Psychology news

• Second Pregnancy Changes the Brain in Surprising New Ways

  13-07-2026 07:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers have found that every pregnancy rewires the brain in its own way, with a second pregnancy bringing a different pattern of changes than the first. This finding, reported in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to better treatments of maternal mental health challenges, including peripartum depression. The study also identified links between structural changes in the brain and peripartum depression during both first and second...
  
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• Why Many People Say an Apology for the Slave Trade Is Not Enough

  13-07-2026 07:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraFor many descendants of enslaved Africans, a formal apology for the transatlantic slave trade is inadequate. As calls for reparations gain momentum, they say an apology without meaningful action cannot counter generations of injustice. The debate is receiving global attention after the "Next Steps" conference on slavery and reparatory justice, held in Accra June 17-19, brought together heads of state, policymakers, legal experts, and civil...
  
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• Scientists May Have Solved Mystery of Earth's Largest Mass Extinction

  13-07-2026 07:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top NewsWhy do beaches today have seashells from clams and snails instead of brachiopods? A new study suggests that the answer lies in Earth's greatest mass extinction, when warming oceans and falling oxygen levels wiped out animals that couldn't adapt. Species with body plans and metabolisms better suited to the changing conditions survived and went on to dominate the seas, offering a glimpse of how modern marine life could respond to climate change.
  
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• Gray Whales Facing "Catastrophic" Depletion From Climate Crisis

  13-07-2026 07:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisClimate change is driving a gray whale "catastrophic mortality event" in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the whales starve, environmental groups warn. Meanwhile, ship strikes, oil spills, and microplastic pollution are also likely contributing to a die-off that has nearly halved the whales' estimated population. The population has fallen from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 in 2026, and the deaths appear to be...
  
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• Earliest Right-Handedness Emerged 550 Million Years Ago, Fossil Suggests

  13-07-2026 07:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthScientists have uncovered what may be the earliest evidence of "right-handedness" in the animal kingdom, dating back more than half a billion years. The discovery comes from the fossil record of Spriggina floundersi, an organism that lived about 550 million years ago. These new findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggest that the origins of left-right asymmetry in animals evolved far earlier than previously recognized.
  
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• School Smartphone Bans Don't Boost Student Mental Health, Study Finds

  12-07-2026 15:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostSchools around the world are increasingly restricting phone use. The hope is that limiting access to smartphones during the school day will reduce distractions, improve behavior, protect students from online harms, and support learning. Some schools even ban smart phones from the premises. Yet a new study, published in BMJ Mental Health, finds that smartphone restrictions do not appear to meaningfully improve pupils' quality of life or mental...
  
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• Trump's Pivot on Face Masks Changed Republican Behavior, Not Beliefs

  12-07-2026 15:42 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostWhen public health crises occur, people must first be persuaded that a medical intervention works before they'll adopt it, right? Actually, a large study published in the American Sociological Review challenges this assumption. By tracking reactions to former President Donald Trump's unexpected endorsement of face masks in 2020, the study found that President Trump's supporters readily adopted the behavior without altering their private beliefs.
  
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• U.N. Probe Finds Mass Killings, Gang Rapes in Sudan Amount to Genocide

  09-07-2026 09:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraSudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed genocide in the city of el-Fasher, carrying out mass killings, gang rapes, and starvation as part of an intentional policy, a United Nations investigation has found. The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan released its findings Wednesday, concluding that the RSF's systematic campaign of violence against civilians amounted to genocide, building on a February report that identified hallmarks of the...
  
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• Study Challenges Major Assumption About Why We Bond With Our Friends

  09-07-2026 09:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostA new study suggests that friends tend to have slightly similar personalities, but simply being alike does not do a good job of predicting friendship satisfaction. For that, what matters more is whether friends possess generally positive traits. The findings, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, suggest that how people perceive the quality of their friends' personalities is more important than strict personality...
  
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• The Dark Side of Weight Loss Drugs: Ozempic's Surprising Hidden Cost

  07-07-2026 17:04 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyGLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are often celebrated as game-changing solutions, but new research reveals a surprising social twist. People who lose weight using these medications may actually face more judgment than those who lose weight through diet and exercise—or even those who don't lose weight at all. The stigma seems rooted in a perception that these drugs are an "easy way out," which in practice is often far from the...
  
