distress

    A Scottish survey finds a link between exposure to cigarette smoke and serious emotional problems.

  7. Humans

    Making scents of a partner’s feelings

    Couples pick up on subtle differences in other half’s emotion-laden odors, new study suggests.

  8. Humans

    Traumatic events trigger diverse responses

    New study compares difficulties faced by survivors of life-threatening events.

  9. Psychology

    Perfectionism works for some diabetics, but not for new moms

    Demanding perfection of oneself boosts longevity for diabetic seniors, but it may prompt depression in new mothers.

  10. Psychology

    Kids face up to disgust surprisingly late

    A new study suggests that children don’t recognize facial expressions of disgust until age 5, much later than many researchers had assumed.

  11. Anthropology

    Contested evidence pushes Ardi out of the woods

    A controversial new investigation suggests that the ancient hominid lived on savannas, not in forests.

  12. Psychology

    Gene makes kids more vulnerable to bullying’s effects

    Kids who get bullied a lot can develop serious emotional problems, especially if they possess a certain gene.