Psychology news

• Why does a song sometimes get stuck in our heads – and what precisely makes an earworm?

  01-02-2026 15:00
  The series in which readers answer other readers’ questions explores an ancient, vexed musical conundrum• Readers reply: to shred or not to shred? Is it OK to throw out sensitive documents?I know a song that’ll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves. I know a so … you get the gist! Why does a song sometimes get stuck in our heads? (And good luck stopping this one now!) Laura Ashton, Haslemere, SurreyPost your answers (and new questions) below or send t
  
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• Ozempic and Wegovy May Have an Unexpected Mental Health Benefit

  09-09-2026 06:58 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthSemaglutide, the drug behind Ozempic and Wegovy, may have benefits that extend well beyond weight loss and diabetes. In a large Swedish study of nearly 15,000 people with bipolar disorder, its use was linked to a 21% lower risk of psychiatric hospitalization. Researchers think effects on inflammation and brain-related biological pathways could help stabilize mood, though other GLP-1 drugs did not show the same association.
  
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• UK Refuses Slavery Reparations As Jamaica Urges King to Act

  08-09-2026 08:29 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraThe United Kingdom's government has reiterated that it rejects reparations for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade as Jamaica has petitioned King Charles III over the issue. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's spokesperson said on Monday that "the UK does not and will not pay reparations." Successive British governments have refused to discuss slavery reparations despite accepting that the country significantly benefitted from the trade.
  
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• Popular Brain Supplement Linked to Shorter Lifespan in Men

  08-09-2026 08:29 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA study involving more than 270,000 people has linked higher blood levels of the amino acid tyrosine—a popular brain supplement—to a shorter lifespan in men. Using both observational data and genetic analysis, researchers concluded that elevated levels of tyrosine could potentially reduce male life expectancy by nearly a year, though no significant effect appeared in women. Tyrosine is is sold as a supplement for boosting focus and mental...
  
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• Lifestyle Program Boosted Cognition 55% More Than Basic Health Advice

  08-09-2026 08:29 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthOlder adults at risk of dementia improved their memory, thinking skills, and overall cognitive performance after taking part in two culturally adapted lifestyle programs across 11 Latin American countries, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The initiative, known as the Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline, was funded by the Alzheimer's Association and analyzed data from 1,065 people.
  
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• Huge Review Confirms Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Flourishing

  08-09-2026 08:29 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostA review of psychological research indicates that emotional intelligence has a robust and reliable connection to human flourishing, predicting success across school, work, and personal health. The findings suggest that people with higher emotional intelligence tend to experience greater well-being, though the strength of this connection depends on how the traits are measured. The research was recently published in the journal PNAS.
  
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• White House Scrubs Gender-Based Bullying From Civil Rights Survey

  07-09-2026 11:35 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourThe Trump administration this week quietly released an update to a major survey on civil rights in schools that removed all data related to nonbinary students or bullying based on gender identity. The numbers come from the Education Department's Civil Rights Data Collection, a survey of nearly every public school in the nation. The release this week covers the 2023-2024, when the survey included "nonbinary" as a gender category alongside male...
  
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• How AI Is Reshaping the U.S. Open for Players and Fans

  07-09-2026 11:30 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsSeeing fans with their phones out during a tennis match would've been a strange sight even a decade ago. But at the U.S. Open this year, the digital world has become intertwined with the game as live AI insights analyze the match. On Tuesday, when Coco Gauff faced off against Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, AI-generated analyses trickled in through the U.S. Open app, tracking key moments, each player's likelihood to win, and a new metric called "serve...
  
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• War Criminal Ratko Mladic Buried with Military Honors in Serbia

  07-09-2026 09:40 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesSeveral thousand people lined the streets of Belgrade on Monday to follow the funeral service and burial of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic. Earlier in the day, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije personally officiated at the funeral service for the former general, who died while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide in Srebrenica and other war crimes committed during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
  
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• Jamaica to File Slavery Reparations Petition During UK Visit

  07-09-2026 09:40 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraA Jamaican delegation to the UK has said it will petition King Charles III to seek legal guidance on the question of slavery reparations. This is the first time a British Commonwealth state will use this legal route "for the cause of reparatory justice," the delegation said, as the visit to London begins Monday. Jamaican officials added that they will also meet with the British Museum to discuss "the repatriation of cultural artifacts taken from...
  
