Psychology
What Millions of Books Reveal About 200 Years of Happiness
Researchers analyzed eight million texts to gauge how lifespan, warfare and the economy affect national well-being
The First Personality Test Was Developed During World War I
Long before online quizzes and Myers-Briggs, Robert Woodworth’s “Psychoneurotic Inventory” tried to assess recruits' susceptibility to shell shock
New Study Suggests Leonardo da Vinci Had A.D.H.D.
The master painter had difficulties with procrastination, finishing projects and staying on task his entire life
Wasps Are the First Invertebrates to Pass This Basic Logic Test
New research suggests paper wasps are capable of transitive inference, a form of logic used to infer unknown relationships on the basis of known ones
New Study Reveals How One Person’s ‘Smellscape’ Can Differ From Another’s
A single genetic mutation could determine whether you perceive beets’ soil-like smell, whiskey’s smokiness and lily of the valley’s sweetness
Dr. Ruth Changed the Way America Talked About Sex
A new documentary chronicles the revolution Ruth Westheimer brought to the air
Which Came First, Vengeful Gods or Complex Civilizations?
A new study pushes back against the hypothesis that moralizing gods were necessary to keep large societies civil
Sun Bears Mimic Each Other’s Facial Expressions to Communicate
Previously, precise facial mimicry has only been observed in humans and gorillas
The History of the Lab Rat Is Full of Scientific Triumphs and Ethical Quandaries
Lab rodents have been used in animal testing for more than 150 years, and the number of rodent-based studies continues to grow
Will A.I. Ever Be Smarter Than a Four-Year-Old?
Looking at how children process information may give programmers useful hints about directions for computer learning
Loss-of-Confidence Project Aims to Foster Culture of Self-Correction in the Scientific Record
Psychologists can submit a statement on how they lost confidence in one of their own findings to help end the stigma around admitting errors
'Dry January' Has Benefits All Year Long
Research suggests the alcohol-free challenge reduces consumption for months afterward
When Do Children Give Up on Santa?
A preview of a new international study explores when kids stop believing and how, after the jig is up, it impacted them psychologically
Babies Share Same Laugh Patterns as Chimpanzees
Unlike adults, who tend to laugh while exhaling, infants let giggles loose while both inhaling and exhaling
This Halloween, a Social Experiment Will Allow Internet Users to Control the Actions of a Real Person
MIT Media Laboratory's BeeMe is the love child of ‘Black Mirror’ and psychologist Stanley Milgram’s notorious experiments on free will and obedience
The Average Person Can Recognize 5,000 Faces
But some participants in a recent study were able to recall as many as 10,000 faces
How Scientists Can Learn About Human Behavior From Closed-Circuit TV
While researchers used to rely on interviews and experiments, raw video reveals subtle, previously hidden reactions
Like Humans, Some Birds Blush to Communicate
Blue-and-yellow macaws are capable of the feathered equivalents of facial expressions, new research shows
What Drove Sigmund Freud to Write a Scandalous Biography of Woodrow Wilson?
The founder of psychoanalysis collaborated with a junior American diplomat to lambaste the former president
Children Are Susceptible to Robot Peer Pressure, Study Suggests
When robots provided incorrect answers in social conformity test, children tended to follow their lead
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