Psychology (Page 4)

Get to know your own mind—and improve your mental health—with the latest findings on human brains and behavior.

Latest in Psychology

Sad child in stairwell using phone

Like cigarettes and alcohol, Surgeon General says social media needs warning labels

still from the animated film "inside out 2." red anger, purple fear, yellow joy, blue sadness, and green disgust meet with new emotions. Envy is teal, anxiety is orange, and embarrassment is pink.

The science of awkward puberty brain from ‘Inside Out 2’

By Laura Baisas

Cute jack russell dog terrier puppy sleeping on yellow knitted blanket. Funny small sleepy white and brown doggy. Concept of cozy home, comfort, warmth, autumn, winter.

Do dogs dream? The answer might make you appreciate your pup even more.

By Keith Wagstaff

a woman listens to music with headphones on over hear ear

How our brains differentiate music and speech

By Laura Baisas

Fake website advertising dead loved one chatbot

AI ethicists warn of ‘digital hauntings’ from dead loved ones

teen using phone therapy app

Inside California’s $500 million investment in therapy apps for young people

By Molly Castle Work / KFF Health News

Therapy session

How psychedelic-assisted therapies can be more effective

By Mack DeGeurin

Why do some people always get lost?

By Bob Holmes / Knowable Magazine

Yuhang Hu working on Emo robot head

A robot named ‘Emo’ can out-smile you by 840 milliseconds

The psychology of why video game farming is so satisfying

The psychology of why video game farming is so satisfying

Concept of human intelligence with human brain on blue background

VR and electric brain stimulation show promise for treating PTSD

An array of the best sex toys for couples on a white fuzzy carpet.

The best sex toys for couples, tested and reviewed

Edible soft robot on table

This edible, wriggling robot mimics experience of eating moving food

How feeling ‘bad’ can help you

How feeling ‘bad’ can help you

By Heather Lench / The Conversation

Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after a play during the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lessons from sports psychology research

By Tom Siegfried / Knowable Magazine

In tracing signed vocabularies’ evolutions, researchers applied phylogenetic analysis typically associated with biologically inherited traits to physically conveyed communications.

Computer modeling is tracing the hidden evolution of sign languages

As AI becomes more ubiquitous and naturalistic, many industry critics have voiced concerns about a potentially increasing number of people turning to technology instead of human relationships.

13 percent of AI chat bot users in the US just want to talk

Woman on phone in bed in darkened room with face obscured

Instagram will start telling teens to put down their phones and go to sleep

Two phone screens displaying Facebook content filters for minors

Meta begins automatically restricting teen users to more ‘age-appropriate’ content

A hand reaches for a present wrapped in red and gold wrapping paper underneath a Christmas tree.

Shaking presents for science

By Laura Baisas

A dark-furred mouse looks into a mirror.

Mice may be able to recognize their own reflections

By Laura Baisas

A woman laying down in an fMRI machine. Patients in the study were examined using an fMRI machine such as this one. fMRI is a noninvasive way to measure and map activity in the brain.

PTSD patients’ brains work differently when recalling traumatic experiences

By Laura Baisas

The challenge of providing treatment for children with anorexia

The challenge of providing treatment for children with anorexia

By Frieda Klotz / Undark

Research paper examples of AI and human faces against blurry crowd background

Some people think white AI-generated faces look more real than photographs

colorful facial profiles of people saying BA BA BA and GA GA GA; illustration

Why what we see influences what we hear

A pinkish human brain against a black background.

New human brain atlas is the most detailed one we’ve seen yet

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Patient wearing a highly integrated bionic hand in between many others

Titanium-fused bone tissue connects this bionic hand directly to a patient’s nerves

A movie still from 'Psycho,' showing the silhouette of a man holding a knife.

How horror movie soundtracks prey on our fears

A map of Britain in the late 13th century.

Grisly medieval murders detailed in new interactive maps

By Laura Baisas

A person receiving chest compressions.

What really happens during a near-death experience

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

A woman sitting in her living room looking at her smartphone while sitting on her yoga mat.

The best workout apps for all kinds of exercise

By Stacey L. Nash

A view of the Cueva de los Marmoles entrance from the inside. Skeletal remains from at least 12 prehistoric individuals have been found inside.

