Psychology
- Anthropology
Rise of human civilization tied to belief in punitive gods
Beliefs in all-knowing, punitive deities may have fueled the growth of human civilizations.
- Psychology
Don’t blame winter for that bleak mood
Contrary to popular opinion, depression doesn’t spike in winter, survey finds.
- Psychology
There’s a sour side to serotonin
Serotonin has a sour side. The chemical messenger helps mice to taste sour, a new study shows.
- Psychology
Kids grasp words as symbols before learning to read
Preschoolers grasp that written words refer to specific things before they learn to read.
- Psychology
As suicide rates rise, researchers separate thoughts from actions
Advances in suicide research and treatment may depend on separating thoughts from acts.
- Science & Society
How seeing ‘Star Wars’ satisfies your narcissistic tendencies
Participating in geek culture allows self-identified geeks to satisfy a narcissistic need for expert status, a new study hypothesizes.
- Science & Society
In science, a lack of replication shouldn’t kill your reputation
The proof is science is when a study is replicated. When it’s not, do scientists suffer? A new study says researchers may overestimate the negative effects.
- Psychology
Culture shapes sense of fairness
Culture shapes kids’ sense of fairness, especially when they get the short end of the stick.
- Psychology
Caffeine gives cocaine an addictive boost
Not only is it popular to “cut” cocaine with caffeine, the combination might be more addictive.
- Psychology
No, cheese is not just like crack
Recent news reports claimed that a study shows cheese is addictive. But the facts behind the research show cheese and crack have little in common.
- Anthropology
Synchronized dancing boosts pain tolerance
Dancing in sync to high energy routines increase pain tolerance and helps people bond as a group, a study suggests.
- Psychology
Views on bias can be biased
When presented with a study showing bias against women, male scientists are more inclined to nitpick the results. But a little intervention can go a long way toward gender equality in science.
