Morbid curiosity — a psychological trait that may help people explore dangerous parts of life — might explain why certain people gravitate toward music like death metal and rap. A recent experiment found that high levels of morbid curiosity can predict…
A solar eclipse can promote psychological tendencies that are vital to collective life, study finds
Have you ever witnessed a celestial event so awesome that it made you a better person? It probably seems like a silly question, but a study published in Psychological Science suggests that there are measurable social effects of these events; specifical…
Right-wing individuals are more likely to fall for political bullshit, according to new research
Politically conservative individuals tend to be slightly more receptive to political bullshit, according to new research that examined participants from three different countries. The study, which examined “statements of political content that intend t…
Study suggests that Christian nationalism helped Trump win new voters from 2016 to 2020
Christian nationalist ideology played an important role in helping Trump gain support during the 2020 election, according to a study published in the journal Politics and Religion. Survey results suggest that Christian nationalism helped convince Ameri…
Journalists less likely to use words that denote analytical thinking and numerical evidence when writing on Twitter
Journalist tend to rely on rapid, low-effort cognitive processes when posting content to the social media website Twitter, according to new research that analyzed more than 12 million words produced by campaign reporters during the run-up to the 2016 e…
Anti-diarrhea medication may help treat core autism symptoms
[(https://blog.frontiersin.org/2022/09/12/diarrhea-medication-autism/) There are currently no effective treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as difficulties with socializing and communicating. A new study uses a comp…
Sorcery practices linked to selfish behavior and rule-breaking for personal enrichment
A study published in Religion, Brain & Behavior provides new insights into how sorcery beliefs and practices in Mauritius are related to rule-breaking and resource-sharing behaviors. Shamanism, ancestor worship, witchcraft, and other magical beliefs ar…
Study of Buddhist monks suggests celibacy can have surprising evolutionary advantages
Why would someone join an institution that removed the option of family life and required them to be celibate? Reproduction, after all, is at the very heart of the evolution that shaped us. Yet many religious institutions around the world require exact…
Cannabis users appear to be less aware of unhealthy romantic relationship strategies
With the legalization of cannabis in many places in America, marijuana usage has become increasingly widespread in recent years. Cannabis consumption is considered to be calming, but does that extend to dealing with relationship conflict? A study publi…
Race influences Trump supporters’ willingness to punish white-collar criminals, study finds
Supporters of former President Donald Trump desire harsher punishment for a Chinese-American man who committed bank fraud compared to a white man who committed the same crime, according to new research published in the Journal of Experimental Criminolo…