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Checking Email Just 3 Times a Day Lowered Stress in a Week. Here’s the Catch
One study logged office workers opening email 77 times a day. The habit that helps depends less on willpower than on your team’s rules.
Latest
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You Can’t Tickle Yourself Because Your Brain Saw It Coming. Here’s the Proof
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That Growth Mindset Poster Made Big Promises. Here’s What 25 Years of Studies Found
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The New Sofa Makes Your Rug Look Shabby. A Philosopher Described That Feeling in 1769
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Couples Who Say “We” Mid-Argument Stay Calmer, and It’s Your Partner Who Benefits
Just updated
Stories our editors have just revisited with new research, figures and sources.
Relationships
Love, friendship, family and the everyday dynamics between people.
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Couples Who Say “We” Mid-Argument Stay Calmer, and It’s Your Partner Who Benefits
Across 30 studies and 5,288 people, “we-talk” tracked with better relationships and health. The link is small, and it runs…
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The Laugh You Share Says More About Your Relationship Than the Joke Does
In one study, couples who laughed at the same moment felt closer and more supported. Listeners in 24 societies can…
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“I’m Sorry You Feel That Way” Isn’t an Apology. Here’s What the Science Says Works
In one study, owning the mistake beat every other part of an apology. Another ingredient is missing from most apologies…
Psychology
How people think, feel and behave, explained through research and real life.
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You Can’t Tickle Yourself Because Your Brain Saw It Coming. Here’s the Proof
A tickling robot, a brain scanner and a finger-pressing duel show how your brain mutes its own touch, and what…
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The Famous Jam Study Says Too Much Choice Freezes You. The Real Answer Is Messier
Across 50 later experiments, the average effect of more options was almost zero. Four conditions decide when a long menu…
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The Song Stuck in Your Head Follows a Pattern. Here’s How to Break the Loop
Nearly nine in ten people in one large survey get one weekly. Tunes named by 3,000 people show what makes…
Worth your time
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Left-Brained or Right-Brained? Scans of 1,011 Brains Found No Such Thing
Yet 91% of UK teachers in one survey thought hemisphere dominance helps explain differences between pupils. Here is…
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That Ache for the Past Was Once a Disease. Now It Seems to Keep You Warm
In 1688 a Basel dissertation called it an illness. Today’s labs find nostalgia eases loneliness and can make…
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Open-Plan Offices Were Meant to Get You Talking. Face-to-Face Talk Fell 70%
When one big firm tore down its walls, staff sent 56% more emails. If you hot-desk a few…
Modern Life
Work, technology, money habits and the way we live now.
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Checking Email Just 3 Times a Day Lowered Stress in a Week. Here’s the Catch
One study logged office workers opening email 77 times a day. The habit that helps depends less on willpower than…
-
Open-Plan Offices Were Meant to Get You Talking. Face-to-Face Talk Fell 70%
When one big firm tore down its walls, staff sent 56% more emails. If you hot-desk a few days a…
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That Scary Screen Time Number on Your Phone Tells You Less Than You Think
Across 355,358 teenagers, tech use was linked to wellbeing about as much as eating potatoes. The bigger story is what,…
Self-Growth
Habits, confidence, resilience and building a life that fits.
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That Growth Mindset Poster Made Big Promises. Here’s What 25 Years of Studies Found
The best evidence points to a real but small boost, mostly for students who are struggling. Here is each claim,…
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Left-Brained or Right-Brained? Scans of 1,011 Brains Found No Such Thing
Yet 91% of UK teachers in one survey thought hemisphere dominance helps explain differences between pupils. Here is what the…
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Mozart Won’t Make Your Baby Smarter. The 1993 Study Never Said It Would
It began with 36 students and 10 minutes of piano. It ended with free CDs for newborns. Here is what…
Style & Living
Style, home and the small rituals that shape how we live.
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The New Sofa Makes Your Rug Look Shabby. A Philosopher Described That Feeling in 1769
One upgrade can quietly set off a run of others. Experiments show when it happens, and how to stop the…
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Money’s Tight and You Still Bought the Lipstick. Psychologists Have a Theory
Lipstick sales are said to rise in hard times. The data is messier, but the urge is real, and there…
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Nearly a Third of Your Wardrobe Goes Unworn. Your Brain Did the Shopping
UK wardrobes hold about £30 billion of clothes unworn for a year. Six mental habits help explain it, and a…
More stories
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The Famous Jam Study Says Too Much Choice Freezes You. The Real Answer Is Messier
Across 50 later experiments, the average effect of more options was almost zero. Four conditions decide when a long menu…
-
The Song Stuck in Your Head Follows a Pattern. Here’s How to Break the Loop
Nearly nine in ten people in one large survey get one weekly. Tunes named by 3,000 people show what makes…
-
The Laugh You Share Says More About Your Relationship Than the Joke Does
In one study, couples who laughed at the same moment felt closer and more supported. Listeners in 24 societies can…
-
Left-Brained or Right-Brained? Scans of 1,011 Brains Found No Such Thing
Yet 91% of UK teachers in one survey thought hemisphere dominance helps explain differences between pupils. Here is what the…
-
That Ache for the Past Was Once a Disease. Now It Seems to Keep You Warm
In 1688 a Basel dissertation called it an illness. Today’s labs find nostalgia eases loneliness and can make a cold…
-
Open-Plan Offices Were Meant to Get You Talking. Face-to-Face Talk Fell 70%
When one big firm tore down its walls, staff sent 56% more emails. If you hot-desk a few days a…