A blog about human brains and behavior for students of psychology.
From white lies to more malicious fibs, people bend or hide the truth for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons, it turns out, is that sometimes the truth is so fantastical that other people wouldn’t even believe it.
As I’ve written about before, people give gifts for a range of reasons – sometimes simply to do something nice, sometimes because they want to influence others. A new study from researchers in Italy sheds light on another function gifts
Children have a lot to learn, and one of the ways they meet that formidable challenge is by imitating others. They’ll imitate the good things see. They’ll imitate the bad things they see. As I’ve written about before, they’ll even
Decades of psychology researchers has converged on the conclusion that the key to happiness is … owning a gun? Not quite. But as the authors of a new study on happiness and gun ownership point out, there has been plenty
It’s solidly established that there appears to be a link between optimism and physical health. This can be seen, for example, from the fact that people with higher levels of optimism tend to encounter fewer health problems as they age.
If you ever dated someone your parents thought was a “bad influence,” it turns out they might have been onto something. Romantic partners may influence young adults’ binge drinking behaviors more than friends or family, at least according to new
To disclose or not to disclose? For people with mental health conditions, it’s a common question. On one hand, disclosing your mental health condition is a step toward obtaining accommodations or support in your everyday life. On the other hand,
It’s hard to be concerned with lofty philosophical principles when you’re hungry. A new study from researchers at University of Chicago underscores this point in the context of an ethical dilemma that children face every day: whether to share. Of
Our traditional ideas about how people are “supposed” express emotions are often tied up with gender stereotypes. Since managing emotions is a key part of mental health for anyone of any gender, viewing emotions in terms of gender has consequences
In my last post, I talked about how children in neighborhoods with faster internet apparently evaluate their lives more negatively. That study is one of several that has explored a possible link between internet use and mental health risk. One