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• Chatbots Can Help Perpetuate Stigma About Certain Health Conditions

  07-07-2026 17:04 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: SciencePeople with certain illnesses—such as schizophrenia, depression, and AIDS—can face stigma that makes it harder to get a job, receive medical care, or just interact with others. Now, a study published this week in Nature Health finds such health conditions can trigger subtle but potentially damaging discrimination from another source: artificial intelligence chatbots. The results suggest that AI may perpetuate—rather than...
  
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• Conflict, Climate Change, Cash-Strapped: Why Poverty Persists

  07-07-2026 17:03 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesOne in ten people remain in extreme poverty, over two billion face moderate or severe food insecurity, and the number affected by climate-related disasters has more than doubled since 2015. That's according to data from the United Nations published in a report today. Although the international community agreed more than a decade ago adopt goals such as ending hunger by 2030—and progress has been made regarding some goals—many other areas are...
  
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• What Do Human Thinking and AI Have to Offer Each Other?

  07-07-2026 09:38 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Association for Psychological ScienceThe Association for Psychological Science has released a special issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science on the intersection of psychology and AI. Public debates often frame AI as a rival to human intelligence—something that will eventually outperform and perhaps replace humans. The authors in this journal issue largely reject that framing, however, envisioning complementary intelligences and intellectual partnerships that deepen...
  
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• Trump Administration Can Remove History and Climate Info, Court Rules

  07-07-2026 09:38 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisThe Trump administration does not have to reinstate materials related to climate change, immigration and slavery that it has removed from national parks, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday. It's the latest twist in a legal battle over how history is remembered at American public monuments.
  
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• From AI to "Killer Robots": U.N. Chief Issues Urgent Governance Call

  07-07-2026 09:38 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Nations NewsU.N. chief António Guterres appealed Monday for far-reaching worldwide controls on AI. Addressing the inaugural U.N. Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, he asked that safety come first, especially when it comes to protecting children from manipulation and abuse. The President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, also urged collective action, noting that a reported 99% of deepfakes are sexual in nature, and 96% target women and...
  
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• Does a Reliance on AI Weaken Our Cognitive Skills?

  02-07-2026 13:05 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorIn many areas of work and life, generative AI tools offer such great gains in efficiency that using them is hard to resist, which raises a question: Will relying on AI weaken our cognitive skills, or can it enhance them? While early research suggested that certain skills might weaken, recent studies paint a more complex picture. Passive use can lead to skill decay, but more structured, deliberate use may actually boost critical thinking and...
  
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• APA to Launch the Center for Behavioral Science and AI

  02-07-2026 13:04 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA MonitorArtificial intelligence is developing at a pace that few of us fully anticipated—reshaping how we work, how we learn, how we relate to one another, and how we make decisions that affect millions of lives. And yet, in the rush to build faster, smarter, and more capable systems, something critical has been missing: the science of human behavior. To help fill that gap, the American Psychological Association is launching the Center for Behavioral...
  
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• America 500? What the U.S. Will Look Like in Another 250 Years

  02-07-2026 13:04 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsJust four years after he signed the Declaration of Independence—but before the colonies would win the war that granted their freedom—Benjamin Franklin was already thinking about the future. Franklin wrote a letter in 1780 to his close friend Joseph Priestley, the scientist who discovered oxygen, lamenting being born at the beginning of the scientific revolution. He dreamed not just of what the U.S. and world would look like in 250 years but...
  
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• Scientists Find Surprising Connection Between Vitamin C and Brain Health

  02-07-2026 08:26 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthCould something as simple as vitamin C help support a healthier aging brain? In a study of more than 2,000 older adults in Japan, researchers found that people with lower vitamin C levels in their blood also tended to have less gray matter and weaker connections in a key brain network involved in memory, attention, and other cognitive functions. The results were published on June 10 in the open access journal PLOS One.
  
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• Nearly 3 in 4 U.S. Scam Victims Report Mental Health Harm, Poll Finds

  02-07-2026 08:26 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraA tenth of adults in the U.S. directly or indirectly experienced a scam last year, adversely affecting their financial and emotional well-being, according to a new Gallup poll. The report by Gallup released on Tuesday indicated that 6% of U.S. adults were personally scammed in 2025, and 4% experienced a scam indirectly, with someone in their household affected. Gallup noted that scams can also leave victims more cautious and less likely to shop...
  
