Psychology
Research into how we think, feel, behave and understand ourselves and each other.
Latest in Psychology
Ten Minutes of AI Help Made People Give Up on Hard Problems Sooner
In three experiments with 1 222 people, those who had an AI assistant scored higher at first, then solved fewer problems and skipped more once it was gone. Asking AI for straight answers did the most damage.
Four Days of Intensive OCD Therapy Beat Eight Weeks of Online Treatment
In a randomized trial of 119 adults with OCD, the concentrated Bergen 4-Day Treatment cut symptoms far more than an 8-week self-guided online program, and about 4 in 10 were in remission three months later.
Pay and Personality Shaped Each Other Over Years in 134 000 Workers
A meta-analysis of 11 long-running studies found that rising income was followed by more conscientiousness and emotional stability but less extraversion, and that those traits in turn predicted later pay.
We See Crime More Often Than We Suffer It
In England and Wales, the share of people who were victims of crime fell by a third over 17 years, but the share who witnessed crime did not. That may explain why falling crime figures fail to convince the public.
A Night at the Theater May Protect Your Mind
In a 16-year study of 8 274 adults over 50, people who went to museums, concerts, theater or the cinema every few months had 29% fewer hospital-treated mental disorders, including dementia and depression.
Children Who Grew Up Faster Physically Were Aging Faster at 45
In a five-decade study, children who developed faster physically were aging faster biologically by midlife, while children who matured faster socially were aging more slowly.
'You're High-Risk' Worked Even When an Algorithm Said It
In three field trials with over 90 000 patients, telling people an algorithm had flagged them as high-risk for flu nudged more of them to get vaccinated. Revealing or explaining the algorithm made no difference either way.
