Psychology

Psychology

Wealth was a cushion, but even being well-off did not protect people from the harmful effects of pandemic stressors.
Revolutionary techniques for understanding brain functions in animals could soon help us understand how emotions guide our lives.
Finding happiness in life
3mins
He’s written 7 books on happiness. He’s studied it for 30 years. He even taught it at Harvard. What can Tal Ben-Shahar tell you about really being happy?
“It’s not a secret that legal language is very hard to understand. It's borderline incomprehensible a lot of the time.”
learned helplessness
Helplessness isn't learned — it's an instinctual response that can be overcome.
Side view X-ray image of a human head and brain in shades of purple, shown against a solid purple background, highlighting the serene focus often seen in meditators.
3mins
Psychologist Daniel Goleman shares what he learned by studying the brain waves of Olympic-level meditators, and his findings are unprecedented.
John Templeton Foundation
Illustration of a baboon standing on all fours, facing right, with a reddish-brown coat and a pink patch on its hindquarters—an awe-inspiring member of the animal kingdom.
Awe is a powerful force, a fact that is both exciting and terrifying.
John Templeton Foundation
Dark personality traits include psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism. Is there room for empathy?
outrage
Outrage is a useful emotion that helped our ancient ancestors survive. Today, it leaves us feeling angry, tired, powerless, and miserable.
nostalgia
Nostalgia is a happy remembrance of the past, yet it also leaves us feeling sad. Perhaps ironically, it can serve as a painkiller.
Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.
Happiness study
3mins
Why studying happiness is good for your “psychological immune system,” explained by Harvard “happiness professor” Tal Ben-Sharar.
therapy dog
A ten-minute visit from a therapy dog reduces emergency room patients' pain and anxiety.
problems with no solutions
The very concept of a "problem with no solution" goes against human nature. But we must accept this harsh reality to have peace in our lives.
A black-and-white drawing of four students sitting at desks, each wearing helmet-like devices with wires extending upward, as if tapping into their intelligence.
8mins
IQ tests only measure two of the eight intelligences. Howard Gardner explains them all.
John Templeton Foundation
When actual people correct misinformation online, it can be as effective, if not more so, as when a social media company labels something as questionable.
Two colleagues working on a problem in front of a computer.
Lessons from child development research teach us how we learn to trust others.
In "Off the Edge", journalist Kelly Weill dives down the strange rabbit hole of the flat-Earther community.
how to measure happiness
A lot of research assumes happiness is measured by comfort and material conditions. For Aristotle, it is about being the best we can be.
The Fearless Girl Statue
No amount of success can overcome imposter syndrome without a mindset geared toward growth.
hormonal birth control
Hormonal birth control for women may elevate the risk of depression and suicide, but so does pregnancy itself.
the look
The gaze of another person can make us conceive of our body as an object.
choking under pressure
Choking under pressure seems to have deep evolutionary roots.
Two men holding hands on a grassy cliff.
Men with one older brother are 12% more likely to enter a same-sex union than those with a sister.
A man studies in a library.
Religion fosters traits that are helpful in a school system that relies on authority figures and rewards people who follow the rules.
7mins
It’s not a glitch in the matrix. It’s not the Mandela effect. There’s actually a scientific reason you remember things wrong.
strength
Get stronger in only three seconds per day? New research shows that it is possible.
A man walking along a woodland path.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the late Vietnamese monk, thought walking could be a profound contemplative practice.