Language

Performance in different kinds of sports benefits from specific types of motivational "self-talk." Christie Nicholson reports

Sudden, unannounced memories might help people make connections between disparate ideas more quickly—but they might also be the building blocks of hallucinations

A recent study shows that strong pro-vaccine messaging might have an unintended impact. Christie Nicholson reports

Rather than search for an acoustic motivation behind its structure, new research aims to better understand how ancient people might have used Stonehenge

Who is better off: the religious or atheists? Cultural values determine the answer

Letters to the Editor about the January/February 2012 issue of Scientific American Mind

Unspoken cues communicate which type of "trust hormone" gene we have

Why are some people friendly when they get drunk, and others hostile?

Rodents sacrifice sweets to jailbreak their friends

Why we tend to predict rosy times ahead

Can subliminal advertisements influence our behavior? New research says yes—but only under certain circumstances