Psychology

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

Latest in Psychology

An illustration of a mustached individual getting up from an arm chair and getting a bowl full of ice cream from the freezer
Health

Does free will actually exist? It’s complicated.

By Sara Kiley Watson

National guard members salute a veteran who died from COVID-19 at the Javits Center field hospital in New York City
COVID-19

Eight reasons COVID-19 has hit veterans particularly hard

By Jamie Rowen/The Conversation

MIT Press Reader illustration
Health

How the objects we hold become extensions of our bodies

By Michael J. Spivey/MIT Press Reader

Tyler Spangler illustration
Health

What happens when psychedelics make you see God

By Sarah Scoles

An illustration of a hand dropping a pink envelope into a box
Health

Five election misinformation campaigns to avoid resharing

By Starbird, West, & DiResta/The Conversation

A hand holding several small brown mushrooms
Health

Oregon just voted to legalize magic mushrooms. Here’s what that actually means.

By Rachel Feltman

a person texting
Health

Heavy media multitasking might make you more forgetful

By Kat Eschner

Julia Bernhard illustration
Health

How elite athletes learn to live with the fear of failure

By Sara Chodosh

a woman standing calm and happy in the sunlight
DIY

Fight election season burnout with these mental health tips

By Rachael Zisk

A Black family enjoying the beach with their toddler
Health

How to find joy during tough times

By Angela Gorrell/The Conversation

Julia Bernhard illustration
Health

Babies don’t need fancy gadgets. Here’s why simple toys are best.

By Sara Kiley Watson

A small monkey looking surprised
Health

The truth about reading body language

By Ramin Skibba/Undark

Outdoor time can be very beneficial for boosting mental health during the pandemic, experts say.
COVID-19

What mental health professionals have learned six months into pandemic care

By Marion Renault

MC Wolfman illustration
Health

Why do we see ghosts?

By Jake Bittle

The US-Mexico border wall in Tijuana and San Diego
Health

How border walls trick the human brain and psyche

By Jessica Wapner

A row of Barbie dolls with fake blood
Health

Playing bad can shape behavior, but not in the way you think

By Erin Blakemore

CDC Director Robert Redfield and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci in 2018
COVID-19

The CDC thinks 90 percent of the US could still catch COVID-19

By Purbita Saha

Nature walks can trigger feelings of awe, but you can achieve the feeling inside, too.
Health

Regular doses of awe can do wonders for emotional health

By Kat Eschner

Jeopardy!
Health

Why do we love game shows like ‘Jeopardy!’ so much?

By Alex Schwartz

muti space jam illustration
Fitness & Exercise

Placebos really can help your fitness

By Marion Renault

person under stress
COVID-19

Social distancing can make living with eating disorders harder

By Kat Eschner

Muti illustration
Health

How Disney fools your brain to make lines feel magically short

By Sara Kiley Watson

Family sitting and talking.
COVID-19

How to talk to kids about the coronavirus and other bad news

By Sara Kiley Watson

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, destroyed homes and lives.
Ask Us Anything

Earthquakes can cause serious psychological aftershocks

By Tammy Danan

winter ultramarathon
Fitness & Exercise

These ultramarathoners say life is easier after running 40 miles on frozen backwoods trails

By Sara Scoles

anatomy of a laugh
Health

Why does laughing feel so stinkin’ good?

By Sara Chodosh

Smoke during sunset.
Climate Change

It’s time to grieve the world we’ve lost to climate change—and start to move on

By Eric Holthaus

A mural in Minneapolis, Minnesota, commemorates George Floyd, who was killed while being restrained by city police officers in May.
Health

Resharing videos of violence against Black people can spark more trauma

By Candice Wang

woman playing clarinet
Health

Ten-thousand hours of practice isn’t enough to make you a star

By Sara Kiley Watson

A group of five teen walking down the street
Health

LGBTQ+ alliance groups can have a positive effect on entire student populations

By Hannah Seo

A father and son standing on the balcony
Health

Your kids aren’t growing up too quickly, but your brain sure thinks they are

By Keith Payne/The Conversation

four hands with different skin colors next to each other on a table
Health

Anti-Black bias affects just about everyone. What’s the best way to deal with implicit racism?

