psychology
Chatter: The dark side of your inner voice
Your inner voice can be the devil on your shoulder or the angel. It depends on where your focus lies.
Identical twins were raised in different countries. Here’s how they differ today.
Will nature or nurture win out?
The secret habits that control your life
Habit-forming rituals are subconsciously controlling your life. Here’s how to master them.
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Shame is one of our most positive social tools — until it goes too far
Shame is a powerful tool that must be used with care.
Parental alienation: When parents turn children into weapons, everybody loses
One form of domestic abuse involves a parent breaking their child’s connection with the other parent.
Are you a spectator to reality? Or are you its creator?
Signals from the environment, such as those detected by your sense organs, have no inherent psychological meaning. Your brain creates the meaning.
Too much choice: The strange phenomenon of “analysis paralysis”
When faced with too many choices, many of us freeze — a phenomenon known as "analysis paralysis." Why? Isn't choice a good thing?
This 715-song playlist is scientifically verified to give you the chills, thanks to “frisson”
Listening to some songs can cause a powerful physiological response known as "frisson." What is it, and why does it happen?
Inside the mind of a hoarder (and how to help them)
Hoarders know their habits are abnormal, and yet they cannot help themselves. Maybe you can help them.
Psychopathy: Don’t believe what you see in TV crime shows
Are psychopaths cold-blooded murderers? Not usually.
The law of reversed effort: The harder you try, the harder you fall
There are many things in life that cannot be improved with greater effort. Sometimes, life requires that you step back.
Orgasm gap: The insidious reason women have fewer orgasms than men
It's the clitoris, stupid!
Hitler’s SS: How do ordinary people become sociopathic Nazis?
Were Hitler’s SS henchmen willing executioners fueled by racial propaganda or mindless servants vying for promotions?
What is technology addiction? (And how you can better manage it)
To reap the benefits of digital technologies, we must contend with their addictive designs.
10 benefits of bilingualism, according to science
Learning another language might make you richer, sexier, and smarter. Why not try it?
Can near-death experiences prove the afterlife?
Millions of people have had a near-death experience, and it often leads them to believe in an afterlife. Does this count as good proof?
Is watching pornography bad for men — but good for women?
A large study links pornography use to decreased sexual performance for men and increased sexual performance for women.
Where science fails, according to a physicist
Why are we here? What is everything made of? This theoretical physicist says science isn’t the right way to answer these questions.
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Why it’s time to confess your darkest secrets
If secrets are a kind of poison, confession is the antidote.
Truth-by-repetition: No matter how outrageous, repeated lies become the truth
It doesn't matter how ridiculous a lie is. As long as it is repeated often enough, some people will believe it.
How psychopathy might be an evolutionary adaptation
Instead of a mental illness, some research suggests that psychopathy — in moderation — is a reasonable life strategy.
What lies beneath our irrational decisions
In a new book, an MIT scholar examines how game-theory logic underpins many of our seemingly odd and irrational decisions.
Dream hacking: Is this the dystopian future of advertising?
A team of scientists has warned that marketers seek to advertise in our dreams. Will our sleep be commercialized against our wishes?
The Four Enemies to a happy life and how to defeat them
There is a lot of truth in the ancient wisdom found in almost all religions. Love really is the answer to most problems.
Your personality is linked to risk of dementia and cognitive decline
A study involving nearly 2,000 people found links between personality traits and the likelihood of moving toward or away from dementia.
Staring at an image of yourself on Zoom has serious mental health effects
The effects are even worse for women.
System 1 vs. System 2 thinking: Why it isn’t strategic to always be rational
People believe that slow and deliberative thinking is inherently superior to fast and intuitive thinking. The truth is more complicated.
Humans may share a universal sense of beauty in color combinations
Independent of cultural background, people seem to share a sense of what makes certain color combinations aesthetically pleasing.
Highway fatality signs may cause more car crashes
Morbid fatality statistics on digital highway signs seem to distract drivers, thus increasing the number of car crashes.