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Variation in laughter tempo across five great ape species (orangutans, gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans): each dot represents an individual observation; color indicates phylogenetic distance (in million years ago); each square contains an image of the corresponding species, with a matching dot color for intuitive reference. Image credit: De Gregorio et al., 10.1038/s42003-026-10499-z.

New Research Traces Origins of Human Laughter

Jun 28, 2026 by Natali Anderson

The way humans laugh — in rapid, rhythmically timed bursts — is not uniquely ours. New research by the University of Warwick and the University...

Testing situation and hunters with their dogs -- examples from each of the four non-WEIRD societies: (a) pointing test in Mongolia, (b) unsolvable problem test in Vanuatu, (c) showing test in Mongolia, (d) Vanuatu, (e) Mongolia, (f) Madagascar, (g) Peru. Image credit: Bräuer et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-57657-1.

Human-Dog Bond is Ancient, Universal and Strikingly the Same Everywhere: Study

Jun 23, 2026 by News Staff

New research spanning five continents and vastly different cultures — from the steppes of Mongolia to the rainforests of the Pacific — shows...

Scatterty et al. used a combination of self-report and biological measures to demonstrate that infrasound can have irritant, and aversive properties on humans. Similarly, infrasound appears to influence increases in negative affective evaluation.

Infrasound Can Subtly Raise Stress and Discomfort, New Study Finds

Apr 27, 2026 by News Staff

New research suggests that infrasound — very low-frequency sound below 20 Hz — can increase cortisol levels and irritability, offering a scientific...

Time is an example of psychological projection. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Time is Psychological Projection, Philosopher Suggests

Nov 18, 2025 by The Conversation

In his new book ‘A Brief History of the Philosophy of Time,’ Wake Forest University’s Professor Adrian Bardon proposes that our sense of the passage...

The cases presented by Towers et al. are among the first recorded where wild killer whales (Orcinus orca) used prey and other items to instigate interactions with humans. Image credit: Towers et al., doi: 10.1037/com0000422.

Wild Killer Whales Sometimes Offer Food to Humans, Scientists Say

Jul 7, 2025 by News Staff

In a paper published online in the Journal of Comparative Psychology, marine biologists report on 34 interactions spanning two decades in which killer...

Nielsen et al. find lactose intolerance may link consuming dairy, nightmares, and poor sleep. Image credit: Micha HNBS.

Study Finds Association between Lactose Intolerance and Nightmares

Jul 1, 2025 by News Staff

In a new study, researchers questioned 1,082 students at MacEwan University about the quality of their sleep, their eating habits, and any perceived link...

The wearable patch can simultaneously and accurately track multiple emotional signals. Image credit: Yangbo Yuan / Penn State.

Newly-Developed Stretchable, Rechargeable Device Can Detect Real Emotions

Apr 23, 2025 by News Staff

The new hybrid device combines decoupled sensors with a flexible wireless powering and transmitting module for emotion recognition, according to a research...

Anauralia is the phenomenon of an absence of auditory sensory imagery -- not hearing anything in one’s inner ear. Image credit: Vat Loai.

Some People Can’t Imagine Sounds: Anauralia

Dec 19, 2024 by News Staff

Some people can’t imagine a dog barking or a police siren; songs can’t get stuck in their heads; they have no inner voices. Anauralia was proposed...

The frequency of emoji use varies across genders and relationship types. Image credit: Pete Linforth.

Study: People with Higher Emotional Intelligence Use Emojis More Frequently

Dec 5, 2024 by News Staff

Higher emotional intelligence is linked to more emoji use with friends, while avoidant attachment is associated with less emoji use with friends and dating...

Levin et al suggest that we could have more in common with our extraterrestrial neighbors than initially thought. Image credit: Fernando Ribas.

Alien Visitation Claims Are Widespread Societal Problem, Researcher Says

Sep 3, 2024 by The Conversation

Around a fifth of U.K. citizens believe Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and an estimated 7% believe that they have seen a UFO. The figures...

