Robb G. BestSep 24, 20202 minPTSD May Double Chances of DementiaA new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, is the first-ever global meta-analysis on the possible link between post-tra...
Robb G. BestDec 11, 20192 minHow "Smart" is Your City?Have you ever found yourself walking down a busy city sidewalk, so overwhelmed and overstimulated by all the signs, sounds, and cars that...
Robb G. BestNov 21, 20192 minWhen Machines Get Mean(Picture credit: Carnegie Mellon University) Science has well established that a person’s ability to perform a task is affected by what o...
Robb G. BestNov 14, 20192 minWhy Today's Music Sounds WorseWhen you were in high school or college, what did your parents think of the music you loved? While there are exceptions, statistically sp...
Robb G. BestOct 10, 20192 minThe Myth of "Addictive Personality"Do you have an addictive personality? No. No, you don’t. How can we be so certain? Well, as it turns out that technically speaking, there...
Robb G. BestOct 4, 20192 minWhen Having a Snack Might Save YouGot an important decision to make? If you’re feeling hungry, new research suggests you should probably have a snack or a meal before you ...
Robb G. BestSep 26, 20192 minThe Narcissist TrapHow good are you at reflective thinking? If you’re a narcissist, your answer is probably something on the order of “stupendous, just asto...
Robb G. BestAug 24, 20192 minGuns and Mental Illness: What the Experts SayGuns and mental illness: it’s a topic that frequently surfaces, in the wake of each mass shooting in the U.S. The problem, say some polit...
Robb G. BestAug 8, 20192 minThe Road to ExtremismWhere does extremist violence come from? In the wake of yet another American shooting by a white nationalist, this question is more press...
Robb G. BestAug 1, 20192 minThis is Your Brain on PowerWarning: it can cause symptoms similar to brain trauma, including increased impulsivity, decreased awareness of risk, and, perhaps most a...
Robb G. BestJul 25, 20192 minVaccinating Against MisinformationAlthough “yellow journalism” is probably as old as journalism itself (the term itself dates back to the Pulitzer vs Hearst circulation wa...
Robb G. BestJul 22, 20192 minA Second Look at the Bystander EffectIf you’ve ever read a psychology textbook, you’re probably familiar with the tragic and infuriating story of Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-ol...
Robb G. BestApr 25, 20192 minThe Best Painkiller is Not What You Think it IsWhen we say that listening to the right song makes us feel better, usually we mean it in terms of emotions. However, a new study from the...
Robb G. BestApr 22, 20192 minThe Happiness HackHappiness: it’s something we all want, and in one way or another, most of us spend our lives attempting to pursue it. Multiple industries...
Robb G. BestFeb 21, 20192 minBamboozled! How Disguises Fool UsAt this point, it’s well-trod territory: why couldn’t star reporter Lois Lane recognize that her nerdy coworker Clark Kent was also Super...
Robb G. BestNov 23, 20182 minPlacebo PowerImagine that scientists have discovered a painkiller that is incredibly cheap to make, has no dangerous side effects, and performs at a l...
Robb G. BestSep 20, 20183 minThe Personality PuzzleSince the days of Hippocrates, science has struggled to quantify human personality, and group the seemingly infinite combinations of trai...
Robb G. BestSep 13, 20182 minBad News for Bad TempersDoes someone in your life havean unusually short fuse? Maybe you’ve witnessed a co-worker repeatedly go ballistic on the printer whenever...
Robb G. BestJun 13, 20182 minWhen Songs Are Your FriendsHow do you listen to music? I don’t mean “Are you a headphones person or more of a speaker fan?” I mean, what parts of your brain do you ...
Robb G. BestJun 7, 20182 minWould You Fall For It? The Conspiracy MindAre you likely to fall for a made-up government conspiracy? That depends: how well-informed are you? If you said “very”…bad news, you mig...