Psychology news

• Can you acquire courage?

  08-02-2026 15:00
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts• This week’s replies: why does a song sometimes get stuck in our heads – and what makes an earworm?Is it possible to acquire courage if you don’t have it? I was moved this week by the story of the Australian boy who swam to land for several hours in rough seas to raise the alarm that his mother an
  
  Read more

• Trump's EPA Sued Over Repeal of Landmark Climate Finding

  19-02-2026 14:56 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisMore than a dozen health and environmental justice nonprofits have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its rollback of the legal finding that previously laid the foundation for U.S. federal climate regulations. Filed in Washington, DC, circuit court, the lawsuit challenges the EPA's repeal of the "endangerment finding," which states that the buildup of heat-trapping pollution in the atmosphere endangers public health and...
  
  Read more

• Workers Restore the Philadelphia President's House Slavery Exhibit

  19-02-2026 14:55 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourWorkers on Thursday began restoring an exhibit on the lives of nine enslaved people at former President George Washington's House in Philadelphia amid a legal fight between the city and the Trump administration. In her 40-page opinion, Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe compared President Donald Trump's administration to the totalitarian regime in the dystopian novel "1984," which revised historical records to align with its narrative.
  
  Read more

• Microsoft Pledges $50 Billion to Counter Global AI Divide

  19-02-2026 14:55 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsMicrosoft announced Wednesday that it's allocating $50 billion over the next 10 years to combat artificial intelligence inequality in low-income nations. The company said it intends to bridge the AI divide among nations and ensure equal access to its potential benefits. Company officials revealed its plan at the AI Impact Summit in India. Microsoft said the Global North had nearly twice the amount of AI diffusion than the Global South at the end...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Climate Change Is Accelerating But Nature Seems to Be Slowing Down

  19-02-2026 14:54 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top NewsAs the planet warms, many scientists had expected ecosystems to change faster and faster. Instead, a massive global study suggests that species turnover has slowed by about one-third since the 1970s. As described in a new report published in Nature Communications, this unexpected slowdown may signal something alarming: ecosystems losing the biodiversity needed to remain responsive to external changes in habitat.
  
  Read more

• Meta No Longer Designs Apps to Maximize Screentime, CEO Claims

  19-02-2026 14:52 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Top Stories NewsDuring a Wednesday court appearance, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back on a lawyer's suggestion that he had misled Congress about the design of the company's social media platforms, as ‌a landmark trial over youth social media addiction continues. Zuckerberg was questioned on the statements he gave to Congress during a 2024 hearing, when he said the company did not give its teams the goal of maximizing time spent on its apps.
  
  Read more

• AI Breakthrough Could Replace Rare Earth Magnets in Electric Vehicles

  19-02-2026 14:52 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top NewsScientists have unleashed artificial intelligence to dramatically speed up the hunt for next-generation magnetic materials. By building a massive, searchable database of 67,573 magnetic compounds—including 25 newly recognized materials that stay magnetic even at high temperatures—the team is opening the door to cheaper, more sustainable technologies. The new resource, called the Northeast Materials Database, was reported in the journal...
  
  Read more

• "Hallmark of Genocide" Found in Sudan, U.N. Report Concludes

  19-02-2026 14:51 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Nations NewsIn a report released Thursday, a United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed in Sudan last year: "killing members of a protected ethnic group; causing serious bodily and mental harm; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction." Genocidal intent, the report said, was "the only reasonable inference" from what took place.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Dr. Maria Hernandez-Lopez Named an Honored Member by P.O.W.E.R. (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized)

  19-02-2026 09:00 via pr.com
  Dr. Maria Hernandez-Lopez of South Pasadena, California, has been named an Honored Member by P.O.W.E.R. (Professional Organization of Women of Excellence Recognized) for her outstanding contributions and great success in the field of psychiatry. She will be featured in a full-page article in the upcoming spring 2026 issue of P.O.W.E.R. Magazine.About Dr. Maria Hernandez-Lopez Dr. Maria Hernandez-Lopez is a psychiatrist [PR.com]
  
  Read more

• Inside voice: what can our thoughts reveal about the nature of consciousness?

  19-02-2026 06:00
  Scientists and philosophers studying the mind have discovered how little we know about our inner experiencesWhat was I thinking? This is not as easy or straightforward a question as I would have thought. As soon as you try to record and categorise the contents of your consciousness – the sense impressions, feelings, words, images, daydreams, mind-​wanderings, ruminations, deliberations, observations, opinions, intuitions and occasional insights – you encounter far more question
  
  Read more

• U.S. Judge Orders Reinstatement of Washington Slavery Exhibit

  17-02-2026 07:24 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: DW- top storiesA federal judge has ruled that an exhibit about people enslaved by George Washington, the first president of the United States, must be temporarily restored at Washington's former home in Philadelphia. In her decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe said that all materials must be restored in their original condition and compared Trump administration's efforts to sanitize history to Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's dystopian...
  
