Psychology

Psychology

Disputed signs of consciousness seen in babies’ brains

Within five months of birth, infants produce a possible neural marker of being aware of what they see.

Psychology

Light found in cocaine addiction tunnel

Using lasers, scientists target a sluggish set of neurons in rats to ease drug compulsion.

Psychology

Babies’ flexible squeals may enable them to talk later

Language evolution might have fed off infants’ ability to use certain sounds to express various emotions.

Psychology

Competition brings out autism’s social side

Given motivation, kids with autism can appreciate what other people think and believe.

Psychology

Early malnutrition bodes ill for adult personality

Undernourishment in first year of life may destabilize personality decades later.

Psychology

Video games take aim at dyslexia

Playing action video games gives a literacy boost to dyslexic children who read poorly, a disputed study suggests.

Psychology

Depression gene search disappoints

A comprehensive effort to find links between genetic variants and low mood comes up empty.

Psychology

Highlights from the Psychonomic Society annual meeting

Summaries from the conference held November 15-18 in Minneapolis.

Psychology

Word-detecting baboons are a tough read

New models offer contrasting views of monkeys’ ability to identify frequently seen letter pairs.

Psychology

Too little money, too much borrowing

A contested study suggests that poverty contracts attention and detracts from financial decisions.

Psychology

Delaying gratification is about worldview as much as willpower

Preschoolers’ social expectations influence how long they’re willing to hold out for extra goodies.

Neuroscience

Teens can keep their cool to win rewards

An unexpected experimental result suggests adolescent impulsivity is not inevitable.