News by Subject Social & Behavior

Used in the right way, smartphones may not be as isolating as some would think. A new Carnegie Mellon University study suggests smartphone-based mindfulness training may help individuals feel less lonely and motivate them to interact with more people. The researchers also found acceptance skills training to be a critical active ingredient for improving these social functioning outcomes.

Your attitude during pregnancy could have an effect on your child's ability in math and science, according to a new study published by Frontiers in Psychology today.

In 2005, the New York Times reported that high end retailer Bergdorf Goodman kept its stores chilled to 68.3 degrees, whereas Old Navy's was kept at a balmy 80.3. Meanwhile, the swanky IFC mall in Hong Kong is kept at a frigid 59 degrees Fahrenheit. There may be a reason why luxury retailers keep their stores so cold aside from keeping heating bills down. When consumers are uncomfortably cold, they rely more on their emotions rather than calculations when making decisions.

Patients with psychosis have accelerated aging of two brain networks important for general cognition -- the frontoparietal network (FPN) and cingulo-opercular network (CON) -- according to a new study in Biological Psychiatry.

Climate change poses an exponentially greater risk for mental health problems in children born to mothers with prenatal depression who also experience natural disaster-related stress. That is the message of a new study of infants born to New York City mothers shortly after Superstorm Sandy.

Our actions are guided by moral values. However, monetary incentives can get in the way of our good intentions. Neuroeconomists at the University of Zurich have now investigated in which area of the brain conflicts between moral and material motives are resolved. Their findings reveal that our actions are more social when these deliberations are inhibited.