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• Huge Study Links Teen Marijuana Use to Serious Mental Illness

  02-07-2026 08:26 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthTeens who use cannabis may face a substantially greater risk of developing serious mental health conditions, including psychotic and bipolar disorders, according to a study of more than 463,000 adolescents. Researchers found cannabis use often preceded these diagnoses by nearly two years, strengthening concerns about its long-term effects on developing brains. The results appear in the journal JAMA Health Forum.
  
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• Brain Activity Under Anesthesia Challenges Theories of Consciousness

  02-07-2026 08:26 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Social Psychology The unconscious brain appears to be far more capable than commonly thought. Scientists have now found that patients under general anesthesia can still process language—distinguishing nouns, verbs, and adjectives while listening to stories. Even more remarkably, neural activity shows signs of predicting upcoming words before they are heard. The results challenge traditional ideas about consciousness and hint at new possibilities for...
  
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• Advocates Warn That Trump Actions May Signal Loss of Disability Rights

  02-07-2026 08:26 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS EducationFor decades, disabled people in the U.S. have fought for their rights to go to school and live alongside peers without disabilities—rights that may be losing ground under the Trump administration. Recently, the Department of Education announced it would shift oversight of special education to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, whose views on the limits of disabilities such as autism have drawn sharp rebukes from advocates and lawmakers.
  
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• U.S. High Court Says States Can Ban Transgender Girls From Girls' Sports

  01-07-2026 16:58 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states can ban transgender girls from participating in girls' sports at publicly funded schools. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion that upheld laws in Idaho and West Virginia. He rejected arguments that transgender athlete restrictions discriminate on sex or gender identity. "May schools determine eligibility for women's and girls' sports based on biological sex? The answer is yes,"...
  
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• Spain Heat Wave Kills Over 1,000 in Hottest First Six Months Ever

  01-07-2026 16:58 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesMore than 1,000 people died from heat-related causes during the recent heat wave in Spain, as the country recorded its hottest first half of the year on record, officials said on Wednesday. This number was more than double the 407 recorded in June 2025. The recent heat wave, which scorched much of Europe, was the continent's most severe on record. Experts say human-induced climate change is to blame.
  
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• U.S. Top Court Backs Birthright Citizenship in Rebuke to Trump

  01-07-2026 10:31 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship is unlawful. In one of the most consequential decisions this year, the court ruled 6-3 to preserve the right to U.S. citizenship for nearly everyone born on U.S. soil. Trump issued his order on ⁠the first day of his second term last ⁠year as part of a range of policies aimed at cracking down on immigration, both legal and illegal.
  
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• German Heat Wave Is Over; Political Fallout Has Just Begun

  01-07-2026 10:24 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesThis past weekend saw recording-breaking temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Germany. These are life-threatening situations for residents of retirement homes, nursing homes, and hospitals with little or no air conditioning. Yet Germany doesn't have any national heat protection regulations that would require cooling systems in such facilities, despite a long history of expert warnings, which has now become a political issue.
  
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• Europe's "Most Severe" Heatwave Due to Climate Change, Says Report

  26-06-2026 15:18 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraThe historic heatwave gripping Europe is part of a dangerous weather trend that can only be explained by human-caused climate change, say scientists from a highly respected international group. The extreme temperatures sweeping across Europe mark the region's "most severe" heatwave ever tracked for the month and would have been "virtually impossible" half a century ago, the World Weather Attribution group said in a report released on Friday.
  
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• More Than Pride: Japan's Turning Point for LGBTQ+ Rights

  26-06-2026 11:24 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Global VoicesTokyo's Rainbow Pride festival this June has become more than a celebratory festival of visibility. The atmosphere is now electrified as the Japanese Supreme Court is expected to issue its first unified constitutional ruling on same-sex marriage, and LGBTQ+ communities are taking to the streets to push for equal rights to marriage with the slogan: "May love prevail in the Supreme Court" (最高裁で愛が勝つ).
  
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• One in Six Babies in England Live in Overheated Homes, Analysis Finds

  25-06-2026 07:56 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisOne in six babies in England live in overheated homes, causing sleep disruption and serious health risks, according to new analysis. The National Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing found that more than 70,000 babies are living in overly hot homes as climate change drives record temperatures across the country. A rare red warning for extreme heat was issued for parts of England and Wales this week, with hundreds of schools...
  
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