Psychology

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

Latest in Psychology

a dog surrounded by stuffed animals

Super smart dogs learn by eavesdropping

By Laura Baisas

A stylized digital collage featuring chess pieces, including a red king, set against a target-like background of concentric circles and a red-and-white checkered pattern.

Chess or video games—which actually makes you smarter? The answer may surprise you.

By Clarissa Brincat

Hand holding TV remote in front of out of focus TV screen

A little TV after a long day is good for your brain

pills of various sizes laid out in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink order

Addiction is puzzling. Scientists are trying to understand why.

By Hanna Pickard

Swearing and smiling emojis side by side on blue background

Go ahead and swear—it’s good for your health

Young sad girl sitting alone at home on sofa listening to sad music on wireless headphones crying and wiping her nose with a paper tissue.

Pop music has gotten sadder over the last 50 years

close up of white lab rat inside cage

If offered, rats will use cannabis to deal with stress

two donkeys looking directly at the camera in a green field with a blue sky

Why using a donkey to treat whooping cough makes sense

By Laura Baisas

a mom and daughter camping with their dog. a tall mountain is in the foreground

Pet dogs can help teens’ mental health

By Laura Baisas

A dramatic, low-light photo of a person with dark skin against a blue background, experiencing intense distress or pain. They are clenching their jaw and holding their hands to the sides of their head, with blurred motion around their head suggesting movement, panic, or disorientation.

What happens to your body during a panic attack?

a scared man with several dental tools in his mouth

Quieter dental drills may be on the horizon

By Laura Baisas

a chimpanzee in green grass

Chimpanzees shock biologists with rational thinking

By Margherita Bassi

a family talking around the dinner tableSkynesher via Getty Images

Science confirms hand gestures make you seem more persuasive

By Margherita Bassi

Golden retriever sitting on couch in front of laptop

Golden retrievers and humans share ‘striking’ genetic similarities

A white woman with brown hair wearing a grey sweater and yellow coat holds of a pine branch to her nose and smells. She seems to be walking down a sidewalk. There's an out of focus wire fence behind her and what looks like a street to her left. She looks happy and content as she smells the pine branch. There are more out of focus pine trees and branches behind her.

Why smelling a pine tree can instantly lift your mood

By Jennifer Byrne

an illustration of a baby, a young woman, and adult woman, and an elderly woman walking

Your brain changes at 9, 32, 66, and 83

By Laura Baisas

Man listening to headphones while writing at desk

Humans sync their blinks and brain waves to a song’s beat

Man with his head down on his desk in front of laptop from stress

The 100 life decisions people dread most, according to psychologists

a catering table set up with large plates of food

Gastronomists study 100 years of menus to reveal food’s political power

By Laura Baisas

Playful young woman hiding face under blanket while lying in cozy bed, pretty curious girl feeling shy peeking from duvet, covering with white sheet, head shot close up. Top view

4 research-backed ways to beat the winter blues in the colder months

By Gio Dolcecore / The Conversation