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Psychology
The road to happiness is indirect and full of frustration.
From succubi to aliens, stories of abductions or other unsettling encounters have been with us for millennia. What explains them?
Beautiful people really know how to catch a break.
The first personality tests revolved around assessing people’s reactions to ambiguous and often unsettling images. Today, the gold standard is a barrage of questions.
Stockholm Syndrome is the most famous of 10 psychological disorders named after world cities. Most relate to tourism or hostage-taking.
Regret isn't just unpleasant, it's unhealthy.
People who visit Florence seem strangely susceptible to Stendhal syndrome, which is blamed on an overwhelming sense of awe.
Certain types of dogs seem to be more discerning than others, however.
We seem to have a "progression bias" that nudges us toward pro-relationship decisions and away from breaking up.
Frank Lloyd Wright captured serenity in his masterpiece, Fallingwater, but his egotistical tendencies made life for others anything but serene.
Humans seemingly have opposing desires to fit in and to be unique. The interplay between these might drive the evolution of fads.
2mins
James Gleick, the author of biographies of Isaac Newton and Richard Feynman, discusses what they and other geniuses have in common.
John Templeton Foundation
This article was originally published on our sister site, Freethink. Fifteen volunteers in France just spent more than a month living in a cave — without any way to tell time — […]
Treatments for depression have significantly improved since the 1980s. So why isn't the rate of depression decreasing?
For some people, there is only one thing to live for. They commit their entire being to that thing. They are dangerous.
Undiagnosed brain disease or divine inspiration? The origins of the French composer’s most provocative composition remain up for debate.
The brain appears to remember immune responses, and memories can trigger them to happen again. This might explain some psychosomatic illnesses.
Historical geniuses used the "creative nap" to give their minds a boost. Apparently, the "hypnagogic state" can help with problem solving.
Stress – and how you manage it – is catching.
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.
Next year is the perfect time to have better conversations!
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 […]
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.
For relatives who live far apart, holiday rituals may be the glue that holds the family together.
Or you might just be a Leo.
Whether NASA likes it or not, humans eventually will be having space sex.
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.
A placebo-controlled study found that oxytocin seems to significantly reduce romantic jealousy among people in intimate relationships.