  Read more

• "Daunting But Doable": Europe Urged to Prepare for 3C of Global Heating

  17-02-2026 07:24 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisKeeping Europe safe from extreme weather "is not rocket science," a top researcher has said, as the EU's climate advisory board urges countries to prepare for a catastrophic 3C of global heating. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change describes current efforts to adapt to rising temperatures as "insufficient, largely incremental [and] often coming too late" and suggests preparing for a world 2.8-3.3C hotter than preindustrial...
  
  Read more

• Report Dismisses Claims That AI Can Help Fix Climate As Greenwashing

  17-02-2026 07:11 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisThe claim that generative AI can help avert climate breakdown—made by several tech companies—is largely empty, according to a new report. The research, commissioned by nonprofits including Beyond Fossil Fuels and Climate Action Against Disinformation, did not find a single example where popular tools such as Google's Gemini or Microsoft's Copilot were leading to a "material, verifiable, and substantial" reduction in planet-heating emissions.
  
  Read more

• Glacier Grafting: How an Indigenous Art Is Countering Water Scarcity

  17-02-2026 07:11 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraAs Pakistan grapples with the effects of rising temperatures that are melting its glaciers, residents in the country's high-altitude Himalayan region have adopted a traditional technique that dates back to the 14th century, known as glacier grafting, to counter water scarcity. Pakistan, home to an estimated 13,000 glaciers, ranks among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations, even though it contributes less than one percent of global...
  
  Read more

• Why Some Kids Struggle with Math Even When They Try Hard

  15-02-2026 17:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyA new study has found that math struggles may be about more than numbers. Children who had difficulty with math were less likely to change their thinking after making mistakes during number comparison tasks. Similarly, brain imaging showed weaker activity in regions that help monitor errors and guide behavioral changes. The results suggest that math difficulties may not only be about understanding numbers but about detecting errors and trying...
  
  Read more

• Dementia Risk Reduced by 25% With Specific Type of Brain Exercise

  15-02-2026 17:13 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthResults from a randomized clinical trial reveal that a specific type of cognitive exercise can significantly reduce the risk of dementia. The study, which followed nearly 3,000 older adults for 20 years, found that with less than 24 hours of "speed of processing" training—exercises designed to sharpen visual attention and reaction time—people were 25% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia well into their 80s and 90s, compared to a...
  
  Read more

• Readers reply: can you acquire courage?

  15-02-2026 15:00
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions ponders how to overcome fear and do what is neededThis week’s question: what would be the most socially useful way to spend a billion dollars?Is it possible to acquire courage if you don’t have it? I was moved by the recent story of the Australian boy who swam to land for several hours in rough waters to raise the alarm that his mother and siblings had been swept out to sea. Despite his exhaustion, he then
  
  Read more

• ‘You think: Do I really need anyone?’ – the hidden burden of being a hyper-independent person

  15-02-2026 06:00
  Self-reliance is often encouraged over asking others for help in the modern world. But doing everything yourself can be a sign that you are scared of intimacyWhen a relative was seriously ill and in intensive care for more than a month, Cianne Jones stepped in. “I took it upon myself to be that person in the hospital every single day – chasing doctors, taking notes, making sure I understood why they were doing things.” It was so stressful, she says, that at one point her hair s
  
  Read more

• U.S. Pressures Vanuatu Over ICJ’s Landmark Climate Change Ruling

  14-02-2026 06:28 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraThe United States is urging governments to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change. A U.S. government cable says the Trump administration "strongly objects" to the proposed resolution being circulated by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in support of last year's ruling by the ICJ—the UN's...
  
  Read more

• Trump Calls Climate Change Threat to Public Health "a Scam"

  14-02-2026 06:28 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourThe White House revoked a scientific finding Thursday that climate change is a danger to public health, an idea President Donald Trump called "a scam." But repeated scientific studies have documented the harm. Again and again, research has found increasing disease and deaths—thousands every year—in a warming world. For example, a 2021 study in Nature Climate Change estimated that over a third of heat deaths in 43 countries were due to...
  
