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Social Psychology
The psychology of alien contact largely revolves around the concept of "otherness." We need to learn to be comfortable around strange things.
In the early 1900s, some Americans feared that teddy bears would not instill maternal instincts in girls, thereby causing "race suicide."
It is all too easy for humans to fall into the cognitive trap of thinking that an entity that can use language fluently is sentient or intelligent.
One might think that people who started poor and became rich might be more sensitive to the plights of the poor. Not so, suggests a new study.
What’s one of the most reliable indicators that a first date is going well? The answer might lie in how closely the couple is matching each other’s behavior and physiology. […]
Arguments are a normal and often healthy part of a relationship. It all depends on picking the right kind of arguments, though.
If argumentation led to nothing, it would soon be thrown into the evolutionary dustbin.
We tend to assume our view of the world is objective and accurate rather than subjective and biased — which is what it really is.
It's time to put on your listening hat.
One form of domestic abuse involves a parent breaking their child’s connection with the other parent.
Were Hitler’s SS henchmen willing executioners fueled by racial propaganda or mindless servants vying for promotions?
Learning another language might make you richer, sexier, and smarter. Why not try it?
A large study links pornography use to decreased sexual performance for men and increased sexual performance for women.
It doesn't matter how ridiculous a lie is. As long as it is repeated often enough, some people will believe it.
The effects are even worse for women.
Is there victory in defeat?
It may depend on whether you're an "easily empathetically embarrassed" person.
People underestimate their opponent’s capacity to feel basic human sensations. We can short-circuit this impulse through moral reframing and perspective taking.
Research shows self-ratings of personality traits like diligence are generally more accurate than ratings from others.
Studies show that feelings of ease and comfort in a given situation are tied to feelings of authenticity.
Successful romantic relationships require desire, but that desire doesn't have to be sexual.
In the pursuit of happiness, money probably trumps meaning.
Psychologist Adrian Furnham has termed this effect the male hubris, female humility problem.
The idea that the news can make you sick has a long history.
Dark personality traits include psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism. Is there room for empathy?
Pet owners have consistently reported higher levels of social capital in their communities than people without pets.
It took a series of ingenious experiments in the 20th century to uncover some of our biggest cognitive biases.
The science makes it abundantly clear that couples with more self-expansion are better relationships.
This century alone has already had a couple of Onesdays (1/11/11 and 11/11/11).
The gaze of another person can make us conceive of our body as an object.