Feature Channels: Behavioral Science

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Evangelical Christians who sought information from their religious leaders about getting the COVID-19 vaccine were significantly less likely to be vaccinated, while evangelicals who spoke with a health care provider about the vaccine were more likely to be vaccinated, according to a new Virginia Commonwealth University-led study involving a survey of 531 self-identified evangelical Christians in the U.S.

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Dogs could differentiate breath and sweat samples from people before and after a stress-inducing task.

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Here are some of the latest articles that have been posted in the Guns and Violence channel on Newswise.

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Collaborative group work is increasingly prioritized across higher education, particularly in the life sciences and STEM-related fields. But how students communicate within these smaller groups is key to their success. New research from the University of Georgia suggests that students who understand what they do and do not know, and who are willing to ask for clarification and correct misinformation in the group, are more successful in small-group problem-solving.

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Subimal Chatterjee, a distinguished teaching professor in Binghamton University’s School of Management, explains what drives fans to pay high prices for concerts, and how dynamic pricing can frustrate buyers.

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A study analysing millions of Tweets has revealed that Republican members of the US Congress are increasingly circulating news from dubious sources, compared to their European counterparts.

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A new study provides the best evidence to date that preferences of white consumers helped drive private businesses to discriminate against Black customers before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Queen’s University Belfast have launched a new project ‘Explaining Atheism’, to test popular and academic theories about why some people are atheists and why some are not.

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We aren’t very good at predicting what will make us happy. That is one finding from a study by Basel economists.

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When it comes to showing affection towards people, many dogs are naturals. Now comes word reported in the journal Ecology and Evolution on September 20th that the remarkable ability to show attachment behaviour toward human caregivers also exists in wolves.

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The first large-scale genomic study of musicality — published on the cover of today’s Nature Human Behaviour — identified 69 genetic variants associated with beat synchronization, meaning the ability to move in synchrony with the beat of music.

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Cornell researchers have developed a fairer system for recommendations – from hotels to jobs to videos – so a few top hits don’t get all the exposure.

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Low-income children with special needs or socioemotional problems who moved to more advantaged neighborhoods were less likely to ever use alcohol than those who remained in public housing, according to a study just published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Researchers also found reduced alcohol use among the mothers of some of these children. The study compared alcohol use patterns in low-income families who received different kinds of housing support. The findings point to a need for programs and policies to extend the beneficial effects of housing mobility and voucher programs to all families.

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Alcohol misuse in adolescence affects physical health and life satisfaction over multiple decades, outcomes that are driven by ongoing alcohol problems, a new study has found. The link between teen drinking and poor health into the 30s held even after accounting for the effects of nature (genes) and nurture (early family environments). Problematic drinking in adolescence is known to be linked to ongoing health and life struggles. Better understanding this process could inform early targeted interventions that may prevent or ameliorate long-term negative consequences. The new study, in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, sought to clarify the pathways — direct or indirect — by which teen drinking has such far-reaching effects. Investigators explored participants’ alcohol misuse in adolescence and early adulthood, and physical health and life satisfaction in their mid-30s. The study sample was restricted to twins, allowing for consideration of shared genetic and environmental f

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A study assessed resident physicians’ perceptions, coping strategies and self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress experienced during the early phase of the pandemic. Results showed that 88.1 percent felt they were likely or very likely to become infected with COVID-19. If infected, 28.8 percent felt that their illness would be serious or very serious. With respect to depression, anxiety and stress, all the mean scores were in the normal range. For depression, residents in emergency medicine and surgery reported higher levels. The top three coping strategies included acceptance, self-distraction, and use of emotional support. The three least used strategies included behavioral disengagement, substance use and denial.

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Findings include hope for reducing partisan animosity, why some jokes seem funnier than others, how nature's beauty can invigorate conservation, and the case for accepting "eco-anxiety."

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Managers know that happy employees are more productive and provide better customer service, but what is the cost of that service with a smile? New research from the Terry College of Business reveals becoming a happy, helpful employee takes effort and, eventually, that effort erodes the energy needed to do one’s job. It could lead to quiet quitting – the new term for just doing your job but not going above and beyond – or even actual quitting.

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Most parents have experienced frustration when their infants cry excessively and refuse to sleep. Scientists have found that the best strategy to calm them down is by holding and walking with them for five minutes.

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U.S. wars last longer under presidents who score high on a measure of narcissism, new research suggests.

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Wayne State University has been named a member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, an innovative consortium of universities dedicated to promoting equity, inclusion and opportunity for older adults. A strategic focus of the university is diversity, equity and inclusion. The AFU designation confirms that “age” is an important dimension of that strategy.

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Residents of southern Sydney, Australia have been in a long-term battle over garbage—humans want to throw it out, and cockatoos want to eat it.

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A new study, published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, has found that nearly half of men, and one in five women, transgender and gender non-conforming participants, engaged in a “bulk and cut” cycle in the past 12 months.

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The stereotype of the female secretary who hikes up her skirt to get a promotion is as pervasive as the powerful male boss who makes passes at his underlings.

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A published study of 1,899 pregnant women nationwide representing all 50 states reveals that during the Covid-19 pandemic if a pregnant woman had lower socioeconomic status and/or were African American, she was less likely to have the intention of taking a Covid-19 vaccine or actually receiving it.

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Public messages should show respect for individual freedoms and personal choice and leave the politics at the door, if communicators expect compliance, according to researchers at West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics.

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The latest research and expert commentary on pain management.

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Financial literacy declined in America between 2009 and 2018, even while a growing number of people were overconfident about their understanding of finances, a new study finds.

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Say you live across from a bakery. Sometimes you are hungry and therefore tempted when odors waft through your window, but other times satiety makes you indifferent.

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Over the last few years, the pandemic has forced most of us to stay home in our own neighborhoods. New research from Michigan State University found that for some groups of people, spending time in their neighborhoods is no block party.

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Debates about using masculine or gender-neutral words to describe leadership positions, jobs and awards affect nearly all domains of society from business to politics and media.

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Using a mouse model, UC San Diego researchers describe a process in which affected neurons switch expression of neurotransmitters in response to day length stimuli, triggering related behavioral changes.

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Podcast interview with Sean Devine, whose research found that women's judgments about other women's bodies can be biased by an overrepresentation of thinness.

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There are two levels of reference for the elementary question of an appropriate remuneration of work: the markets with their structure of supply, demand, and productivity as well as the needs of the employees. Operationally decisive, however, is also what managers are guided by when assessing wages. A study recently published in PLOS ONE by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) provides new insights into this issue.

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The study, carried out by King’s College London, Nomad Projects and J & L Gibbons in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, shows that spending time by canals and rivers is linked to feeling happy and healthy.