The marshmallow test, designed to measure children’s self-control in the face of temptation, is one of history’s most famous psychological experiments. Research in Psychological Science suggests that it may also measure their interest in social approval.  “Our results suggest that even young children care about how they are perceived by others and can adjust their […]

Being an eldest daughter means frequently feeling like you’re not doing enough, like you’re struggling to maintain a veneer of control, like the entire household relies on your diligence. To be clear, birth order doesn’t influence personality itself—but it can influence how your family sees you, Brent Roberts, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told

Before COVID, American teenagers’ psychological health was already in decline. The pandemic, with its sudden lockdowns, school closures and other jolts to normal life, made that downward slope steeper. The ensuing mental health crisis has given researchers a rare opportunity to gauge how an extraordinary event such as a public health catastrophe can physically affect the brains

For the millions of Americans that celebrate Thanksgiving, it’s a time when a lot of us reflect on the things and the people in our lives that we appreciate. But according to Dr. Laurie Santos, psychology professor at Yale and host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab, a practice of gratitude can improve our lives year-round.

Image above: The wreckage of a collapsed building, Diyarbakır, Turkey, 2023. VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. About this series Science for Society is an APS webinar series focused on educating the public and bringing psychological science to decision-makers working to solve real world problems. In addition to psychological scientists, participants include public policy decision-makers, news reporters, advocates, and scholars from

… Resilience is a popular term in modern psychology that, put simply, refers to the ability to recover and move on from adverse events, failure or change. “We don’t call it ‘character’ anymore,” said Jelena Kecmanovic, director of Arlington/DC Behavior Therapy Institute. “We call it the ability to tolerate distress, the ability to tolerate uncertainty.” Studies suggest

What do Beowulf, Batman and Barbie all have in common? Ancient legends, comic book sagas and blockbuster movies alike share a storytelling blueprint called “the hero’s journey.” This timeless narrative structure, first described by mythologist Joseph Campbell in 1949, describes ancient epics, such as the Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh, and modern favorites, including the Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings series. Many hero’s journey

AI-generated faces of white people now seem more real than actual ones, according to a new study which raises concerns that the technology may be used to fool people. More people thought AI-generated white faces were human than the faces of real people, while the same wasn’t true for the images of people of colour,

What is risky drinking? What is the cognitive profile of a risky drinker? If we know more about how risky drinkers think, is it easier to develop models for preventive measures?  APS’s Özge G. Fischer Baum approaches these questions with a cognitive lens in an interview with Elizabeth Goldfarb from Yale University. Fischer Baum and

PSPI Live is a series of 60-minute live events highlighting recent or upcoming papers published in the APS journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest (PSPI). Speakers include the authors, policymakers, or representatives of important stakeholder groups. What leads people to accept alcoholism, heroin addiction, and other forms of substance dependence as chronic health conditions?