Psychology
- Science & Society
Moral judgments about an activity’s COVID-19 risk can lead people astray
People use values and beliefs as a shortcut to determine how risky an activity is during the pandemic. Those biases can lead people astray.
- Neuroscience
Playing brain training games regularly doesn’t boost brainpower
Comparing brain training program users with those who don’t do the mini brain workouts, scientists found no proof that the regimens boosted brainpower.
- Psychology
Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits
Getting people to wash their hands is notoriously difficult. Doling out nice soap dispensers and rewards helps people develop the habit.
- Neuroscience
Surprisingly, humans recognize joyful screams faster than fearful screams
Scientists believed we evolved to respond to alarming screams faster than non-alarming ones, but experiments show our brains may be wired differently.
- Psychology
People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense
People default to addition when solving puzzles and problems, even when subtraction works better. That could underlie some modern-day excesses.
- Science & Society
Parents in Western countries report the highest levels of burnout
The first survey comparing parental exhaustion across 42 countries links it to a culture of self-reliance.
- Health & Medicine
Redefining ‘flesh-colored’ bandages makes medicine more inclusive
Peach-colored bandages label dark-skinned patients as outside the norm, says med student Linda Oyesiku. Brown bandages expand who gets to be normal.
- Animals
A rare bird sighting doesn’t lead to seeing more kinds of rare birds
The idea that more kinds of rare birds are seen when birders flock to where one has been seen, the so-called Patagonia Picnic Table Effect, is a myth.
- Psychology
In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat
Boredom contributes to pandemic fatigue and may account for why some people don’t follow social distancing rules.
- Psychology
The COVID-19 pandemic made U.S. college students’ mental health even worse
College students struggled with mental health problems before the pandemic. Now, some vulnerable students are even more at risk.
- Animals
Bonobos, much like humans, show commitment to completing a joint task
Experiments with bonobos suggest that humans aren’t the only ones who can feel a sense of mutual responsibility toward other members of their species.
- Neuroscience
Lonely brains crave people like hungry brains crave food
After hours of isolation, dopamine-producing cells in the brain fire up in response to pictures of humans, showing our social side runs deep.
