Human Behavior
Human Behavior covers a variety of mysterious, engaging topics. Learn about how why humans behave the way they do and more.
Freudenfreude Is the Joyous Opposite of Schadenfreude
Feeling Blue? This Kid-run Hotline Will Lift Your Spirits
The Pandemic Paused Hugging. Here's What We Lost
9 Hangover Cures From Around the World
Sure, Just One Minute of Exercise Sounds Great, But …
Can you really feel the weather in your bones?
Why Is the Term 'Gaslighting' So Popular Now ─ and So Misused?
Feel Like a Fraud, Despite Your Success? You Might Have Impostor Syndrome
Study Highlights Unique Stereotypes About Biracial Americans
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Being stuck in the middle seat on a long flight — or any flight — stinks. But does that entitle the middle-seater to the armrests? We asked an etiquette expert.
By Julia Layton
Living in racially hostile societies has been connected to the circulatory and cardiac health of both blacks and white.
Just jump already! Your backup plan may be getting in the way of you achieving your dream.
By John Donovan
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Urine for a shock when you learn how much pee is in the average public pool. Even Olympic swimmers admit to peeing in the pool -- just like you and me.
We blink our eyes so often, yet we usually don’t perceive that the world has gone dark, if only for a microsecond. Why is that?
For difficult questions (Brexit, anyone?), large numbers don’t make for better decisions, says this researcher. But why?
By Dave Roos
A writer test-drives advice on running her life according to her biological body clock with some surprising results.
By Alia Hoyt
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The key to a losing weight, winning an argument or anything else depends on knowing if you're a bear, lion, dolphin or wolf, says author of upcoming book.
By Alia Hoyt
Who hasn't wanted to get away from it all? For British designer Thomas Thwaites, that break entailed turning himself into a goat.
An update to a famous study shows that employers may not discriminate as much as before — with one important caveat.
Whither the Good Samaritan? A new study finds the chance of receiving a stranger's aid in a public medical emergency is close to zero — and worse if you're black or poor.
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Researchers found that many white adoptive parents thought African-American children were "too different" for them though they'd consider children of other races.
We sat down with magician Brian Brushwood to learn how con artists and hackers can fool their targets with something as simple as a conversation.
Or hey, maybe you'd love to see your favorite football team win the Super Bowl for 13 consecutive years? Yep, those are the crazy odds we're talking about.
By John Donovan
And not just any artist, but post-impressionist superstar Vincent Van Gogh. All for just $10.
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With 20 percent of U.S. women born after 1970 not having children, the question of who will provide elder care is becoming more urgent.
By Dave Roos
The Martian day lasts longer than ours, which means that people whose circadian rhythms are out of sync with our planet may do better colonizing our red neighbor.
And you probably don't even realize you're doing it.
By John Donovan
And the U.S. isn't the only country where this gender gap is closing.
By Julia Layton
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Researchers discover five different types of procrastinators, including "well-adjusted."
By Alia Hoyt
If you've ever met someone who obsessively kept track of every perceived wrong committed against them, then you've met one. The problem is when they turn violent.
By Julia Layton
A new website will do the dirty work for you via Snapchat, text, letter or awkward phone call.
By Alia Hoyt
Audio description is kind of like that friend who whispers key plot points to you during the movie when you miss them. It's pretty handy for blind film buffs.
By Julia Layton
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Science should be clean, simple, and just the facts, right? Unfortunately these traits of imperfect humans make perfect science tough to accomplish.
It's no rinky-dink Mickey Mouse clock. The body clock is a strange and wonderful thing, calibrated to reflect a variety of biological rhythms that you may not have known are beating inside your body. And scientists are still not sure why it exists.
By Chris Opfer