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A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked at miscalibrated expectations and how they create a barrier to deeper conversation. “In this research, we wanted to understand why people often engage in small talk in everyday life rather than initiate deeper and more intimate conversations that might strengthen their social relationships,” study author Michael Kardas told us. “We reasoned that people's decisions about what topics to discuss in conversation are guided by their expectations about the likely outcomes of the conversation.” [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience looked at how the neural representation in the medical prefrontal cortex reveals selfish motivation in white lies. “In this study, we specifically aimed to identify distinctive neural signatures of selfish and altruistic motivation for Pareto white lies,” study author Dr. Hackjin Kim told us, “particularly focusing on the distinctive functional roles of the subregions in the medial prefrontal cortex in social valuation based on the model recently proposed by our research team.” [More]

A new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology looked at how people who frequently try to impress or persuade others predicts receptivity to various types of misleading information. “On a basic level, it’s investigating some of the ways that misinformation is spread (intentionally and unintentionally) and evaluated by people when they encounter it,” study author Shane Littrell told us. [More]

Are you good at multitasking? That's a question often heard in a job interview but is it emotionally healthy to work with constant interruptions? Does it increase stress and affect how we relate to our coworkers? A new study looked at the emotional cost of frequent interruptions during cognitive work. [More]

How different are our brains from our primate ancestors? This is the question researchers in Germany attempted to answer in a new study published in the Journal of Science Advances. The study looked at brain asymmetry in humans and great apes as seen from endocasts, casts of the inner bony brain case that approximate the size and shape of the brain. Brain asymmetry is imperative to cognition and brain function in humans and has been linked to language and the use of tools. [More]

Stressed-out parents take heed! It would seem running after the kids, having a full time job, getting the gym, and making time for a social life all count as a diversity of activities that are actually good for your brain. Now if you can just remove the 'stress' part. A new study published in the Journal of Gerontology found that change is good for the brain and that a diversity in activities helps with cognitive function across adulthood. [More]

Now that football and hockey season are in full swing in the United States and Canada, many fans will be glued to their television sets and mobile devices watching the games and engaging in friendly rivalries. According to Statista, 70 per cent of Americans surveyed considered themselves fans of football. [More]

The world is full of conspiracy theories, and new research has found people with certain personality traits are more likely to believe them. [More]

Did you know that after 70 years of age, your chances of developing a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety doubles every five years? The same is true for cognitive decline such as impaired memory. Here's another fun statistic to look forward to: By age 85, one in four of us will have the luxury of suffering from both conditions simultaneously. But researchers are trying their best to prevent this from happening. [More]

Using three dimensional images and statistical analysis, the team has identified a way to discern specific patterns of facial features and structures which may be common to children with ASD. Once children’s faces have been scanned, the measurements of features along the actual curvature of the faces are compared to the various symptoms displayed. The results of this study have indicated correlations within subgroups based on facial traits and the severity and types of ASD. [More]