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Social Psychology
6mins
Hustle culture is part of our DNA — but it’s making us unhappy. Yale psychologist Laurie Santos explains how to escape your inner drill sergeant and find peace in imperfection.
Research suggests there's truth to regional stereotypes in the U.S. — with some caveats.
6mins
Your "social reality" isn’t an absolute reality. A leading neuroscientist explains why.
Impossible standards and poor self-understanding are making us miserable.
A new study from Finland suggests that we all process the behavior of others using the same neural networks.
Evolutionary pressures drove the formation of tribes who encoded their values in myths and symbols. Was this cooperation cursed?
5mins
Not all conflict is bad. Expert Priya Parker explains how “heat” can be harnessed for good.
The replication crisis has debunked many of psychology’s fair-haired hypotheses, but for the marshmallow test, things have only become more interesting.
If you think everyone around you is terrible, the joke may be on you.
5mins
Why do the worst people rise to power? University College London professor Brian Klaas responds.
A study shows that the brains of lonely individuals respond in odd ways to visual stimuli, while those of non-lonely people react similarly.
You can’t spot a liar just by looking — but psychologists are zeroing in on methods that might actually work.
8mins
How America became a fragile nation — and how it can get its resilience back.
Do you think other people are happier than you?
Unmasking a "convenient untruth" in U.S. politics.
The puzzle of play
The purpose of play — for children, monkeys, rats or meerkats — has proved surprisingly hard to pin down. Scientists continue to toss around ideas.
9mins
Kids are more anxious and depressed than ever. Is identity politics to blame?
Considering the perspectives of others has important benefits for individuals and for society. There is one easy way to do it.
John Templeton Foundation
We bring multifaceted selves to our interactions, and in these interactions co-create each other again and again.
1hr 19mins
Steven Pinker explains how to cultivate greater rationality in today's complex world.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power and a plate of cookies.” (Something like that.)
7mins
Find food, have sex, not die. That’s pretty much all we need to do — but why do we make it so complicated?
7mins
Sexual attitudes are more man-like than ever. Here’s what that means for women.
Social media has made yelling past each other all the easier.
“We are biologically programmed to have empathy. It’s something we can’t suppress.”
6mins
Economist Tyler Cowen explains why intelligence is overrated. Here’s what to look for instead.
8mins
Why we keep giving power to the wrong people, according to political scientist and associate professor Brian Klaas.
Kids are fragile. They should trust their feelings. The world is a battle between good and evil. We should stop repeating these untruths.
Fear of being scammed can lead us to make decisions that go against our values and goals — both as individuals and as a society.