Psychology
- Humans
How child soldiers heal after the trauma of war
For more than two decades, Theresa Betancourt has studied Sierra Leone’s former child soldiers. Her new book Shadows into Light tells their stories.
- Anthropology
Humans have linked emotions to the same body parts for 3,000 years
3,000-year-old clay tablets show that some associations between emotion and parts of the body have remained the same for millennia.
- Psychology
Researchers seek, and find, a magical illusion for the ears
A contest to design a sound-only magic trick could help psychologists learn about differences between visual and auditory perception.
- Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
- Psychology
Smiles tweaked by AI can boost attraction, a speed-dating study shows
Using face filters to alter expressions manipulated feelings of attraction, raising questions about how such technology may influence social interactions.
- Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
- Psychology
A brain network linked to attention is larger in people with depression
Brain scans revealed that teenagers with larger attention-driving networks were more likely to develop depression.
- Health & Medicine
A next-gen pain drug shows promise, but chronic sufferers need more options
A new painkiller nearing approval called suzetrigine may prove to be an opioid alternative. But for many with chronic pain, treatment must go beyond pills.
- Psychology
Online spaces may intensify teens’ uncertainty in social interactions
Little is known of how teens learn about emotions online and then use that knowledge to cope with social uncertainty during in-person encounters.
- Science & Society
Language models may miss signs of depression in Black people’s Facebook posts
Researchers hope to use social media posts to identify population-wide spikes in depression. That approach could miss Black people, a study shows.
- Psychology
Timbre can affect what harmony is music to our ears
The acoustic qualities of instruments may have influenced variations in musical scales and preferred harmonies.
- Science & Society
Not all cultures value happiness over other aspects of well-being
Nordic countries topped the 2024 world happiness rankings. But culture dictates how people respond to surveys of happiness, a researcher argues.
