Emotions

What Makes Some Screams Scarier Than Others?

Shrieks of fear share sound qualities with car alarms

Painkillers Might Also Dull Your Emotions

A study shows Tylenol could affect emotional evaluations, but judging the meaning of that finding is tough

Human Languages Skew Positive

We’re all a bunch of pollyannas

Surprise! Cats may be able to pick up on the moods of their owners.

It Isn’t Only Dogs; Cats May Pick Up on Emotional Cues, Too

New research shows that, like babies and dogs, our feline friends look to us for clues on how to react to new situations

This Woman Can’t Feel Fear

Damage from a rare genetic condition appears to have knocked out the "fear center" in her brain

Science can help you avoid a holiday gift faux pas.

How to Give the Best Gifts, According to Science

Researchers are unwrapping the science behind gift giving, from the value of simplicity to the quality of the bow on top

This Comedy Club Charges By the Laugh

In Barcelona, a comedy club is keeping tabs on its patrons' laughs with facial recognition technology

Schadenfreude is a Childish Emotion

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

Meet the Newest (Robotic) Member of Your Family

This emotional robot can tell stories, remember appointments, and make faces

Here’s How You Should Actually Go About Comforting a Depressed Friend

Optimism and well-wishes are not necessarily the best way to show a suffering friend that you care

Rats Can Feel Regret

Rats' brain patterns and behaviors support the hypothesis that they can reflect on certain wrong choices

Some of the expressions the researchers identified, from top left to bottom right: happy, sad, fearful, angry, surprised, disgusted, happily surprised, happily disgusted, sadly fearful, sadly angry.

"Happy Disgust" Is a Newly Recognized Human Facial Expression

Basic emotions like happy, sad or angry blend in interesting ways on the landscape of the human face

What Emotion Goes Viral the Fastest?

On Twitter and Facebook, which spreads quickest: joy, sadness or disgust?

Bodily maps of emotion developed by the researchers.

Different Emotional States Manifest in Different Spots in the Human Body

Humans are emotional creatures, but whether emotions produced the same physical responses in people across varying cultures remained unknown until now

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What's the Perfect Book to Get Over a Breakup?

Alain de Botton has provided a valuable service: giving reading prescriptions for a "shelf-help" approach to everyday problems

Scientists are finding the mind gets sharper at a number of vitally important abilities as you get older.

What is So Good About Growing Old

Forget about senior moments. The great news is that researchers are discovering some surprising advantages of aging

At Namibia's Etosha National Park, male elephants form long-term friendships.

How Male Elephants Bond

Bull elephants have a reputation as loners. But research shows that males are surprisingly sociable—until it's time to fight

Building a robot that humans can love is pretty ambitious. But Javier Movellan (in his San Diego lab with RUBI) says he would like to develop a robot that loves humans.

Robot Babies

Can scientists build a machine that learns as it goes and plays well with others?

A Parisian Ball - dancing at the Marbille, Paris. Drawn by Winslow Homer.

“No More Long Faces”

Did Winslow Homer have a broken heart?

Charles Darwin

Expressions: The Visible Link

Darwin believed expressions of emotion reveal the unity of humans and their continuity with animals

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