Do children understand the lesson that if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? Developmental psychologists suggest they're more likely to punish bad behavior than they are to reward good deeds.
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Articles on Psychology research
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A psychologist unexpectedly realized that Obama's memoir 'Becoming' mirrors the life stages she's identified in a group of women she's been tracking since 1970.
Even when everything's going great in your relationship, you likely harbor some ambivalence toward your partner deep down. Psychology research suggests it's not just OK, but normal.
A cold, logical list of attributes sought in a partner is cast aside by the hot emotions that come up in real life. A psychology researcher explains how this 'hot-cold empathy gap' works in dating.
Research suggests people intuitively draw a distinction between what is known and what is believed. Recognizing the difference can help in ideological disagreements.
A new theory of language suggests that people understand words by unconsciously simulating what they describe. Repeated exposure – and the simulation that comes with it – makes it easier to act.
New research confirms that people tend to rush to judgment, in spite of believing their own decisions and those of others are carefully based on lots of evidence and data. And that can be good or bad.
How does being thankful about things in your own life relate to any selfless concern you may have about the well-being of others? A neuroscientist explores the gratitude/altruism connection.
Ninety percent of psychology studies come from countries representing less than 15 percent of the world's population. Researchers are realizing that universalizing those findings might not make sense.
Breathless press releases, over-interpreted meta-analyses and other 'crud factors' mean that weak research results can get overhyped to the public. It's time for a cultural change in the social sciences.
Psychology researchers found that daily acts of kindness were linked to increases in positive mood – especially for teens who felt depressed.
It's a psychological quirk that when something becomes rarer, people may spot it in more places than ever. What is the 'concept creep' that lets context change how we categorize the world around us?
Childhood adversity is linked to social and mental health problems later in life. New research suggests brains that aren't as good at recognizing rewards and responding to change may be to blame.
Missing a meal can certainly push you toward a bad mood. But new research identifies in what kind of situations hunger is most likely to tip toward hanger.
Few can resist an assessment that promises to reveal your hidden, true self. But new research suggests that people mistakenly believe difficult to answer questions offer deep insights.
Everybody wants more self-control, but it's proven difficult to beef up through training. New research suggests that what your social group does might be key to enhancing your own self-control skills.
Human beings seem to be born wearing rose-colored glasses. Psychologists are interested in how this bias toward the positive works in the very young – and how it fades over time.
Cognitive psychologists know the way our minds work means we not only don't notice errors and misinformation we know are wrong, we also then remember them as true.
Psychology researchers bring infants into the lab to learn more about how shared book reading influences brain and behavioral development.
Remember that story about the molecule found in turkey that makes you drowsy? Research shows it's a myth – tryptophan doesn't cause you to nod off, but it may be connected to cooperation.
Top contributors
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Professor of Psychology, Monmouth University
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Assistant Professor in Developmental Psychology, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Senior Research Fellow, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
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Postdoctoral Fellow in Anthropology, University of Utah
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Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
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Forensic Criminologist, University of Newcastle
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Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology, Northwestern University
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina
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Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Management, Yale University
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Alice H. Eagly is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Psychology; Faculty Fellow Institute for Policy Research; Professor of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University
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Assistant Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Yale University
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Professor of Psychology, Cornell University
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Janet M. Gibson is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Grinnell College
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Professor of Psychology, Stetson University
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Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology (Bates College), Tufts University
