Psychology

The Technique that Silicon Valley Geeks are Using to Hack the Voices Inside Their Heads

Self-help schemes come and go, but a new framework has attracted the attention of a number of Silicon Valley techies — especially computer scientists and programmers. Called Internal Family Systems (IFS), it’s an integrated approach to individual psychotherapy that breaks conscious thoughts into individual, manageable parts that can be reprogrammed. And given its systematic methodology,…

io9 George Dvorsky

How Depressed People Use the Internet

The internet is different things to different people: a social hub, gigantic reference library or, for some, a place to seek solace. In fact, research shows that the way depressed individuals use the internet is dramatically different to the norm—and the findings could help diagnose depression earlier. Writing in the New York Times, a team…

Health Jamie Condliffe

This fleet-footed duckling is the most adorable thing you’ll see this week

Here are two things you may not know about ducklings. One: they may not be able to fly, but holy heck are they quick on their little webbed feet. Two: the behavior this duck is exhibiting is what’s known as “imprinting“. For a brief period of time after hatching, ducklings (and many other species of…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Uh, don’t criticize people for saying “Um,” “Uh,” and “Like”

We think of them as the sign of a slow mind, or verbal tics, but do these grunts actually serve a purpose, or even stand in for a useful mental function? Some people think so. The ‘um,’ the ‘uh,’ the ‘ah,’ and even the Californian ‘like,’ have been thoroughly mocked. In some sense, this mockery…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

How Scientists Communicate With Coma Victims

For decades people have spoken to people in vegetative states, hoping their voices will be heard. But these days researchers are going much further than that: in controversial experiments, a group of scientists are working out how to communicate with people in comas. Nature has a wonderful feature piece which centers around Adrian Owen, a…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

How Facebook Uses You as Part of a Giant Sociological Experiment

Facebook, with its 900 million users, is a social scientist’s wet dream: a huge number of participants, all offering up rich streams of personal information. Obviously that hasn’t escaped Facebook’s attention, which is why it has its own team of social scientists analyzing all of our data—and, on occasion, experimenting with us too. Technology Review…

Social Media Jamie Condliffe

Your Workout Motivation Could Soon Come in Pill Form

Running, swimming, cycling: ugh, they’re all so much effort. Wouldn’t it be just great if you could magically boost your motivation to exercise? Well, soon you might be able to, because scientists have discovered a compound that could do just that. In a series of experiments in mice, a team of researchers from the Zurich…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Why Smart People Are Actually Dumb

The human brain is a weird old thing. When confronted with a new, uncertain situation, it virtually always abandons careful analysis, and instead resorts to a host of mental shortcuts—that almost always lead to the wrong answer. Turns out, the smarter you are, the more likely you are to make such mistakes. A new study,…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

Could a single pill make you fearless?

Researchers at Duke University and the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental drug that calms the fears of anxious mice. They also believe that the exact same changes in brain chemistry could work on humans — a discovery that could lead to a “courage pill.” But would we want to live in a…

io9 George Dvorsky

The reason casinos track your behavior? To lure you into gambling too much

Online culture magazine limn has published a sobering article about how casinos are using hi-tech behavioral profiling of its customers to maximize patron engagement. Nearly 70% of casino-goers participate in loyalty programs which require them to use player cards instead of coins, paper money, or tickets. This have given casinos the opportunity to do something…

io9 George Dvorsky

What disease did Sybil, the world’s most famous multiple-personality patient, actually have?

Sybil, the book supposedly based on a real case study, made the concept of multiple personality disorder world-famous, and launched a pop culture phenomenon. The only trouble is, it’s based on a woman who didn’t actually have multiple personalities. What diagnosis did she actually have? Sybil is arguably the most famous work about multiple personality…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Would the word association test we saw in the Skyfall trailer actually work?

