Psychology

Humans

For sight-reading music, practice doesn’t make perfect

Individual memory differences may set upper limits on pianists’ sight-reading skill, regardless of their experience.

Psychology

Travelers have southern bias

Southern routes to a destination often get picked over same-distance northern routes, possibly because people equate north with “up.”

Humans

Secondhand smoke linked to mental distress

A Scottish survey finds a link between exposure to cigarette smoke and serious emotional problems.

Humans

Making scents of a partner’s feelings

Couples pick up on subtle differences in other half’s emotion-laden odors, new study suggests.

Humans

Traumatic events trigger diverse responses

New study compares difficulties faced by survivors of life-threatening events.

Psychology

Perfectionism works for some diabetics, but not for new moms

Demanding perfection of oneself boosts longevity for diabetic seniors, but it may prompt depression in new mothers.

Psychology

Kids face up to disgust surprisingly late

A new study suggests that children don’t recognize facial expressions of disgust until age 5, much later than many researchers had assumed.

Humans

Chaos makes a scream seem real

Researchers analyze movie sound tracks to identify the acoustic roots of fear.

Psychology

Gene makes kids more vulnerable to bullying’s effects

Kids who get bullied a lot can develop serious emotional problems, especially if they possess a certain gene.

Humans

Grown men swap bodies with virtual girl

People who undergo virtual-reality perspective shifts feel like they’ve switched bodies with a virtual character.

Psychology

Bereaved relatives helped by chance to view body after sudden loss

Grieving people rarely regret having seen a dead loved one, even in cases of violent death, a British study suggests.

Humans

Vision gets better with the right mind-set

Volunteers’ eyesight improved when they believed that they could see particularly well.