Psychology

Psychology

A vintage illustration shows two rows of glowing, human-like figures with radiating lines, set against a dark, textured background.
6mins
Modern life replaced spirituality with goal-setting — and it’s making us depressed. Here’s how to win back your happiness.
A stoic man with a beard in a black and white photo.
Stoicism is popular today but often misunderstood and misapplied. In fact, a naive interpretation of Stoicism is damaging to your well-being.
a painting depicting an angel and a woman showing fear while holding a scythe.
“It is healthy and normal to be afraid of death."
A portrayal of a bespectacled man with a serpent inspired by Carl Jung's theories.
Aiming to unlock the secrets of his unconscious mind, Jung experimented with intensive daydreaming.
three scuba divers in the water.
The divers spend their waking hours either under hundreds of feet of water on the ocean floor or squeezed into an area the size of a restaurant booth.
A group of people engaged in dark humor while standing around a skeleton.
When done right, dark humor can help us face inconvenient truths and question stifling social conventions.
two hands reaching out to each other in front of a colorful background.
Sophia, the humanoid robot, is not just mirroring emotions; she's leading a revolution in emotional intelligence.
John Templeton Foundation
an image of a man with glasses.
If you want to write and speak well, use common words, not grandiose ones. Unless you're Shakespeare, you're more likely to annoy people.
A field of grass with a fence in the foreground.
From smartphone envy to life dissatisfaction, the root cause of much unhappiness is that we are wired to imagine how things could be better.
a diagram of different shapes and sizes.
Better cognitive control over our decisions can stave off disappointment in our actions.
a man riding on the back of a flying dragon.
Please allow me to introduce myself.
a picture of a group of people in the shape of a brain.
In the ongoing battle against PTSD, a potential new weapon emerges: a nasal spray loaded with neuropeptide Y.
two red roosters with their wings spread.
"Human connection is as threatened by unhealthy peace as it is by unhealthy conflict." —Priya Parker
a man in a suit and tie covering his face with his hands.
"In witness whereof, the parties hereunto have set their hands to these presents as a deed on the day month and year hereinbefore mentioned."
a painting of a man standing next to a tree.
“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one.”
John Templeton Foundation
a painting of a woman laying on a couch.
Impossible standards and poor self-understanding are making us miserable.
a group of people taking pictures of a projector.
One of Apple's key innovations serves as a psychological breakthrough, as its technology eliminates the isolating feel of headset use.
Detailed black and white sketch of a baboon’s head in profile, showing its expressive face and rough fur, on a solid yellow background.
8mins
Your brain isn’t wired for happiness — but you can change that, explains Yale scientist Laurie Santos.
John Templeton Foundation
Three illustrated human brains in a row on an orange background.
7mins
You’ve heard about your "lizard brain." But what about the other two?
John Templeton Foundation
An abstract figure with a pale face holds its head and screams on a bridge, with swirling blue, orange, and black lines in the background.
9mins
No, emotions don’t happen TO you. Here’s what happens instead.
a drawing of a green speech bubble.
It’s the paradoxical observation that the more we try to process, the less we actually can.
a man standing in front of a white light.
We commonly stereotype psychopaths as criminals, but there are probably more in upper management.
a painting of a wooden judge's hammer.
Memory, responsibility, and mental maturity have long been difficult to describe objectively, but neuroscientists are starting to detect patterns. Coming soon to a courtroom near you?
a man's head with a bird flying out of it.
Meditation can put you in a wiser relationship with life.
a burnt matchstick with a burnt matchstick sticking out of it.
The replication crisis has debunked many of psychology’s fair-haired hypotheses, but for the marshmallow test, things have only become more interesting.
a fountain pen sitting on top of a piece of paper.
George Orwell got it right: "Never use a long word where a short one will do."