News Psychology

People will take pain over being left alone with their thoughts

Given a choice of electric shocks vs. quiet contemplation, some choose shocks

THINK NOT  People generally dislike and avoid being alone with their thoughts and in a surprising number of cases prefer mild electric shocks to quiet contemplation, a new study finds.

Ptnphoto/Shutterstock

By Bruce Bower

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Psychology

  1. person playing brain training game on smartphone
    Neuroscience

    Playing brain training games regularly doesn’t boost brainpower

    By Jackie Rocheleau
  2. two people washing their hands under a kitchen faucet
    Psychology

    Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits

    By Sujata Gupta
  3. crowd of people screaming with joy
    Neuroscience

    Surprisingly, humans recognize joyful screams faster than fearful screams

    By Anushree Dave
  4. Lego staircase
    Psychology

    People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense

    By Sujata Gupta
  5. parent working on a computer while child makes a funny face in the background
    Science & Society

    Parents in Western countries report the highest levels of burnout

    By Sujata Gupta
  6. a little Black girl getting a peach-tented bandaid from a nurse
    Health & Medicine

    Redefining ‘flesh-colored’ bandages makes medicine more inclusive

    By Sujata Gupta
  7. Jesse Laney and other ecologists on a birdwatching trip
    Animals

    A rare bird sighting doesn’t lead to seeing more kinds of rare birds

    By Anushree Dave
  8. woman looking bored at a laptop
    Psychology

    In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat

    By Sujata Gupta

From the Nature Index

Paid Content