Psychology

Science & Society

COVID-19 has killed a million Americans. Our minds can’t comprehend that number

We intuitively compare large, approximate quantities but cannot grasp such a big, abstract number as a million U.S. COVID-19 deaths.

Science & Society

Pressure to conform to social norms may explain risky COVID-19 decisions

As a science reporter covering COVID-19, I knew I should mask up at Disney World. Instead, I conformed, bared my face and got COVID-19.

Psychology

Latin America defies cultural theories based on East-West comparisons

Theories for how people think in individualist versus collectivist nations stem from East-West comparisons. Latin America challenges those theories.

Science & Society

Nudge theory’s popularity may block insights into improving society

Small interventions that influence people’s behavior can be tested. But the real world requires big, hard-to-measure changes too, scientists say.

Science & Society

Military towns are the most racially integrated places in the U.S. Here’s why

The military’s big stick approach allowed the institution to integrate troops and military towns. Can the civilian world follow suit?

Psychology

How mindfulness-based training can give elite athletes a mental edge

Mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy are two types of training psychologists are using to bolster athletes’ mental health.

Humans

Babies may use saliva sharing to figure out relationships

Actions like sharing bites of food or kissing may cue young children into close bonds, a new study suggests.

Psychology

Scientists should report results with intellectual humility. Here’s how

Foregrounding a study’s uncertainties and limitations could help restore faith in the social sciences.

Psychology

Nostalgia may have bona fide benefits in hard times, like the pandemic

Once described as a disease, nostalgia’s reputation is much improved. Researchers hope to develop mental health therapies that trigger these memories.

Psychology

Perspective-changing experiences, good or bad, can lead to richer lives

Happiness or meaning have long been seen as keys to the “good life.” Psychologists have now defined a third good life for people leading rich psychological lives.

Psychology

Everyone maps numbers in space. But why don’t we all use the same directions?

The debate over whether number lines are innate or learned obscures a more fundamental question: Why do we map numbers to space in the first place?

Psychology

‘Ghost games’ spotlight the psychological effect fans have on referees

Soccer teams won fewer games and received more fouls when playing at home during the 2019–2020 season, when many fans were absent, than before the pandemic.