Speaking of Psychology

Body-focused repetitive behaviors such as hair pulling (trichotillomania) and skin picking are relatively common but remain stigmatized and misunderstood. Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD, and Clare Mackay, P...

Are you dreaming of your next vacation? Many people see travel as a chance to escape their routines, explore new places and maybe even ‘find themselves.’ Andrew Stevenson, PhD, author of “The Psycholo...

When we think of courage, we often picture dramatic, high-stakes moments, but courage comes into play not only in extraordinary situations but also in everyday life. Cynthia Pury, PhD, talks about phy...

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, yet it’s still widely misunderstood. Tim Odegard, PhD, talks about how dyslexia is diagnosed and defined; his own experience growing up with dy...

Left-handers make up about 10.6 percent of the world’s population. Sebastian Ocklenburg, PhD, talks about why handedness and other brain asymmetries exist; the genetic and environmental factors that i...

You might think the best way to make decisions is to know all the facts. But psychologists’ research suggests that getting the “gist” – the core meaning behind the facts – is more important than focus...

From hurricanes to wildfires to gun violence, trauma and disaster touch the lives of millions of children each year. Robin Gurwitch, PhD, discusses how disasters affect children’s mental health, how t...

Financial scams targeting people over age 60 cost victims more than $3.4 billion in 2023. Neuropsychologist Duke Han, PhD, talks about why some older adults are at risk, financial vulnerability as an ...

For many women, the shifting hormones of midlife bring troubling symptoms like hot flashes, mood and memory changes. Now, researchers are learning more about the short- and long-term health effects of...

Many boys form deep friendships in childhood. But as they become teens, they report fewer close, rich friendships. Niobe Way, PhD, author of “Rebels With a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves and Our C...