Revenge Bedtime Procrastination: The Science of Stealing Back Your Night
Staying up late to reclaim time the day took from you has a name, and a growing body of research. Here is why we do it and what genuinely helps.
The Shrinking Circle: How Many Close Friends Adults Really Have, and Why It Matters
Fewer close friends and less time together: decades of survey data from the US and Britain reveal how adult friendship is changing, and how to push back.
The Messy Desk Myth: What Really Happened When Scientists Tested Clutter and Creativity
A famous study said a messy room makes you more creative. A larger replication, a crisis in psychology and a misattributed Einstein quote tell a different story.
Can 36 Questions Make Two Strangers Fall in Love? The Science Behind the Viral Experiment
A list of questions from a 1997 psychology study became a worldwide dating phenomenon. Here is what the research actually found about how closeness is built.
Why Endings Matter So Much: Inside the Peak-End Rule
Your memory of a holiday, a hospital visit or a relationship is shaped by two moments. Here is how the peak-end rule works, where it comes from and where it breaks down.
Do Power Poses Actually Work? The Rise and Fall of a Famous Idea
A two-minute pose was supposed to change your hormones and boost your confidence. Here is what happened when scientists checked.
The Stranger on the Train: Why We’re So Wrong About Talking to People We Don’t Know
We assume strangers want to be left alone. A decade of experiments, from Chicago trains to London commuters, says we have it almost exactly backwards.
Phubbing: What Happens to a Relationship When Your Partner Keeps Checking Their Phone
Almost half of adults in one study said their partner snubbed them for a phone. Here is what researchers found it does to a relationship.
Why You Forget What You Walked Into a Room For: The Doorway Effect
Walking through a doorway can make you forget why you got up. What the original experiments found, what a larger 2021 study added, and how to stop it happening.