A blog about human brains and behavior for students of psychology.
Psychology researchers have become increasingly interested in the idea that people who are more prone to feelings of shame and guilt are at higher risk for mental health conditions like anxiety disorders. The emotion of shame in particular is now
The United States is a country of immigrants. Throughout its history, it has been a society that gathers people from a diverse range of cultures. So what does that mean for the country’s culture today? For one thing, it apparently
Thinking scientifically involves putting forward logical explanations and dispassionately considering the evidence. But underlying scientific inquiry might be a more profound emotion: awe. Evidence for this idea comes from a study published this month in the journal Cognitive Science. The
How do people’s experiences in life shape their expectations surrounding death? One way of shedding light on that question is by following how people’s fear of death changes over time. Some researchers have hypothesized that people become gradually more fearless
How are you feeling right now? And how do you wish you were feeling? Not everyone gives the same answer to that second question. Different people value different emotional states. Some people seek out high-arousal emotional states like excitement and
Feeling sad doesn’t always bring out the best in us when it comes to impulse control. From comfort eating to coping by drinking, people often find that their self-control slips when their mood is low. And then, apparently, there’s comfort
Over the course of their teenage and young adult years, people tend to face all kinds of challenging and stressful situations. How teens and young adults cope with the problems and new experiences they encounter may be key to their
How British teenagers feel about young people seeking asylum depends in part on how happy they currently feel, according to a new study from researchers at University of Surrey, University of Birmingham and Oxford University. In the study, researchers divided
If you set out to find happiness, you might just end up losing time. Don’t take my word for it – ask the researchers who this month published a study titled Vanishing Time in the Pursuit of Happiness. It’s counterintuitive
When asked “how would you draw fear?” a 12-year-old sketches a repetitive pattern of dots. That might seem like an odd choice, but it makes sense when you consider that the girl has trypophobia, a fear of holes and bumps
