How is it that we're able to focus on a distant conversation while ignoring the person who is speaking right in front of us? Tony Zador, a neuroscientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, breaks down the brain mechanisms that allow us to have selective auditory attention.

There's no such thing as a verbatim, facsimile memory, says USC neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. When we reconstruct events in our minds, we are pulling together set sequences of specific details stored in different parts of the brain.

Random acts of kindness have been shown to increase everything from self-esteem to happiness level. At the same time, the paradox of choice is known to increase our cognitive load […]

Delusions of control seem built into the human mind, even when they aren’t comforting. More than a few people, for example, would prefer to think hurricanes are punishments for abortions […]

“Positive psychology is a movement in social psychology which attempts to change the way that we think about humans,” explains positive psychology expert Shawn Achor. “Instead of focusing merely on […]

Politico reports that senior Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are trying to sell lobbyists for the energy and telecom industries on the idea that the Republicans will […]

What future is there for journalism? Or is there a future in journalism for many of the bright young things who will have read a recent article titled ‘The Hamster […]

Psychologist Steven Pinker studies the interface between language and human computation, which he argues is the key to understanding human nature.

72% of women say they've faked an orgasm in their current relationship, while 55% of men claim they know when the woman they are with is faking.

“Happiness is not something that happens to you; happiness is a work ethic,” says Achor. “It’s something that requires our brains to train just like an athlete has to train.”

Achor says bosses would be wise to heed his advice, because a happy workplace is a more productive workplace.

Happiness relies greatly on social connectedness, but sites like Facebook don’t necessarily make us happier.

The Harvard positive psychology guru offers a few concrete ways for you to become happier today.

Science has shown that training the brain can profoundly and permanently change a person’s outlook on life.

Unlike traditional psychology, which focuses on average people, positive psychology seeks to understand those people who are above the curve.

A conversation with the positive psychology expert

If you watch The Daily Show, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that host Jon Stewart’s father was a physicist.  The popular program, along with its partner in satire The […]

"Science validates the notion that people with a strong social network live longer. It's not yet clear if the benefits apply to those who turn to the Internet for friendship."

"Just a few small changes in the social behaviors of even solitary animals may set in motion an evolutionary cascade ending in massive, globe-spanning migrations."

The Boston Globe says more must be done to ferret out conflicts of interest in peer-reviewed journals, which are a key way doctors keep informed of cutting-edge research.