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

Teen boy with headphones in bedroom listening to music on smartphone

AI chatbot suggested a teen kill his parents, lawsuit claims

leaded gasoline reminder

Childhood leaded gasoline exposure damaged Americans’ mental health

By Lauren Leffer

An illustration of the amygdala, shown in red. It is a part of the brain’s limbic system and plays a key role in processing emotions.

‘Was I awkward?’ What overthinking after a party has to do with your ‘lizard brain’

By Laura Baisas

young woman in bed with alarm clock and eyes opened suffering insomnia and sleep disorder thinking about his problem on dark studio lighting in sleeping and nightmare issues

What causes you to jolt awake right before falling asleep?

Chimpanzee playing a number-based game on a touch screen

Like humans, chimps often perform tasks differently when crowds are watching

brain scans of people watching clips from movies

MIT maps how the brain experiences movies

By Laura Baisas

The best light therapy lamps composited

The best light therapy lamps to brighten up your life

Boston Dynamic's Spot getting kicked in a routine test.

Researchers tortured robots to test the limits of human empathy

By Mack DeGeurin

Janet Leigh screaming during iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho.'

Why do jump scares terrify us so much? Blame evolution.

a rider in a headless horseman costume rides by yellow fall leaves

The Headless Horseman shares her secrets

By Laura Baisas

dark woods with fog

Corrupt government officials, illness among the biggest fears of 2024

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of one woman yelling and another holding her hands up in shock

Why people insist they’re correct without all the facts

By Laura Baisas

The ‘voices’ that people with schizophrenia hear could be echoes of their own vocalizations

looking for a mental health provider online

Struggling to find an in-network mental health provider? Here’s what you can do.

By Max Blau / ProPublica

Woman working at desk with face mask on while sick

The research supports you taking a sick day

pile of baked goods

How food affects our mental health

By Mary Scourboutakos / The Conversation

Why EMDR trauma therapy is gaining popularity

By Laurel Niep / The Conversation

Woman singing in studio microphone

You can (probably) sing better than you think

young girl using phone at night in bed

Social media bans could deny teenagers mental health help

By Daniel Chang / KFF Health News

a sculpture of a man hunched over leaning on a balled fist called 'the thinker'

Study confirms that thinking hard is unpleasant

By Laura Baisas

The agency’s decision of MDMA could slow down the timelines of getting psychedelics to market as other potential treatments, including psilocybin and ketamine, are likely to face similar regulatory challenges.

How the FDA could shape the future of psychedelics research

By Joshua Cohen / Undark

Plane cabin lighting simulating sunset

Simulated sunrises and sunsets in planes may reduce jet lag

person holding pets

The fuzzy science on whether your pet is actually good for you

By Michael Schulson/Undark

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