Behavior
The Self-Compassion Solution
Building on a Buddhist principle, psychologists are learning how being kind to yourself can bolster resilience, buffer against stress and improve relationships
Stories by Marina Krakovsky
Mind & Brain
Generosity Is Its Own Reward
People around the world are happier the more they donate to charity
Mind & Brain
Strong Partnerships Fuel Curiosity
Thinking about a close, happy relationship gives people the energy to explore
The Sciences
Self-Compassion Fosters Mental Health
Research shows how to reap the benefits of self-compassion
Mind & Brain
Losing Your Religion: Analytic Thinking Can Undermine Belief
A series of new experiments shows that analytic thinking can override intuitive assumptions, including those that underlie religious belief
Mind & Brain
Meet Your Goals with Research-Proved Tips and Techniques
Forming new habits that last requires setting realistic expectations
The Sciences
The Anti-Predictor: A Chat with Mathematical Sociologist Duncan Watts
The Yahoo! Labs scientist and author explains why the "law of the few" is bunk, why history is full of failed hedgehogs, and why we can't make good predictions about just those things we most want to predict...
Mind & Brain
Why a Good Deal Can Seem Unfair
Something is better than nothing, right? Not if you feel cheated, as experimental money games show
Mind & Brain
Mixed Impressions: How We Judge Others on Multiple Levels
Researchers are developing a new understanding of how we judge people
Mind & Brain
The Load of Lying: Testing for Truth
Giving suspects an extra task helps to separate the liars from the truth-tellers
Behavior
How Conflicts Escalate: Overreacting to Perceived Slights
People punish one another for stinginess more than they reward for generosity
Behavior
Why it Pays for Cheaters to Punish Other Cheaters
A new theory for why we put up with adulterers, steroid-using athletes and the mafia
Environment
Hotel Case Study: Peer Pressure's Impact on the Environment
Hotels find social pressure is more effective than environmental appeals in persuading their customers to adopt ecofriendly practices
Mind & Brain
Polling Places' Surprising Sway
Where you vote can affect how you cast your ballot
Health
The Science of Lasting Happiness
Through controlled experiments, Sonja Lyubomirsky explores ways to beat the genetic set point for happiness. Staying in high spirits, she finds, is hard work
Mind & Brain
Unsettled Scores
Has the black-white IQ gap narrowed?
The Sciences
Experiments at Work
What's the best way to boost sales or handle competing resellers? By lab-testing business ideas, Kay-Yut Chen gets rid of some of the guesswork
Mind & Brain
Reaching in the Dark
How babies learn that unseen toys don't just vanish
The Sciences
Register or Perish
Looking to make the downside of therapies known
The Sciences
Sitcoms on the Brain
Different brain areas "get it" and find it funny
