Current reporting, research and professional developments across Psychology, curated for psychologists and behavioral-health professionals.
Physical inactivity remains a pressing public health challenge among college students. Tai Chi is an accessible low-intensity exercise for campus settings, but research on its motivational drivers remains limited. Most…
Hot-iron disbudding, a routine procedure that prevents horn bud growth through cauterization, is painful for calves. The resulting burns remain sensitive to touch for weeks, but it is unclear whether calves experience…
Boredom is an aversive human experience, driving individuals to change their current action in order to acquire new information from their environment and engage in meaningful activity. While boredom under healthy…
Mental health problems (MHP) are common in adolescents. Help-seeking behavior (HSB) in this age group is low. An online intervention promoting HSB in adolescents with MHP (ProHEAD-Online) was evaluated in a randomized…
Emergency department nurses play a critical role in providing quality care to patients, and gauging the degree of their burnout and its root causes holds significant importance. This study investigated the demographics…
Generative AI (GenAI) mental health chatbots offer scalable, on-demand support with the potential to address persistent gaps in mental healthcare access. Yet evidence on how these interventions are designed and how users…
Social media are frequently blamed for exacerbating ideological divides. We evaluate whether it is possible to design a social media platform that instead promotes productive, open-minded dialogue among users. We…
Emotions during language learning fluctuate rapidly, but intervention studies often miss when change occurs. In a two-arm randomized ecological momentary trial, 84 university foreign-language learners completed a 20-day…
Behavioral adaptation to noise helps mammals maintain perceptual acuity in challenging acoustic environments by dynamically adjusting to background sound, thereby enhancing speech recognition. Many older adults report…
Curiosity is linked to uncertainty and is a powerful driver of human functioning, yet little is known about how it manifests collectively in naturalistic social settings across multiple timescales. To address this gap…
The existing literature indicates an increasing interest in the emotions of teachers within the context of second language (L2) acquisition. However, it is important to note that there remains a considerable gap…
Mental health problems among medical students represent a major global concern. This study examined the statistical mediating associations of anxiety, emotional reactivity, social camouflaging, and burnout in the…
Psychology suggests minor flaws make capable individuals more relatable and likable. Small imperfections can increase approachability and make people seem more authentic. Distinctive features help ...
The way we respond to others’ emotions can influence how we are perceived physically.
Artificial intelligence systems won’t become conscious for the same reason they won’t become pregnant, says Dr John PickeringAnil Seth is right to point out that to overestimate artificial intelligence is to…
Psychology says people who don't like to take a bath every day aren't always avoiding hygiene or responsibility. Human behavior is influenced by personal habits, culture, climate, skin health, ...
Not everyone slams doors, raises their voice or starts an argument when they're angry. In fact, psychology suggests that many ...
Many travellers prefer train journeys for their enjoyable experiences. Psychology suggests choice and independence enhance engagement during rail travel. Control and predictability reduce stress, ...
While some individuals naturally express appreciation through words, others show it through actions or struggle to communicate positive emotions. Like any communication skill, expressing appreciation ...
A single dose of psilocybin produced measurable changes in brain activity and possible changes in brain structure that lasted for up to a month. Participants who experienced the greatest increase in flexible, varied…
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2021: How the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker became one of the…
From the perspective of tourist-host interaction, the study explores the dual impact of the relationship between interaction intensity and interaction type (social-oriented interaction, service-oriented interaction) on…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. Dorothy Parker once observed, "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." When was the last time you needed to be cured of boredom? Today…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. Here is a story of something awful that happened last semester. I think we can all learn from it. I know that I did. As Founding Director of the Evolutionary…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. In his book The Gay Science, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche presents the notion of eternal recurrence: If you were to live your life over and over for…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. Traditional martial arts training is often cited as a mindful mind-body practice that can improve and maintain health. I often write about applications and…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer Ph.D. In 2009, an art installation called Waste Not traveled from Beijing to New York, London, Vancouver, and Sydney. It consisted of ordinary household objects, bottle…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley In the United States, 90 percent of kids have a smartphone by the age of 13. Perhaps even more remarkable, 42 percent of them have one by the age of 10. If you don’t like…
Posted July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Devon Frye Living an empowered life doesn't mean feeling confident or in control all the time. Instead, it's about agency: knowing you have a voice, choices, and the ability to trust…
Updated July 21, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley Angelina Jolie has talked publicly about her family history of cancer, including preparing her children for the probability of her relatively young death, which has…
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