Mind and Behavior

Mind and Behavior

Famished, not famous: retrace Orwell’s hunger days, when he was one of the city’s legion of poor foreigners.
depression paradox
Treatments for depression have significantly improved since the 1980s. So why isn't the rate of depression decreasing?
Bolero Ida Rubinstein
Undiagnosed brain disease or divine inspiration? The origins of the French composer’s most provocative composition remain up for debate. 
hangover cures
After a night of partying and heavy drinking, you might be tempted to Google "hangover cures." Unfortunately, there aren't any.
Pokémon has people wandering the world to enslave wild and magical creatures so they can fight in painful blood sports. What's fun about that?
psychosomatic
The brain appears to remember immune responses, and memories can trigger them to happen again. This might explain some psychosomatic illnesses.
chimpanzee war
From 1974 to 1978, the chimps of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania were at war with each other, the first time conservationists saw chimps engage in calculated, cold-blooded killing.
self-actualization
If you want to be an authentic person, embrace reality. Don't try to clamber your way up Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Trail running on a foggy day - New Year's resolutions
Setting resolutions for the new year means you think the future is up to you — but is it?
chess pieces
One player’s pawn is another’s farmer. And at one time, the queen was a rather powerless virgin.
creative nap
Historical geniuses used the "creative nap" to give their minds a boost. Apparently, the "hypnagogic state" can help with problem solving.
Mental health, healing and pulling together were key themes of 2021, according to the world’s most popular search engine. Google processes billions of requests every day and its Year in Search […]
placebo effect
The placebo effect is not the "power of positive thinking." The fact that it is getting stronger is not a good development.
When we satisfy our curiosity, the brain has a particular way of rewarding us.
Are some of us simple destined for unhappiness?
New ideas inevitably face opposition. A new book called "The Human Element" argues that overcoming opposition requires understanding the concepts of "Fuel" and "Friction."
An elderly woman washing vegetables in a sink.
Research reminds us that mild cognitive impairment isn’t necessarily a prelude to dementia.
Developing an awareness of and an appreciation for science is what we all truly need, not what we've been doing.
A new “common-sense” approach to computer vision enables artificial intelligence that interprets scenes more accurately than other systems do.
Family reconcilliation
Family relationships are on many people’s minds during the holiday season as sounds and images of happy family celebrations dominate the media. Anyone whose experiences don’t live up to the holiday […]
In determining what qualifies as solid science, controversy is inevitable.
The gospels imply that Jesus became famous as much for his exorcisms as his ministry.
Just don't expect the apocalypse to look like it does in the movies.
Jean Paul Sartre summed up the existentialist idea of "bad faith" through a waiter who acted a bit too much like a waiter.
psilocybin
A small, Seattle-based study will look to see if the psychedelic can alleviate the pandemic’s mental health impact.
People can lose their authentic selves when they don't honestly confront life's potential, according to the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
It's that time of year when the hours of meticulous wrapping of Christmas toys are viciously undone in seconds by tiny children.
A man walks through the snow listening to music on his headphones.
Just as storylines make sense only when you have the context of the beginning and the end, listeners need to understand the impetus for why the album was even made.