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Psychology

New Research

Crossing Your Fingers Could Reduce Pain (No Lie)

Researchers find the spatial arrangement of our digits affects the sensations they feel

New Research

Politicians Are More Persuasive During Interactive Town Hall Meetings

When given a chance at direct persuasion, most politicians are surprisingly good at changing our minds

Ask Smithsonian: How Do People Get Phobias?

The origins of irrational fears

New Research

The Desire to Conform Starts In Toddlers

Apes don’t have this problem — if they know the answer to a puzzle, they’ll do it, regardless of what their friends might think

Cool Finds

Our Brains Hate Waiting So We Sped Up Everything Else

Sidewalk rage, road rage and anger at slow-loading web pages are all part of our evolutionary inheritance

New Research

Can You Draw the Apple Logo From Memory?

New research shows you probably can’t

The Spiritualist Who Warned Lincoln Was Also Booth’s Drinking Buddy

What did Charles Colchester know and when did he know it?

Snack first, then try on that cardigan.

Hunger Makes You Buy More Stuff, Even If It’s Not Food

Whether you’re shopping at the mall or online, having the munchies will compel you to purchase extraneous things

Our furry friends might be able to infer our mood based on our facial expressions - just like human buddies do.

New Research

Dogs Can Tell Whether You’re Making a Happy or Mad Face

For the first time, science shows that a non-human animal can recognize the emotional state of another species

How Long Will You Live? Ask Your Friends

A medical personality quiz started in the 1930s shows how your best pals may know more about your health than you do

New Research

Are You Binge-Watching Because You’re Depressed?

A new study found that people who were depressed binge-watched TV more—and used TV binges to deal with negative emotions

New Research

Being Politically Correct Can Actually Boost Creativity

In mixed-gender groups, being PC makes everyone more comfortable and lets ideas flow

A stone relief carving of soldiers made in Assyria and now in the British Museum.

New Research

Ancient Assyrian Soldiers Were Haunted by War, Too

A new study finds evidence of trauma experienced by soldiers returning home from combat over 3,000 years ago

New Research

Angry Tweets Help Twitter Detect Heart Disease Risk

New research shows that Twitter can detect not just viruses, but long-term public health problems

New Research

Your Spouse’s Personality Can Help You Get Ahead at Work

Tests on married couples reveal that conscientiousness in a spouse is the most helpful trait if you want promotions and success

Social media may be more relaxing than anticipated.

Social Media Is Not Making You a Ball of Stress

But perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook and Twitter can cause stress to spread when bad things happen to friends and family

New Research

What’s the Best Place to Live? It May Depend on Your Personality

Why you’ll thrive in some neighborhoods (and feel miserable in others)

New Research

Your Computer Knows You Better Than Your Mom

Why machines can predict your personality more accurately than your family or friends

Researchers from the University of Missouri have linked "cell phone separation" with anxiety and poor cognitive performance.

New Research

Separate People From Their Phones, And They Perform Less Well

Here’s what happens when you’re parted from your smartphone

New Research

Monkeys Can Learn to Recognize Themselves in the Mirror

Generations of monkeys had tried and failed a classic test of intelligence, but the fault may have been in the way humans thought of the test

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