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• U.S. Government Is Rolling Out AI Interviews for Some Hires

  04-09-2026 16:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsThe U.S. government, which employs nearly 2 million people, will begin using artificial intelligence in the interview process for some job applicants in the coming days, according to officials. The change came last week from the Office of Personnel Management—the government's Human Resources unit—which issued guidance nudging agencies to use AI in the hiring process, but it called for human oversight, especially in certain crucial personnel...
  
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• Global Warming Will Top 1.5-Degree Limit, U.N. Reports

  04-09-2026 16:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourIn a first-of-its-kind report issued Wednesday, the United Nations has said that Earth has lost its chance to prevent some of the worst of global warming's harms. Now, the world must figure out how to get temperatures below the danger zone and back to safety, officials warn. Earth is soon going to exceed the safe temperature threshold agreed upon by the world in the 2015 Paris climate agreement because of warming from the burning of coal, oil,...
  
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• A Focus on Appearance Increases Benevolent Sexism in Men and Women

  04-09-2026 16:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostNew research suggests that when men and women focus on their physical appearance, they tend to become more supportive of benevolent sexism. These findings indicate that everyday situations emphasizing how we look might inadvertently reinforce traditional gender roles and preserve the societal status quo. The study, published in Japanese Journal of Social Psychology, used a simulated online shopping platform to induce a focus on appearance.
  
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• Gloria Steinem, Trailblazing Figure in Women's Movement, Dies at 92

  04-09-2026 16:36 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsGloria Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. Magazine and a trailblazing figure of the women's movement in the latter half of the 20th century, died yesterday at the age of 92. Steinem "was one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality," former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday. In 2013, Steinem received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, and in 2019, the Freedom Award from the National Civil...
  
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• Mindfulness May Lower Blood Pressure in Just 8-12 Weeks

  01-09-2026 13:55 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Social Psychology Simple practices such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling, and optimism training may improve several markers of cardiovascular health within a matter of weeks. A recent study found that these psychology interventions were consistently associated with improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, and other heart disease risk factors. The study, which reviewed results from 18 randomized controlled trials, was published in the journal Cardiology...
  
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• "Slavery Is Not a Thing of the Past": UN Supports Call for Reparations

  31-08-2026 18:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Nations NewsSlavery is not just a thing of the past—its effects continue to be felt in systemic inequality and racism. This message was reiterated on Monday by the United Nations Committee against Racial Discrimination as the world marked the International Day of People of African Descent. The Committee called on countries to implement comprehensive restorative justice, combining compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, and structural reforms.
  
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• "Odyssey" Shows World Collapsing Due to Climate Change. Are We Next?

  31-08-2026 18:46 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- environmentChristopher Nolan's latest blockbuster has drawn tens of millions of viewers into a world of stormy seas and cities on fire. Minus the monsters, that world is actually based in reality. "The Odyssey"—a post-Trojan War survival story—is set during the Bronze Age collapse of civilization, and a new study links that collapse to a severe climate shift. More than 3,000 years ago, there was a drought that overlapped with the downfall of...
  
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• Why People Share Their Location Data With Friends and Family

  28-08-2026 18:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostPeople frequently track the real-time geographic movements of their close friends and family members through smartphone applications. A new survey of adults reveals that users most often share their whereabouts with romantic partners to manage practical logistics, while relying on the technology to monitor the physical safety of their parents and siblings. The findings were published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
  
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• West Point's Only Climate Scientist Fired Over Teaching Human Causes

  28-08-2026 18:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisThe only climate scientist teaching at West Point, the U.S. army's military academy, was fired after he resisted an order to stop teaching about the human causes of climate change, a lawsuit claims. Adam Kalkstein, a geography professor at the New York institution, was terminated after the spring semester this year, six months after a tense meeting with Brigadier General Shane Reeves, then dean of West Point's academic board, the court filing...
  
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• Pentagon Asks Supreme Court to Allow Ban on Trangender Troops

  28-08-2026 18:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsA federal court ruled in June that the U.S. military's attempts to remove transgender Americans were "arbitrary and based upon animus." Yet the Trump administration pushed back on Friday, asking the Supreme Court to allow the Pentagon to ban transgender people from the military. Donald Trump has targeted transgender service members since 2025 and signed an executive order saying transgender troops' health needs are "inconsistent" with military...
  
