The headlines The Guardian: Shocking but true: students prefer jolt of pain than being made to sit and think Nature: We dislike being alone with our thoughts Washington Post: Most men would rather shock…
Mum and dad really shouldn’t have got involved.
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In 1972, a study showed scientific support for the so-called “Romeo and Juliet effect”: that the more parents interfere in a couple’s relationship, the more intense their romantic bond becomes and the…
Reports about the latest investigation into the sexual assaults carried out by Jimmy Savile’s in a hospital in Leeds were invariably led by accounts from a small group of staff that Savile had engaged…
The Conversation organised a public question-and-answer session on Reddit in which Andrew Lane, professor of Sport Psychology at Wolverhampton University, discussed subjects from the Suarez bite to getting…
For many people, enjoying music results in noticeable physical reactions – sweaty palms or a shiver down the spine. Music can cause the release of dopamine in your body, which provides a feeling of immense…
The dreaded, game-deciding penalty shootouts have begun. After 120 minutes of physically and emotionally draining play, players must line up and one by one take the goalie on from the spot. Heroes and…
From firm favourites to out after two matches – Spanish fans have felt the whole gamut of emotions this World Cup.
EPA/Alberto Martin
Let’s imagine this all-too-familiar scene: a fan, perched on the edge of his or her seat, eyes wide open in anticipation, a quick inhale at a goal attempt – quickly followed by either a joyous and prideful…
Fan or foe, chances are over the next four weeks you’ll catch at least parts of World Cup matches, whether through bleary eyes in the wee hours or snippets on the evening news. If you’re unfamiliar with…
Research a better bet than an octopus oracle.
Roland Weihrauch/EPA
Given my academic background it may come as little surprise that when I gamble, I expect to lose in the long run. But, that is not to say that I don’t have some golden rules that I apply in gambling situations…
Studies have, in the past, suggested that dogs appeal most to people who are extroverted, conscientious, agreeable and conventional.
Cams
Pets inspire powerful emotions and strong attachments. They comfort the sick, console the lonely and entertain the children. We invite them into our families, pay their human-sized medical expenses and…
Winners are definitely grinners – but what makes teams such as Spain so successful?
EPA/Kerim Okten
It is hard to imagine a World Cup in which Germany, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, the Netherlands, England, France and Spain did not appear, or in which one of them did not win. What is it that makes some…
“Water makes you happier, more connected and better at what you do,” says Wallace J Nichols, a marine biologist and wild water advocate based at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. On…
Genetics is just the latest specialist knowledge threatening to take the question of criminal responsibility away from law and hand it over to science.
Graham/Flickr
Welcome to Biology and Blame, a series of articles examining historical and current influences on the notion of criminal responsibility. Today, Arlie Loughnan considers the challenge to the legal system…
Trust me guys, you’ll like me in the morning.
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We’ve all returned home after a night out at a party to find a Facebook friend request from someone you briefly met but barely know. Just to be polite, you add the person to your friend list. But it turns…
Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age … [he] had a thin face, knobbly knees … and wore round glasses held together with a…
We often use the weather as a metaphor for how we’re feeling: gloomy, sunny or under a cloud. But how does it actually affect us? In this episode of TCTV, Nick Haslam describes the influence of sunny skies…
Does mankind’s religious instinct date back to prehistoric times?
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Notions of gods arise in all human societies, from all powerful and all-knowing deities to simple forest spirits. A recent method of examining religious thought and behaviour links their ubiquity and the…
Interesting hand … could you keep it a secret?
Carsten Tolkmit/Flickr
As the annual World Series of Poker gets rolling in Las Vegas later this month, hopeful competitors will be buying in and getting their poker faces on. But why is it such a challenge to recognise deception…
Celebrity couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin announced a split after 10 years of marriage.
EPA/Britta Pedersen & Jose Coelho
Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin seemed to have the perfect marriage until their “conscious uncoupling” earlier this year. Was the split destined to happen? What…