In the trailer for Skyfall, the new James Bond movie, 007 sits in an interrogation room blurting out answers to a word-association test, while his superiors gravely watch. What psychological insights do these people hope to gain from this — other than finding the limits of Bond’s patience? Find out the rationale behind these word…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Exposure to Awesome Things Makes You a Better Person

“Awesome” is a word which is thrown around liberally these days. But a new study suggests that things that inspire awe—that is, a feeling of respect mixed with fear or wonder—actually help make you a better person. The research, carried out at Stanford University by Melanie Rudd, shows that a sense of awe expands people’s…

Health Jamie Condliffe

Exercise Will Not Make You Happy

Even though your morning jog may give you a brief high, don’t assume that working out can make you happy in the long-term. A new study suggests that however much exercise you do, it won’t help reduce the symptoms of depression. The research, which is published in the British Medical Journal, runs counter to many…

Health Jamie Condliffe

Jerusalem Syndrome: How to Psychoanalyze a Messiah

What do you do when someone suddenly decides that they’re the next messiah? Jerusalem Syndrome is a fairly well-known phenomenon. It happens when otherwise normal people suddenly become sure they’re the chosen one — often while they’re visiting Jerusalem. And there are actual specialists in this particular medical area. Find out how they treat the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Scientists prove that a goatee makes you look evil

You can’t be a decent evil twin without bushy, severely slanted eyebrows, and a nice pointy goatee. But why do we read these features as so very diabolical? A study explains that it all has to do with the geometry of evil. Dr Derrick Watson and Dr Elisabeth Blagrove of the Unversity of Warwick have…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

If You’re Fat, Your Friends Will Always See You That Way

For many people, a decision to lose weight isn’t just made because of the obvious health advantages, but to change the way people think about them. So it’s a shame that new research suggest that, in the minds of friends and family, a fat person is always fat, regardless of how much weight they lose.…

Health Jamie Condliffe

Men With Aggressive Faces Are Secretly Selfless

Looks can be deceptive. If you want some proof, consider a new study which analyzes the actions of aggressive-looking males. Turns out, men with angry, violent faces are actually far more likely to makes sacrifices for their close friends. The research, carried out by a pair of psychologists at St Andrews University, Scotland and published…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

The best scenes from the most demented German children’s book ever published

If you possess any sort of fluency in the German language, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered children’s author Heinrich Hoffman’s 1845 bedtime classic Struwwelpeter. In this collection of morality tales, children are — with gleeful abandon — immolated, humiliated, and mutilated by men with giant scissors. Pleasant dreams, everyone! Unlike, say, Aesop’s Fables, in…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Scientific Proof That Everyone Lies

Many of us like to think that we’re honest, upstanding individuals and that it’s a minority of society that actually lowers itself to lying and cheating. But researchers are finding that, actually, we’re not as virtuous as we think—and we all lie a little to make things swing in our favor. Dan Ariely, a professor…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

The Technique that Silicon Valley Geeks are Using to Hack the Voices Inside Their Heads

How Depressed People Use the Internet

This fleet-footed duckling is the most adorable thing you’ll see this week

Uh, don’t criticize people for saying “Um,” “Uh,” and “Like”

How Scientists Communicate With Coma Victims

How Facebook Uses You as Part of a Giant Sociological Experiment

Your Workout Motivation Could Soon Come in Pill Form

Why Smart People Are Actually Dumb

Could a single pill make you fearless?

The reason casinos track your behavior? To lure you into gambling too much

What disease did Sybil, the world’s most famous multiple-personality patient, actually have?

Would the word association test we saw in the Skyfall trailer actually work?

Exposure to Awesome Things Makes You a Better Person

Exercise Will Not Make You Happy

Jerusalem Syndrome: How to Psychoanalyze a Messiah

Scientists prove that a goatee makes you look evil

If You’re Fat, Your Friends Will Always See You That Way

Men With Aggressive Faces Are Secretly Selfless

The best scenes from the most demented German children’s book ever published

Scientific Proof That Everyone Lies

Up to $1,550 Off on pCloud: Pay Once, Protect Data Forever for World Backup Day

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Let us help find what you are looking for...