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Psychology

Hands type at a computer with bar graphs on screen, other hands hold questionnaires.
Society

Can you believe the polls? It depends

A veteran of survey research explains why high-quality polling matters — and warns of the proliferation of shoddy gimmicks

Photograph of a warning label on the side of a cigarette pack. It says SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.
Health & Disease

The tussle over cigarette warning labels, and the hazy future of vaping

Regulatory hurdles, industry objections and legal fights have gone on for decades over traditional tobacco. What’s in store for the next generation of smoking?

A conceptual illustration shows a city street with people standing on each side, some holding placards. One side is colored red, the other blue. There are political posters on the walls and a huge chasm in the middle of the street.
Society

Divided we stand: The rise of political animosity

Scientists peered into the partisan abyss. Here’s what they found.

Drawing of tiny people holding, carrying and trying to push the metal balls of an outsized Newton’s cradle.
Society

Are you a workaholic? Here’s how to spot the signs

In a major shift, psychologists now view an out-of-control compulsion to work as an addiction with its own set of risk factors and consequences

Cartoon drawing of a magician in red suit and top hat performing shell game for several birds, two monkeys and a cuttlefish.
Living World

Abracadabra! How magic can help us understand animal minds

By performing tricks for birds, monkeys and other creatures, researchers hope to learn how they perceive and think about their world

In a cartoon, an assortment of people — young and old, male and female — queue for a restroom, waiting to relieve their full-to-bursting bladders.
Health & Disease

To pee or not to pee? That is a question for the bladder — and the brain

How do we sense the need to urinate? The basic urge is surprisingly complex and can go awry as we age.

Conceptual illustration shows a person vaulting over a book and calendar away from bad habits and poor willpower, as depicted by unhealthy food and money and scrunched-up paper.
The Mind

Time for half-year resolutions?

If your good intentions from a few months ago haven’t led to much, take note. A psychologist tells us what we can learn from studies on willpower.

Conceptual collage shows two upset parents with some large, accusing fingers pointed at them. In the background is a teenager holding a placard with his details on it, as if posing for a mug shot.
Society

When are parents responsible for their kids’ behavior?

A researcher weighs in on who’s accountable, when and why, in the eyes of the law — and whether the measures work as intended

Drawing of a man with his back to us, hand scratching his head, looking at a convoluted map of lines and landmarks
Society

Why do some people always get lost?

Research suggests that experience may matter more than innate ability when it comes to a sense of direction

Conceptual illustration includes a state capitol building, tall mushrooms, a statue of Justice holding a scale, a pack of pills, and a bright pink, yellow and orange sky with molecules and other wavy patterns visible in it.
Society

Psychedelic drugs and the law: What’s next?

The push to legalize magic mushrooms, MDMA, LSD and other hallucinogens is likely to heighten tensions between state and federal law, drug law expert Robert Mikos says

Growing polarization on climate policy
Food & Environment

How to overcome political polarization on climate change

Conversations — in real life — can help bridge the partisan divide, but the trick is to have some structure to the discussion, says a human ecologist

Conceptual illustration shows a person speaking words that appear as aspects of the natural world, like plants and animals.
Society

Indigenous languages are founts of environmental knowledge

Peoples who live close to nature have a rich lore of plants, animals and landscapes embedded in their mother tongues — which may hold vital clues to protecting biodiversity

An array of yellow balls that have happy faces on them.
The Mind

Scientists scrutinize happiness research

From meditation to smiling, researchers take a second look at studies claiming to reveal what makes us happy

Illustration shows a man in a suit holding a briefcase on a busy city sidewalk. He is looking at his own reflection.
The Mind

The psychopathic path to success

Psychopathic tendencies may be present to some extent in all of us. New research is reframing this often sensationalized and maligned set of traits and finding some positive twists.

Illustration shows two pill bottles, one labeled “placebo.” Both bottles are filled with different-colored pills; the ones in the “placebo” bottle are shaped like little bowties.
The Mind

How the placebo effect went mainstream

PODCAST: Sloppy by today’s standards, and maybe even back when it was published in 1955, Henry Beecher’s paper paved the way for sounder drug trials and pushed scientists to better understand how we process pain (Season 3, Episode 3)

Illustration shows a bead curtain being parted to reveal a room beyond, in which three people are sitting in armchairs talking with each other in a therapy session.
The Mind

Better therapy for Asian Americans

Most of today’s psychotherapies are grounded in Western values. Researchers hope that tailoring treatments to patients’ cultural backgrounds will improve mental health outcomes.

Two mollies face each other in a fish tank with rocks and plants
Living World

Nature, nurture and randomness

OPINION: More than genes and upbringing determine animal personalities: There’s a good dose of chance in the mix, too.

A girl chooses from an array of pastries in a bakery case.
Health & Disease

The neurons that make us feel hangry

Neuroscientists think a cluster of cells in the brain that stimulate appetite could be a target for eating disorder therapies

A teenage girl jumps into the air to kick a soccer ball while other players look on.
The Mind

Teens can have excellent executive function — just not all the time

Adolescents’ brains are highly capable, if inconsistent, during this critical age of exploration and development. They are also acutely tuned into rewards.

Five people working together amid a set of stylized gears, some in the shape of flower petals.
Society

The secrets of cooperation

Most people care what others think of them. In many situations, that can be leveraged for the common good.

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