Zwebner et al. investigated the possibility of a self-fulfilling prophecy effect wherein individuals’ facial appearance develops over time to resemble the social stereotypes associated with given names. Image credit: Zwebner et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2405334121.

Can Given Names Shape Individuals’ Facial Appearance?

Jul 30, 2024 by News Staff

Our given name is a social tag associated with us early in life. Prior research has shown that individuals’ facial appearance can be indicative of their...

Higher intakes of fruit are associated with a reduced risk of incident depression.

Higher Fruit Consumption Reduces Risk of Depression, Study Suggests

Jun 5, 2024 by News Staff

New research led by University of New South Wales scientists supports a role for fruit — but not vegetable — intake in protecting against depression. Higher...

The study sheds new light on the link between sleep deprivation and obesity. Image credit: Sweet Briar College.

Inadequate Sleep Impacts Our Daytime Emotional Lives, New Review Says

Dec 27, 2023 by News Staff

In a largely sleep-deprived society, quantifying the effects of sleep loss on emotion is critical for promoting psychological health. In a new systematic...

Mendieta et al. used fMRI to measure brain activity in fans of rival soccer teams during match play. This image shows the contrast of winning and losing in the ‘good fanatic brain.’ It shows in warm colors the activity related to a significant victory. The blue scale represents the activation related to a significant loss; this pattern is congruent with the Mentalization Network, which suggests a rationalization process of the pain evoked by the losing scenario. Image credit: Mendieta et al.

Neuroscientists Use Brain Scans of Soccer Fans to Study Fanaticism

Nov 22, 2023 by News Staff

Soccer is an excellent social affiliation model, promoting inclusivity, teamwork, community spirit, social change, and personal achievement. Still, the...

Lauren Scott & Brittany Florkiewicz show that cat facial signals correspond to different social functions, which have likely been influenced by domestication. Image credit: Sci.News / Makieni777 / Rise-a-mui / Alexas_Fotos / Dorothe / Vaclav Zavada / Artem Makarov / Daga Roszkowska / Birgit / Pasi Mammela.

Study: Domestic Cats Have 276 Distinct Facial Expressions

Nov 6, 2023 by Natali Anderson

In a new study published in the journal Behavioural Processes, researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center and Lyon College documented the...

Lazaro et al. aimed to compare the reinforcing value and efficacy between food and leisure stimuli for domestic dogs by comparing rates of behavior when receiving access to either their top-preferred food or leisure items. The results indicate that, overall, dogs exhibit a stronger preference for and food is more likely to function as a reinforcer than leisure items for domestic dog’s behavior. Even when dogs had equal preference for both types of stimuli in preference assessments, they showed a higher response rate when working for their preferred food during progressive-ratio trials. Image credit: Congerdesign.

Pet Dogs Prefer Food Over Toys, New Study Shows

Oct 18, 2023 by News Staff

In a University of Florida-led study, scientists allowed pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) to pick their favorite food and favorite toy, then put them...

Jiang et al. used maternal separation (MS) as a stress model to investigate whether MS causes abnormal behavior in adolescence. Image credit: WOKANDAPIX.

Anxiety is Contagious, New Mouse Study Suggests

Oct 17, 2023 by News Staff

New research from Guangzhou University and South China Normal University reveals neural mechanisms underlying the transmission of adolescent anxiety to...

Ward et al. suggest that the presence of an odor can bias an observer’s decision of what their perceived version of a neutral gray is. Image credit: Kerstin Herrmann.

Study: Presence of Different Odors Influences How We Perceive Colors

Oct 11, 2023 by News Staff

Human brain constantly combines multisensory information from our surrounding environment. Odors for instance are often perceived with visual cues; these...

Problematic online usage and Internet addiction lack a refined classification. Using 796 questionnaires, Stangl et al. are the first to reveal a continuum ranging from casual users (i.e. older users) to addicts (i.e. digital natives) acknowledging five different severity levels of problematic online usage to Internet addiction. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Scientists Introduce New Internet Addiction Spectrum

Oct 2, 2023 by News Staff

Researchers from the University of Surrey and elsewhere have found that young people (24 years and youger) spend an average of six hours a day online;...