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• Forced Birth Control in Greenland Violated Women's Rights, Experts Find

  28-08-2026 18:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraGreenland is establishing a truth and reconciliation commission regarding a forced contraceptive scheme against Indigenous girls and women, after two expert reports failed to agree whether it constituted genocide. From the 1960s to the 1990s, at least 4,000 Greenlandic Inuits—including girls as young as 12—received intrauterine devices or contraceptive injections, often without their consent or knowledge, a joint Danish-Greenlandic inquiry...
  
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• Ratko Mladic, War Criminal Convicted of Srebrenica Genocide, Dies

  28-08-2026 13:03 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesMore than 30 years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), Srebrenica remains emblematic of its brutality. And no one is more closely linked to the genocide there than Ratko Mladic, who led the Bosnian Serb army and died in prison yesterday at the age of 84. Around 100,000 people were killed during the four-year war in Bosnia, while 2.2 million were driven from their homes across the country—half of its total population...
  
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• Final Report Calls OpenAI Hacking Incident a "Warning Shot"

  27-08-2026 08:01 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsOpenAI released a final report Wednesday on a July incident in which its artificial intelligence agents hacked into another company's systems, saying it sees the episode as "a warning shot" for the company and the world. The incident is "evidence that, without proper safeguards, highly capable AI agents are now able to work around technical controls, collaborate through unapproved channels and take dangerous actions that no human directed," the...
  
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• Bill Gates Issues Stark Warning About AI's Impact on Jobs and Biosecurity

  27-08-2026 08:01 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsIn a nearly 6,000-word essay released Wednesday on his personal website, Bill Gates is sounding the alarm about artificial intelligence, warning that the technology will rapidly transform the U.S. labor market and put millions of jobs at risk. AI is changing the economy much faster than previous revolutions, he says, advancing at what the Microsoft co-founder called a "mind-blowing rate" and leaving less time to prepare for employment...
  
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• Why Are European Leaders Silent After a Summer of Climate Shock?

  26-08-2026 08:14 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisDespite four heatwaves that have scorched Europe this summer—shattering temperature records, fanning unprecedented fires, and causing thousands of excess deaths—few politicians want to talk about climate action. One exception is France's radical-left firebrand, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who warned recently that the term "climate change" may sound "almost reassuring," but its actual impact will feel like "landing on another planet whenever we...
  
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• Meta Reaches $17 Billion Settlement in Social Media Addiction Case

  26-08-2026 08:14 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsMeta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will pay $17 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by 29 state attorneys general over the mental health risks posed to children by its social media platforms. Court filings on Wednesday detail changes Meta must implement to safeguard its platform for the use of minors. Those requirements include limits on daily use, blocking access at night, more parental tools, and greater proof of age standards.
  
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• Workers in China Worry Over Being Replaced by AI

  25-08-2026 17:43 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourComputer programmer Fei Zhaojun's boss asked him if artificial intelligence could soon replace humans in coding jobs. Two weeks later, he was laid off from his job in Beijing, together with about 160 colleagues. It's an increasingly common scenario as artificial intelligence reshapes China's massive job market, and it has some workers worried. Already, humanoid robots are sorting parcels in some postal centers in China.
  
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• Most Papers Claiming Sex Differences Never Compared Sexes, Study Finds

  25-08-2026 10:03 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PsyPostNew research indicates that many scientific papers claiming men and women respond differently to treatments or interventions lack strong evidence to back up those claims. When analyzing recent studies in the behavioral and brain sciences, scientists found that fewer than one in four articles properly compared male and female responses. These findings, published in PNAS, raise questions about the evidence behind medical treatments tailored to...
  
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• Australia's Music Industry Bans AI-Generated Tracks From Official Charts

  25-08-2026 09:57 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourAustralia's recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists' livelihoods, a representative said Tuesday. The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna's pop hit "Like a Prayer" created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI's place in...
  
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• A Split in the Spectrum? The Ongoing Battle to Define Autism

  23-08-2026 10:04 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthIf someone asked you to think of an autistic person, who would come to mind? The world's richest man, Elon Musk? Maybe Greta Thunberg, who says being different can be a superpower? In recent years there has been a rise in the number of people with an autism diagnosis, and the National Autistic Society says there remains "a significant underdiagnosis of autism, particularly among women and older people." Yet experts vary in how they define the...
  
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