Social life
Love takes on many shapes and forms; it can move mountains, remain unrequited, or last a lifetime. It has the power to make us feel like the happiest person in the world, but also the saddest. Arguably the most powerful emotion of all, love can largely be explained by what happens in our brains. But can it really be reduced to biochemical signals?
Whether it is your sister’s birthday or your parents’ anniversary, the search for the perfect gift begins! But what actually happens in our minds when we give a gift? And is it really true that giving gifts makes us happier than receiving?
Winter’s long nights and short days already challenge our sleep cycles. Add blue light from screens and artificial lighting into the mix, and your circadian rhythm can spiral into chaos. Here’s a quick dive into why blue light disrupts sleep more during winter and what you can do about it.
Stereotypes help us navigate social situations, but they can also mislead us. What happens when our assumptions clash with reality? Using a unique communication game, researchers reveal how feedback reshapes our behavior and how early experiences influence our ability to adapt.
The Internet is packed with content aimed at grabbing your attention, because attention is the internet’s currency. You may have noticed that posts that provoke negative reactions often generate a lot of engagement on social media. I try to figure out why.
The book Surrounded by Idiots tries to explain human behavior by dividing people into four color-coded categories, but completely lacks validity. You are not surrounded by idiots, and let’s now also make sure you are not being the idiot yourself.
What makes a joke funny? What goes on in our brains when we produce or conceive a joke?
As I was walking through the streets of Manhattan, I experienced what I call the “Times Square effect”: too many things to sense at once. It put me in this contemplation state where I am both fascinated and overwhelmed by my surroundings.
On March 14, the world-famous primatologist Frans de Waal passed away. His primate research not only expanded our knowledge of chimpanzees and bonobos, but also revealed fascinating insights about the most peculiar of apes: humans. Here, we show three lessons we learned from Frans de Waal.
Robert Frost beautifully sets the context through his poem for this article, “Two roads diverged