You don’t have to be in the middle of an election campaign to be concerned about your ability to spot a lie. Psychology research suggests people lie at least once a day. A 2006 review of 206 papers found that we are little better then chance at guessing whether something is a lie or not, 54% to be exact. […] … learn more→

We all remember teachers we deeply admired. Personally, the only teachers who left an impression on me were those who counted for their generosity, the extent of their knowledge, the simplicity with which they managed to transmit something living. The deep interest they had in the subjects they taught made them brilliant. They managed to […] … learn more→

You’ve probably seen the word mindfulness everywhere these days, from the news, to magazines, to social media. Mindfulness is sometimes packaged as a mental health cure-all, and studies do suggest that mindfulness-based therapies support mental health. Your friends or family may even have told you that mindfulness has changed their lives. But if you have tried mindfulness and feel like it isn’t […] … learn more→

Words and phrases change their meaning often as language evolves. In the past, something was “awful” if it was amazing (think “awesome” or “awe-inspiring”). A “naughty” person was poor rather than poorly behaved. Only museum exhibitions could be curated, certainly not wardrobes, flats or social media pages. “Bimbo” meant “reckless man”, but is now a sexist word for a young woman, complicated by […] … learn more→

We speak of bilingualism when a person masters two languages ​​at a similar level and speaks them fluently (either from the cradle or at a later age). Today in our global society, millions of people are able to communicate in more than one language . Speaking several languages ​​is often worthy of admiration by people who do not have […] … learn more→

In the past few years, the city of Austin, Texas, has approved the construction of thousands of windowless rooms in new apartment buildings next to The University of Texas at Austin. Most of these rooms are being leased to UT students, resulting in a deterioration of their well-being. In April 2024, the Austin City Council finally voted to ban […] … learn more→

“Birds of a feather flock together,” says the proverb. When it comes to childhood friendships, the rule is true: it is with friends of the same age, same sex and sharing the same activities that children first get along. But how are these social codes put in place? How do children tell them and in what way […] … learn more→

I haven’t often thought about the work that’s done in email signatures. But I do generally have a look at what people have sitting there underneath their name. And I’ve recently been struck by five things: a lot of colleagues put a prepared corporate logo from their university or research centre in their signature. I have […] … learn more→

New technologies have always informed and changed our religious experiences. Listening to early radio broadcasts in the 1880s was experienced by many as religious because radio voices seemed to come from some other dimension. Séances became wildly popular at the time because it was thought by some that radio had opened a door to the spirit world. […] … learn more→

Identifying with an activity is different from actually doing it. For example, 49% of Americans play video games, but only 10% identify as gamers. According to a recent survey we conducted, there’s also a small gap between reading activity and identity for younger readers: 61% of Generation Z and millennials have read a print book, e-book […] … learn more→