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The Thank-You Letter You Keep Not Writing Is Worth More Than You Think
Gratitude journals deliver less than the hype. A short letter you never send may be the exception, and you can test it in a week.
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Relationships
Love, friendship, family and the everyday dynamics between people.
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Anxious, Avoidant or Secure? What Your Attachment Quiz Gets Wrong
Online quizzes promise to name your attachment style in five minutes. The science behind them is real, but it says…
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Do Opposites Really Attract? A Century of Couples Says Mostly Not
Films and fridge magnets say opposites attract. Data on thousands of couples tells a different, more interesting story.
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Why Being Ghosted Hurts So Much: What Psychologists Know About the Silence
No row, no reason, just nothing. Research on ostracism explains why ghosting stings, why people do it, and how to…
Psychology
How people think, feel and behave, explained through research and real life.
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The Dunning-Kruger Effect Is Real, but Not the Way the Internet Draws It
The famous “Mount Stupid” curve isn’t in the original study. Here’s what Kruger and Dunning actually found, and what statisticians…
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The Bystander Effect: Why the Famous Story Is Only Half True
The 38 silent witnesses to Kitty Genovese’s murder were largely a myth. The science of bystanders is more hopeful, and…
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Why the Song You Hated in March Is Your Favourite by June
Repetition quietly rewires taste. Fifty years of mere exposure research explain why songs grow on you, and why some never…
Worth your time
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Does a Cluttered Home Make You Stressed? A Room-by-Room Look at the Science
From the hallway to the desk, what researchers have actually found about clutter, cortisol, snacking and sleep, and…
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Do You Really Need 10,000 Steps a Day? What the Research Actually Shows
The famous target began life as a pedometer name. Here is what five big studies say about the…
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Do Opposites Really Attract? A Century of Couples Says Mostly Not
Films and fridge magnets say opposites attract. Data on thousands of couples tells a different, more interesting story.
Modern Life
Work, technology, money habits and the way we live now.
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Multitasking Is Mostly a Myth, but 1 in 40 People Might Be the Exception
Follow an ordinary workday through 25 years of research on task switching, phones and the rare “supertaskers” who seem to…
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Do You Really Need 10,000 Steps a Day? What the Research Actually Shows
The famous target began life as a pedometer name. Here is what five big studies say about the step count…
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What Happens When People Quit Social Media? Five Experiments, One by One
Researchers have paid people to log off, cut them to 10 minutes a day and switched them off before an…
Self-Growth
Habits, confidence, resilience and building a life that fits.
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The Thank-You Letter You Keep Not Writing Is Worth More Than You Think
Gratitude journals deliver less than the hype. A short letter you never send may be the exception, and you can…
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The Women Who Named Imposter Syndrome Never Wanted It Called a Syndrome
Two psychologists described it in 1978 as an experience, not an illness. How common is it really, who gets it,…
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Pen or Laptop? Putting a Decade of Note-Taking Research on Trial
One 2014 study told students to ditch the laptop. Then the replications, meta-analyses and brain scans arrived. Here is what…
Style & Living
Style, home and the small rituals that shape how we live.
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Does Your Wall Colour Change Your Mood? The Strange Story of ‘Drunk Tank Pink’
A pink prison cell, a famous red-versus-blue study and a paint chart full of promises. What colour science can and…
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Does a Cluttered Home Make You Stressed? A Room-by-Room Look at the Science
From the hallway to the desk, what researchers have actually found about clutter, cortisol, snacking and sleep, and where the…
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Does Wearing Red Make You More Attractive? The Rise and Fall of the Red Effect
In 2008, psychologists said red made women more attractive to men. Then the replications came in. Here is what survived,…
Recently updated
Stories our editors have revisited with new research, figures and sources.
More stories
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The Bystander Effect: Why the Famous Story Is Only Half True
The 38 silent witnesses to Kitty Genovese’s murder were largely a myth. The science of bystanders is more hopeful, and…
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The Women Who Named Imposter Syndrome Never Wanted It Called a Syndrome
Two psychologists described it in 1978 as an experience, not an illness. How common is it really, who gets it,…
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Pen or Laptop? Putting a Decade of Note-Taking Research on Trial
One 2014 study told students to ditch the laptop. Then the replications, meta-analyses and brain scans arrived. Here is what…
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Does a Cluttered Home Make You Stressed? A Room-by-Room Look at the Science
From the hallway to the desk, what researchers have actually found about clutter, cortisol, snacking and sleep, and where the…
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Do You Really Need 10,000 Steps a Day? What the Research Actually Shows
The famous target began life as a pedometer name. Here is what five big studies say about the step count…
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Do Opposites Really Attract? A Century of Couples Says Mostly Not
Films and fridge magnets say opposites attract. Data on thousands of couples tells a different, more interesting story.