Early humans carved old skeletal remains from burial caves into tools

By Laura Baisas

If anxiety is in my brain, why is my heart pounding?

If anxiety is in my brain, why is my heart pounding?

By Arash Javanbakht/The Conversation

A couple standing on the beach in warm sunlight.

Couples often share more common traits than we might think

By Laura Baisas

multiple hands of various colors

Why our brains think fake hands are part of our bodies

A NASA illustration of two astronauts in white spacesuits drilling into red Martian dirt.

To create a small Mars colony, leave the jerks on Earth

Colorful t-shirts hang on a clothing rack. According to Northwestern University’s Body and Media Lab, women’s clothing tends to be more painful, restrictive, and distracting, which can interrupt focus and make it more difficult to move around in the workplace.

The unexpected benefits of making your clothes a source of joy

By Laura Baisas

Group of friends laughing.

Even ‘fake’ laughter has social value

By Adrienne Wood/The Conversation

Why do people have recurring nightmares?

Why do people have recurring nightmares?

By Shannon Liao

A woman holds an alcoholic drink in a bar.

Deaths related to excessive alcohol consumption rise in recent years—especially for women

By Laura Baisas

College of television screen images

Deepfake videos may be convincing enough to create false memories

Rock paper scissors game where one player chooses paper and the other chooses rock.

How rock-paper-scissors champs use psychology to win

By Greg Costikyan/MIT Press Reader

Student at desk doing math homework during COVID-19 lockdown.

US schools aren’t ready for another pandemic

By Katherine Reynolds Lewis/Undark

$A family plays a board game.$

Kids pick up math skills while playing certain board games

By Laura Baisas

Pouring a cup of hot coffee into a mug.

The ‘experience’ of a cup of coffee may be just as stimulating as its caffeine

By Laura Baisas

Two dancers wearing Jizai Arms wearable robotic appendagees

These wearable cyborg arms were modeled after Japanese horror fiction and puppets

These auditory illusions make people hear phrases as melodies

These auditory illusions make people hear phrases as melodies

By Ben Macaulay

Suicide hotlines promise anonymity. Dozens of their websites send sensitive data to Facebook.

Suicide hotlines promise anonymity. Dozens of their websites send sensitive data to Facebook.

By Colin Lecher and Jon Keegan/The Markup

An eating disorder chatbot that gave harmful advice was taken offline. Now it’s coming back.

An eating disorder chatbot that gave harmful advice was taken offline. Now it’s coming back.

By Kate Wells/KFF Health News

How pilots end up in a ‘death spiral’

How pilots end up in a ‘death spiral’

By Julia Craven

Orca whale pod off Iberian coast from the subpopulation of orcas attacking sailboats in Europe

Orcas are attacking boats. But is it revenge or trauma?

Psychedelics and anesthetics cause unexpected chemical reactions in the brain

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Stressed doctor with fluorography

Primary care doctors are fed up and burnt out

By Lauren Sausser/KFF Health News

Feeling sad when your favorite show ends? It might be post-series depression.

Feeling sad when your favorite show ends? It might be post-series depression.

Baby sleeping naked in a white hammock

Why you should sleep naked tonight, according to science

By Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

Elon Musk in meeting wearing suit

Neuralink human brain-computer implant trials finally get FDA approval

Close Up Of Teenage Girl Wearing Wristbands Using Mobile Phone At Home

US Surgeon General warns of a ‘profound risk of harm’ for kids on social media

AI therapists might not actually help your mental health

AI therapists might not actually help your mental health

By Elisabeth Rosenthal/KFF Health News

A young baboon hangs from a thin tree branch.

Baboons can recover from childhood trauma with a little help from their friends

By Laura Baisas

Close up of one one man and two women using their phones on a bench.

Should kids use social media? US psychology experts share their do’s and don’ts.

Senior citizen hands typing on laptop keyboard

The right amount of online scrolling could decrease your risk of dementia

Coping advice from people with the world’s most stressful jobs

Coping advice from people with the world’s most stressful jobs

By Rob Verger, Erik Olsen

A group of six young people take a selfie on a beach.

Selfies are for memories, not just for vanity

By Laura Baisas

A group of eight children running in an open field.

Is shyness something kids feel, or something kids are?

By Laura Baisas