Topic: Psychology

Manti Te'o and the New Burden of Internet Truth

AP

Truth and the Internet are strange bedfellows these days, and it's much easier to lie to a large audience online than in person. Has social media made us more gullible? Or was it always this hard to tell distanced falsehood from human reality?

By Jen Doll

Jan 11, 2013

Mastering the Art of the Passive Aggressive Office Memo

We've all seen them, and maybe some of us have posted them. The passive aggressive break room note like, "If this yogurt isn't yours, don't eat it." "Whoever keeps leaving his or her dirty dish in the sink, your mom isn't here to wash it for you." And, of course, the age-old "If you sprinkle when you tinkle" missive, hung up in many a ladies' room.

Comments | 14,828 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Nov 15, 2012

So, Here's That 'Big Bang Theory' Flashmob You Wanted

Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.

Comments | 2,099 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Nov 13, 2012

Meet the Psychologists Who Convinced You to Vote for Obama

President Obama's re-election team has already been lauded for its mastery of data and organziation, but a feature in today's The New York Times looks at another secret, and more subtle, weapon: Behavioral science.

Comments | 2,262 Views

By Jen Doll

Sep 18, 2012

Separation Anxiety Is for Grownups, Too

If you are one of those people who really, really hates it when your loved ones have to leave, whether for weeks or days or minutes,, you may be interested in a piece in today's Wall Street Journal that deals with the topic of separation anxiety in adults.

Comments | 862 Views

By Jen Doll

Aug 24, 2012

The Moral Decline in the Words We Use

If the frequency of word usage "related to moral excellence and virtue" in the Google Books archive is to be believed, America is in a steep moral decline.

Comments | 15,001 Views

By Jen Doll

Aug 21, 2012

How to Just Be a Twentysomething

It seems we're always going on about the hows and whys and what's of the contemporary twentysomething, as evidenced in recent reactions to The New York Times' piece on Emma Koenig's blog to the many "thoughtful" or "navel-gazing" (or both) posts on Thought Catalog.

Comments | 7,961 Views

By Jen Doll

Aug 16, 2012

Lessons in Underbragging, the World's Best New Form of the Brag

Tuesday we introduced a new form of bragging: The underbrag, or the brag that isn't, except it is. Today, we check back to see how you're doing. 

Comments | 4,052 Views

By Jen Doll

Jul 31, 2012

The Key to Success May Be Lying to Yourself

Aren't we supposed to be honest with ourselves, and with others? Maybe we're "supposed" to be, but a lot of new research indicates that most of us are lying to ourselves "at least some of the time." And maybe that's great! 

Comments | 2,287 Views

By Jen Doll

May 14, 2012

If We Are What We Read, Who Are We, Exactly?

According to research recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the book characters we love are the real-life characters we become. 

Comments | 7,149 Views

By Jen Doll

May 10, 2012

Our Complicated Relationship with Breasts

The matter inflaming the Internet this Thursday is one of breasts. Particularly, a bare boob, tucked neatly into the mouth of a 3-year-old boy, on the cover of Time magazine.

Comments | 21,209 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 27, 2012

The Importance of Being Earnest: A Guide for Today's Cynical World

As we collectively marvel, mouths agape, at the wonder passing over New York City—the space shuttle, the space shuttle!—we are reminded of how rare these moments truly are in today's cynical world.

Comments | 3,668 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 10, 2012

How Not to Afford Your Dream Wedding

"Dream wedding": Two special words, for two very special people.

Comments | 2,586 Views

By Jen Doll

Mar 13, 2012

The Business of Revamping Your Online Dating Profile

Even though so many people are meeting each other and forming relationships online that your grandma can't even really look at you funny for it (maybe she's doing it herself), a lot of us are doing it wrong. That's where Christine Hooker, professional online dating consultant, comes in.

Comments | 2,604 Views

By Jen Doll

Mar 12, 2012

The Apartments Most in Need of a Spring Cleaning

Recently, this writer was enjoying cocktails with a companion who revealed a horrifying secret: his apartment was so repugnant, he confessed, that it had actually led to the speedy demise of what might have become a relationship—or at least a physical liaison of some sort.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Jen Doll

Mar 5, 2012

When Doing Absolutely Nothing Is the Greatest Luxury

Take note: The hot new trend is puttering. Yes, puttering. To "putter" is to 1) move or act aimlessly or idly, 2) to work at random, or tinker. And who has time for that in this 24-hour-news-cycle life?

Comments | 2,642 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 29, 2012

The Poor Lives of Rich People

If one thing is clear about rich people, it's not that their lives are any easier than the rest of ours. In fact, if anything, it's hard to have money.

Comments | 22,676 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 28, 2012

Relax, You Are Not Having a 'Nervous Breakdown'

Are you having a nervous breakdown? Doubtful, as "nervous breakdowns" are not a real thing.

Comments | 4,908 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 24, 2012

Women Are Still Being Judged for Not Taking Their Husbands' Last Names

Right now in the most of the developed world, it could be argued, women are considered about as "equal" to men as they have ever been. Yet there are deep, abiding problems that we're still working through.

Comments | 13,966 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 23, 2012

Is Living Alone Making You Weird?

More people are living alone than ever, as a statistic we met recently with great happiness noted. But -- prepare yourself -- living alone might be making you weird.

Comments | 30,361 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 15, 2012

Why We Look at Celebrity Death Photos

In the media frenzy following the death of Whitney Houston, information has trickled out slowly, in often sensational individual pieces.

Comments | 5,298 Views

By Jen Doll

Feb 14, 2012

How to Spot a Lie in an Online Dating Profile

Science knows how to identify a liar (big hint: someone who keeps harping on his or her own honesty). So it makes sense, in our online-dating-filled modern lifestyle, that science would also figure out how to identify an online dater who is not being completely above board.

Comments | 5,690 Views

By Erik Hayden

Sep 8, 2011

Weight Watchers Works, Maybe

Also in today's research round-up: doctors get paid a lot

Comments | 2,674 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jul 13, 2011

Creepy Men Who Flirt at Work Hate Their Lives

Researchers find a reason men spend their time at work prowling around the office

Comments | 4,406 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jul 12, 2011

How Did the Stanford Prison Experiment Get Out of Hand?

Forty years later, participants describe what they were thinking

Comments | 3,676 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jun 2, 2011

The Color Red Makes You Stronger, But More Distractable

A new study claims that red improves and strengthens muscle reactions

Comments | 1,392 Views

By Ray Gustini

May 26, 2011

Science Has a New Drug to Erase Your Painful Memories

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' inches ever closer to reality

Comments | 2,594 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 15, 2011

The Most Popular Kids Are Like Benign Dictators

High school bullying peaks among those in the 98th percentile of coolness--the very coolest can afford to be nice

Comments | 980 Views

By Caitlin Dickson

Feb 5, 2011

Spotlight: Have Humans Evolved to Believe in God?

Is the way we analyze other people's behavior telling about how we think about God?

Comments | 894 Views

By Alex Eichler

Dec 14, 2010

By Ray Gustini

Nov 30, 2010

Top Tweets: Distracted Tuesday Edition

On Twitter, a struggle to remain focused

Comments | 30 Views

By Benjamin F. Carlson

Oct 23, 2010

Quote of the Day: The Virtue of Feeling Dead

Meditating on the thoughts that people to commit suicide

Comments | 60 Views

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