  Read more

• Oxylon Wellness Announces Grand Opening Event & Partnership with RennerVation Foundation

  12-02-2026 20:56 via pr.com
  Oxylon Wellness will officially launch on March 24, 2026, celebrating its mission to advance oxygen-based wellness while announcing a philanthropic partnership with Jeremy Renner’s RennerVation Foundation to support and empower youth. [PR.com]
  
  Read more

• U.S. Report Finds Children With Mental Health Diagnoses Often Incarcerated

  12-02-2026 10:52 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: NPRA new bipartisan report from Congress has raised the alarm about children with mental health conditions being held in juvenile detention, rather than getting treatment. "Prolonged Incarceration of Children Due to Mental Health Care Shortages," released Thursday, found that dozens of juvenile detention centers in 25 states reported holding children weeks or months as they awaited space at long-term psychiatric treatment facilities.
  
  Read more

• Depression and Other Disorders May Share Common Genetic Roots

  12-02-2026 10:51 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: APA PsycPORT™: Psychology NewswirePsychiatric disorders can share common genetic influences, which means parts of DNA can be at the root of more than one mental condition, new research has found. The study, based on DNA data from 6 million people and published in Nature, could explain why many mental health conditions occur together. "By uncovering shared genetic roots, we can start thinking about treatments that target multiple disorders," said one of the authors in a press...
  
  Read more

• Trump Orders Pentagon to Buy Electricity Generated by Coal

  12-02-2026 10:45 via socialpsychology.org
  Source:Al JazeeraU.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity generated by coal—his latest effort to boost demand for the fossil fuel amid its declining cost competitiveness and climate change concerns. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump directed the U.S. Department of Defense to enter into long-term purchase agreements with coal-fired plants and prioritize the "preservation and strategic utilization" of "coal-based...
  
  Read more

• Dissociation Is Not the Coping Mechanism It's Assumed to Be

  12-02-2026 10:45 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Association for Psychological SciencePeople often use the term "dissociating" to mean zoning out or distracting oneself from the troubles of the world or their personal situation—a coping mechanism useful in times of stress. But to psychological scientists, dissociating refers to something more extreme. Most adults experience little to no dissociation, but it's frequently reported in clinical populations, according to an upcoming journal article in Clinical Psychological Science.
  
  Read more

• Vance Deleted Message Referring to "Armenian Genocide." Here's Why.

  12-02-2026 10:37 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: PBS News HourU.S. Vice President JD Vance's team posted and then deleted a message on social media about the Republican's visit to a memorial paying tribute to early 20th century Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire. The issue was the post using the term "Armenian genocide," a designation the U.S. government historically has not used for what happened—except for the Biden administration. The White House blamed the post on a staff mistake.
  
  Read more

• Instagram CEO Denies Social Media App Can Be "Clinically Addictive"

  12-02-2026 10:37 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Google News - HealthAdam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, testified Wednesday that he does not think users can be "clinically addicted" to the social media app. Mosseri is the first executive to testify in the landmark social media addiction trial against YouTube and Instagram parent company Meta in a suit brought by a now 20-year-old woman who alleges the companies intentionally developed addictive features to hook young users, which she claims harmed her mental...
  
  Read more

• Psychiatric drugs aren’t always the answer | Letter

  11-02-2026 17:48
  Talking therapies have made huge progress and should be more widely available, writes Ann Marie TaylorYes, there has been a shocking lack of progress in developing transformative psychiatric medicine (We need new drugs for mental ill-health, 5 February), but this may be because in mental health, drugs are not always the answer (see, for example, Richard P Bentall’s Doctoring the Mind).Huge progress has been made in the effectiveness of talking therapies – for example, free effec
  
  Read more

• EPA to End "Endangerment Finding" and Funding to Protect Climate

  11-02-2026 11:58 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsU.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials say they will be ending a 2009 declaration that says climate change is a danger to public health. Revoking "the endangerment finding"—which is expected to happen this week—removes the EPA's statutory authority to regulate motor vehicle emissions that was provided by the Clean Air Act of 1970, an EPA spokesperson told The Hill. Under that act, the EPA regulates vehicle emissions thought to..
  
  Read more

• This Bedroom Temperature Could Help Older Adults Sleep With Less Stress

  11-02-2026 11:57 via socialpsychology.org
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA cooler bedroom might be better for older sleepers than previously thought. Researchers found that keeping nighttime temperatures at 75°F reduced stress responses and helped the heart work more efficiently during sleep. Hot nights usually force the heart to work harder, interfering with recovery. As climate change drives warmer nights, this small adjustment could make a big difference.
  
  Read more

Follow @PsychologyUKnws on Twitter!