Psychology

Cockatoos Learn to Use Tools by Watching Each Other

With a teacher, Goffin cockatoo learn to use new tools more quickly

Why Environmentalists Should Keep Quiet About Geoengineering

If it seems like there's a technological fix, people lose interest in helping

The Brain Will Go to Amazing, Sometimes Scary Lengths to Preserve Its Self-Constructed Narrative

Your life narrative gives meaning to chaos

Action Movies Encourage Charged-Up Viewers to Overeat

People watching action flicks ate nearly twice as much as those viewing a talk show

A protestor holding his hands up chants "Hands up, don't shoot" as SWAT police unit stands guard during protests against police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the United States, around midnight of Aug. 18, 2014.

Walking in Formation Makes Men Feel More Powerful

Men who walk in lockstep see outsiders as less threatening

A wolf yawning in the snow near Hesse, Germany.

Yawning Spreads Like a Plague in Wolves

Evidence of contagious yawning in chimps, dogs and now wolves suggests that the behavior is linked to a mammalian sense of empathy

How do you want to behave today?

Give Someone a Virtual Avatar and They Adopt Stereotype Behavior

People behave differently depending on the appearance of their digital avatar

Why You Look Like Your Dog

It's all in the eyes

The 10,000 Hour Rule Is Not Real

The biggest meta-analysis of research to date indicates that practice does not make perfect

Our Personalities Are Most Stable in Mid-Life

In some ways, our 80-year-old selves mirror our 20-year-old selves

Losing Weight Makes People Healthy—But Not Necessarily Happy

The relationship between losing weight and being happy is not at all straightforward

This Mathematical Equation Predicts Momentary Happiness

Keeping your expectations low, it seems, is key to achieving fleeting satisfaction

Suicide Risk Could Soon Be Predicted Through a Blood Test

Elevated levels of stress-related chemicals in the body seem to correlate with suicide

If You’re Feeling Stressed After Work, Skip the TV

People who arrived home stressed and then watched TV or played video games wound up feeling guilty about those activities

Researchers Crack the Code of First Impressions

Mathematics identifies the subtle facial features that influence how we judge others

A baby chimp in the 1950s

This Guy Simultaneously Raised a Chimp and a Baby in Exactly the Same Way to See What Would Happen

When treated as a human, the baby chimp acted like one—until her physiology and development held her back

Schadenfreude is a Childish Emotion

Even two-year-olds find the twisted joy in others' pain

Your Dog Might Be Jealous

How much is that green-eyed doggy in the window?

Playing Outside Enhances Kids’ Love of Nature and Animals

Exposure to the great outdoors could also influence kids' ideas about the importance of conservation

Science Proves That Kids' Eyes Really Are Bigger Than Their Stomachs

Adults around the world uniformly clean their plates at dinner time, but not kids

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