Psychology

More Stories in Psychology

  1. pictures of bananas arranged in a row from brown to yellow to green
    Psychology

    Everyone maps numbers in space. But why don’t we all use the same directions?

    The debate over whether number lines are innate or learned obscures a more fundamental question: Why do we map numbers to space in the first place?

    By Sujata Gupta
  2. a referee holds up a yellow card amid during a soccer game in Germany
    Psychology

    ‘Ghost games’ spotlight the psychological effect fans have on referees

    Soccer teams won fewer games and received more fouls when playing at home during the 2019–2020 season, when many fans were absent, than before the pandemic.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  3. illustration of the letter p with a less than symbol and .05 above scientists doing various calculations
    Psychology

    How the strange idea of ‘statistical significance’ was born

    A mathematical ritual known as null hypothesis significance testing has led researchers astray since the 1950s.

    By Bruce Bower
  4. illustration of two scientists looking at boxes depicting famous psychology experiments
    Psychology

    Psychology has struggled for a century to make sense of the mind

    Research into what makes us tick has been messy and contentious, but has led to intriguing insights.

    By Bruce Bower
  5. image of people on a beach in Florida in spring 2020
    Science & Society

    Moral judgments about an activity’s COVID-19 risk can lead people astray

    People use values and beliefs as a shortcut to determine how risky an activity is during the pandemic. Those biases can lead people astray.

    By Sujata Gupta
  6. person playing brain training game on smartphone
    Neuroscience

    Playing brain training games regularly doesn’t boost brainpower

    Comparing brain training program users with those who don’t do the mini brain workouts, scientists found no proof that the regimens boosted brainpower.

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

    Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits

    Getting people to wash their hands is notoriously difficult. Doling out nice soap dispensers and rewards helps people develop the habit.

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

    Surprisingly, humans recognize joyful screams faster than fearful screams

    Scientists believed we evolved to respond to alarming screams faster than non-alarming ones, but experiments show our brains may be wired differently.

    By Anushree Dave
  9. Lego staircase
    Psychology

    People add by default even when subtraction makes more sense

    People default to addition when solving puzzles and problems, even when subtraction works better. That could underlie some modern-day excesses.

    By Sujata Gupta