-
Why Talking Behind Someone’s Back Isn’t Always Bad
Frank McAndrew has heard it more times than he can count. Someone finds out he studies gossip and says, with great indignation: “I never gossip.” His first thought, every time? “You must be the most boring person in the world.” McAndrew, an evolutionary psychologist at Knox College in Illinois who’s spent decades studying the science of talking behind people’s backs, has a message for the self-appointed gossip-free among us: You’re almost certainly wrong about what gossip is, and you’re definitely wrong about whether it’s bad. Most of us think of gossip as a character flaw—petty, mean-spirited, something to be ashamed of.
-
AAAS Names 13 APS Psychological Scientists as 2025 Fellows
The 13 psychological scientists listed below account for all but one of the individuals in the Section on Psychology.
-
Nine Tips to Help You Cope During Turbulent Times
Some scientists believe that we might even benefit from learning about the ways other cultures name their feelings, many of which do not have a direct English translation. Take the Finnish concept of sisu, for example, which is a sort of "extraordinary determination in the face of adversity". "You can think of the words and the concepts they are associated with as tools for living," said neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett at Northeastern University in Boston. ... Since our worries tend to fixate on the future, rather than the past, it can also be used to focus our attention on preparing and problem-solving. It can also motivate us to take action.
-
My Anxiety Is Keeping Me Up. How Can I Get Some Sleep?
According to recent polling from the American Psychiatric Association, Americans are feeling anxious — about current events, job security, finances, the future. You don’t have to be in the center of a storm (proverbial or literal) to be affected by it, said Roxane Cohen Silver, a professor of psychology, public health and medicine at the University of California, Irvine. Distressing news, coming at us constantly through our phones, TVs and radios, can be associated with anxious thoughts, she said.
-
Brain Game May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias
A certain type of brain training appears to prevent or delay dementia by some 25% in people older than age 65, according to new research. Surprisingly, it wasn’t memory or problem-solving tasks that moved the needle — it was an interactive computerized game that tested the ability to recognize two separate images in faster and faster sequences. The game shows the user one of two vehicles in a desert, town or farmland setting. Next, a Route 66 sign appears briefly along the periphery, surrounded by additional distracting road signs. To do the training accurately, the player must click on the correct car or tractor and the location of the Route 66 sign.
-
How to Build Self-Control, According to Psychologists
You want that new video game so badly, but you’re trying to knock your credit card balance down. Or you’re binging your favorite TV show and can’t wait to find out if a character lives, but it’s late, and you need to be alert for work tomorrow. Just exert a little self-control, you tell yourself. But it’s so hard! ... The participants were then told to do anything they liked for the next hour (while being compensated). The people high in self-control chose activities they rated as meaningful, such as exercising or doing chores; the others went for the purely enjoyable, such as taking a nap or listening to music.