By Candice Wang

several police officers standing in a road holding weapons
Health

Can implicit bias training help cops overcome racism?

By Candice Wang

prison gardens
Environment

Nature helps nurture relationships between incarcerated mothers and their children

By Julie Stevens/The Conversation

A person planning out a solution on a wall.
Health

Logic problems to challenge your bored brain

By Claire Maldarelli

people's faces
Biology

Why we evolved to feel empathy during pandemics and other disasters

By Peter Sterling/MIT Press Reader

Stuart Patience illustration
Health

This staircase goes on forever. Or does it?

By Sara Kiley Watson

a smiling woman
DIY

Eight science-backed tricks to make you feel less sad

By Rachel Feltman

"Bedlam" tackles the systemic failures and cultural taboos of treating mental health conditions. It airs on PBS tonight at 10 p.m. EDT.
Health

Meet the health care workers and patients on the front lines of another national crisis

By Purbita Saha

Laptop on bed
COVID-19

Porn is helping people cope with the pandemic

By Joshua B. Grubbs/The Conversation

cassette tape
Health

We once thought nostalgia was a disease, but it might be key to our survival

By Eleanor Cummins

A woman in red with her head in her hands in front of a laptop
COVID-19

A panic attack can mimic the symptoms of COVID-19. Here’s what to do about it.

By Rachel Feltman

Sleeping baby with small teddy bear
COVID-19

COVID-19 is separating parents from their newborns

By Katharine Gammon/Undark

two people holding hands in the sunset
COVID-19

How to quarantine with your partner without destroying your relationship

By Rachel Feltman

Worker sitting at Mac laptop with wireless headphones on
Health

Listening to music helps you work, sometimes

By Manuel F. Gonzalez & John R. Aiello/The Conversation

Verónica Grech illustration
Health

A popular autism drug for children isn’t as safe as its label indicates

By Hannah Furfaro/Spectrum News

Kea parrot with black token.
Animals

Kea parrots use statistics to get what they want

By Sara Kiley Watson

Superstar singer Taylor Swift at a music festival
Health

Eating disorders are about emotional pain, not food

By Michele Patterson Ford/The Conversation

Natalie Andrewson illustration
Health

This sound illusion puts the scary in scary movies

By Sara Chodosh

man sniffing his armpit
Health

Smell loss is an invisible disease with devastating impacts

By Carl Philpott/The Conversation

People climbing up a hill
Environment

There isn’t much science supporting wilderness therapy for teens

By Adiel Kaplan/Undark

coal power plant emitting smoke
Climate Change

We save lives and crops every time a coal plant closes

By Ula Chrobak

Natalie Andrewson illustration
Health

I built a room so quiet you can hear your own blood

By Eleanor Cummins

man eating fast food hamburger
DIY

Reverse your bad habits with just a handful of tiny changes

By BJ Fogg

Should parents lie to kids about Santa Claus? We asked the experts.
Health

Should parents lie to kids about Santa Claus? We asked the experts.

By Eleanor Cummins

a woman with her eyes closed listening to something with headphones
Health

Listen to this shiver-inducing introduction to the science of ASMR

By Popular Science Team

embarrassed person
Health

Why do other people’s embarrassing acts make us cringe?

By Benjamin Powers

kid eating cake
Ask Us Anything

How your tongue tells your brain what you’re tasting

By Alex Schwartz

a clump of dried brown mushrooms
Health

The FDA is fast-tracking a second psilocybin drug to treat depression

By Rachel Feltman

Jacques Kleynhans illustration
Health

Why you’re powerless to ignore a crying baby

By Sara Chodosh

bench next to a path in the middle of a forest with sunlight shining through
Environment

Nature saves us trillions of dollars in healthcare

By Ula Chrobak

Female veteran
Health

Veteran demand for mental healthcare is rising, but the VA isn’t prepared

By Purbita Saha

Kids these days only seem dumb if you think you’re a genius
Health

Kids these days only seem dumb if you think you’re a genius

By Sara Kiley Watson

Baseball’s black magic: How psychology, math, and culture created a curse-ridden sport
Health

Baseball’s black magic: How psychology, math, and culture created a curse-ridden sport

By Jessica Boddy

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