Mind & Behavior

Mind & Behavior

Study the science of how we think, feel, and act, with insights that help you better understand yourself and others.

upload brain
Uploading your mind is not a pathway to immortality. Instead, it will create a possibly hostile digital doppelgänger.
A food safety researcher explains another way to know what’s too old to eat.
Let's hope that squid don't evolve lungs and legs, or humanity might be in real trouble.
Unplugging only ignores the hard work of overcoming your distractions.
People tend to underestimate how much a friend they’ve lost contact with would enjoy a simple note saying "hi."
A close-up of a painted human arm and hand reaching out with extended fingers against a light, cracked background.
5mins
Atheists are not immune from supernatural thinking.
Cycling – active transportation or death trap?
opioid epidemic
"This fourth wave will be worse than it’s ever been before."
When it comes to vetting people for friendship, body odor seems to be a decisive factor.
A painting of an elderly man with long white hair and beard, wearing a red robe, surrounded by clouds with a halo above his head, set against a soft green sky—inviting reflection on beliefs and the types of atheism.
Just as there are many types of believers, there's not only one type of atheist.
John Templeton Foundation
Evolutionary psychology could explain those otherworldly feelings.
neuroplasticity
Long thought incapable of regenerating, we now know that brain cells can grow and reorganize. That, it turns out, is a mixed blessing.
When you imitate the speech of others, there’s a thin line between whether it’s a social asset or faux pas.
transhumanism
Proponents of transhumanism make big promises, such as a future in which we upload our minds into a supercomputer. But there is a fatal flaw in this argument: reductionism.
amygdala
Patients with amygdala damage rejected the widely accepted answer to the infamous "trolley problem," saying that it "hurts too much."
A blurred image of a green grassy field bordered by tall trees under a partly cloudy sky evokes a sense of nostalgia.
4mins
Escape a mental rut by using nostalgia.
John Templeton Foundation
same-sex behavior
Turning off a gene called “Myc” has a surprising effect in male fruit flies: They start courting other males.
For over three decades, toxic proteins were believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease. However, recent studies suggest it might be metabolic reprogramming.