PsyPost – Psychology News
Reporting the latest scientific research on behavior, cognition and society
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Latest posts
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Scientists uncover how a tiny reflection of light helps us navigate the social world
When assessing where another person is looking, human beings use a variety of visual cues. A new study shows that the tiny reflections of light bouncing off the surface of the eye help us accurately track gaze direction.
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What survivors America’s deadliest mass shooting remember hints at something surprising about memory under threat
Many survivors of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting described people helping under fire in as much detail as the gunfire itself, a finding that surprised researchers who expected the accounts to center almost entirely on threat.
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Dark personalities and flawed logic drive antisocial behavior on separate tracks
A new study finds that while dark personality traits and cognitive biases both predict rule-breaking behavior, they do not feed into one another. The findings suggest different psychological pathways can lead to delinquency.
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Many new mothers struggle with birth-related trauma symptoms even without meeting criteria for PTSD
How common is birth trauma? A standardized survey of new mothers in 31 countries found an average of 23% described their birth as traumatic, though rates in individual countries ranged from 7% to 69%.
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Over 10 percent of factual claims in Google’s AI search summaries aren’t backed by their cited sources, study finds
Google’s AI Overviews provide direct answers to billions of searchers, but a new analysis reveals that one in nine generated claims lacks source support. The system also bypasses traditional search rankings, threatening the revenue of original web publishers.
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Liberals give dominant leaders lower odds of success than conservatives do, study finds
Why do forceful leaders so often surprise liberals? Across five studies, liberals rated dominant leaders, from bosses to mayoral candidates, as less likable and less likely to succeed than conservatives did, even in nonpartisan contexts.
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Dreams may amplify rather than soothe emotional reactions to a painful election loss, study suggests
Dreaming is often thought to take the edge off upsetting events. But Democrats and Independents who dreamed about the 2024 election woke up feeling worse about it, and about the future, than those who did not.
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Scientists link wildfire smoke during pregnancy to higher autism risk
In a national study of U.S. births, an increase of 0.75 micrograms per cubic meter in wildfire smoke particles across pregnancy was associated with a 30% higher rate of autism diagnosis, with the link strongest in mid-to-late pregnancy.
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Inflammation briefly dampens pleasure and the desire to socialize, placebo-controlled study finds
Inflammation may do more than make people feel sick. In a placebo-controlled study, triggering inflammation in healthy women reduced their desire to socialize and ability to feel pleasure, even after accounting for sickness symptoms.
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The psychological motives driving internet justice and public shaming
People who support online public shaming and digital vigilantism are often motivated by the pleasure of seeing others suffer and a desire to boost their own moral status, according to a recent psychological survey.
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Study finds a specific emotional route from feeling humanized to political compromise
Across five experiments in three countries, people who read posts describing their party as sophisticated rather than as brutes became more open to negotiation — and the emotion doing the work was disgust, not anger or empathy.
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Estrogen therapy linked to fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in brain tissue
Women who use estrogen-only hormone therapy during menopause may have a lower risk of developing the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a large analysis of patient data and autopsy records.
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Genes may explain about a third of earnings differences, according to a study of 44,500 U.S. twin pairs
A study of 44,500 American twin pairs suggests genetic factors account for nearly one-third of the variation in earnings. But same-sex twins’ tendency to work at the same companies may inflate estimates of how heritable career success is.
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Your teenage mental health may say something about your vote at 40, study finds
A large 28-year study in Norway reveals that mental health issues starting in adolescence predict distinct adult voting habits. Researchers found early anxiety or disruptive behaviors are linked to specific ideologies and lower trust in government by midlife.
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Reading for pleasure is linked to better brain health across the lifespan
From early childhood to old age, people who read for pleasure tend to show better cognitive performance and mental well-being. Cambridge researchers argue that reading and book clubs could be low-cost ways to support brain health.
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Narcissistic parents tend to lean on their children for emotional support, and that is linked to depression later on
When parents cross emotional boundaries and rely on their children as surrogate partners, those children face a higher risk of adult depression. A new cross-cultural study explores the mechanism linking parental vulnerable narcissism to this childhood emotional enmeshment.
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A policy-focused TikTok improved opinions of Kamala Harris, but trendier campaign clips did not, experiment finds
A recent experiment reveals that while trendy TikTok videos encourage social media sharing, traditional policy-focused advertisements are far more effective at improving a political candidate's favorability rating among voters.
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Extreme liberals who rely on traditional sources are the most likely to overrate their science knowledge
People at the political extremes tend to feel more confident about their science knowledge than moderates. But checked against a science quiz, extreme liberals who got their information online were the least likely to overrate themselves.
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What permanent daylight saving time could mean for sleep, mood, and mental health
As lawmakers across North America move to end the twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks, three new papers highlight a complex debate over how clock shifts and permanent time systems affect health.
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Narcissistic employees will work harder for a title than for a raise, study finds
Most workers in a new study took the money. But the higher someone scored on a measure of grandiose narcissism, the more likely they were to want the title instead — even when both jobs carried identical authority.