Psychology
- Neuroscience
Human memory is flawed. But a new book says that’s OK
The new book Memory Lane convincingly demonstrates how memories are like Lego buildings that are constantly being rebuilt.
- Neuroscience
Parenthood may help the brain stay young
A study of nearly 38,000 adults shows that the number of kids correlates with coordination of brain regions’ activities — regardless of parents’ sex.
- Science & Society
Why some chaos-seekers just want to watch the world burn
A political scientist explains how a confluence of personality traits and perceived status loss can encourage some people to generate chaos as a solution to their woes.
- Psychology
Breaking negative thought patterns could ward off anxiety, depression
Getting stuck in a negative loop is part of many mental health disorders. A new therapy focuses more on these thought patterns than the thoughts themselves.
- Artificial Intelligence
Are AI chatbot ‘personalities’ in the eye of the beholder?
Defining AI chatbot personality could be based on how a bot “feels” about itself or on how a person feels about the bot they’re interacting with.
- Psychology
Survivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challenges
Logistical needs, like employment and housing, along with psychological needs must be met after disasters like the LA wildfires, research shows.
- Humans
How child soldiers heal after the trauma of war
For more than two decades, Theresa Betancourt has studied Sierra Leone’s former child soldiers. Her new book Shadows into Light tells their stories.
- Anthropology
Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years
3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.
- Psychology
Researchers seek, and find, a magical illusion for the ears
A contest to design a sound-only magic trick could help psychologists learn about differences between visual and auditory perception.
- Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
- Psychology
Smiles tweaked by AI can boost attraction, a speed-dating study shows
Using face filters to alter expressions manipulated feelings of attraction, raising questions about how such technology may influence social interactions.
- Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
