Psychology

Could a bit of morning sunlight be the secret to waking up refreshed? A new study suggests the timing of natural light exposure may make all the difference.

The more people overestimate their political smarts, the more likely they are to react aggressively to opposing views and become more polarized.

Older adults can learn a variety of musical skills—even without prior training—according to a new study from Switzerland and Germany.

New evidence suggests 1-MX, derived from caffeine, may enhance learning and protect the brain from age-related decline.

A study from rural Bangladesh links prenatal fluoride exposure to lower cognitive abilities in children, even at levels below global safety guidelines.

Experiencing childhood abuse or neglect may raise the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis later in life, according to a large study using UK healthcare data.

Young antidepressant users may face enduring sexual side effects, according to a large study examining post-treatment genital sensitivity.

A new study challenges the idea that authoritarian personality traits predict harsh punishment preferences, revealing a more complex picture of how people form sentencing opinions.

A new study finds that humans are surprisingly good at detecting subtle differences in physical attractiveness and formidability—doing so quickly and with impressive accuracy.

Political exposure on smartphones is surprisingly brief and infrequent—and most of it doesn’t come from news apps, researchers found.

A study of over 1,000 couples suggests that money beliefs shape relationship quality. Being overly focused on wealth hurts communication, while shared financial values boost marital satisfaction.

A daily microdonation of one cent may improve mood and ease depressive symptoms, new findings suggest.

Viewing sad, emotionally intense art can stir both sorrow and pleasure—and may even help people feel more connected and compassionate.

A large brain imaging study finds ultra-processed foods are tied to obesity, inflammation, and altered brain structure.

A new study introduces a tool to measure consensual sexual sadism in the general population, helping researchers explore these interests without assuming psychological dysfunction.

TikTok’s popular fitness hashtags are flooded with idealized bodies, objectifying imagery, and questionable health advice, according to a recent study.

A new study suggests that support for the MAGA agenda is driven by authoritarian beliefs—but only among certain race-gender groups, with white women aligning closely with white men and women of color showing the least support.

Who’s the favorite child? A large-scale study explores how traits like gender and personality shape parental favoritism.

Sad baby faces grab women’s attention even when presented subliminally, according to new research, revealing a hidden layer of sensitivity to infant emotions.

Higher blood sugar may weaken brain connectivity in healthy people, particularly as they age, researchers report in Neurobiology of Aging.

New research shows your pupils pulse in sync with your breathing, a discovery that could transform how we study attention, perception, and brain health.

Far from a midpoint between belief and disbelief, agnosticism shows a unique psychological makeup, new research published in Self & Identity suggests.

Trypophobia—the discomfort some feel when seeing clustered holes—may be more about disgust than fear, according to new research that supports an evolutionary link to disease avoidance.

People with celebrity crushes can feel jealous when their favorite media figure starts dating — especially if the new partner feels different from them.

New research finds nearly half of surveyed wildfire survivors in Alberta and Nova Scotia suffered from PTSD symptoms or low resilience.

Childhood experiences with neglectful or controlling parents may shape adult personality traits that interfere with daily life, a new study shows.

A new study finds that premarital pregnancy does not predict lower marital satisfaction when couples are similar in their commitment to marriage.

Nightmares often follow a night of disrupted sleep, according to new research—but having a nightmare doesn’t necessarily cause worse sleep afterward.

A recent study found that mental imagery of natural environments promotes greater relaxation than urban imagery, both subjectively and physiologically.

A new study explores how people respond when they're dumped, revealing sadness, curiosity, and distraction as the most common reactions.