Social and Behavioural
Explore Social and Behavioural
Dr. Leonie Brummer | Digital Awareness: The Missing Piece of Online Life
Most of us use digital technology every day – for work, shopping, socialising, and keeping up with the news. But how many of us really stop to think about what we’re doing online, why we’re doing it, and what the consequences might be? That’s the question at the heart of new research by researcher Leonie Brummer at Utrecht University, who argues that being truly at home in the digital world requires something deeper than skills alone.
Dr. Lillian Xu – Dr. Seth D. Pollak | Playing It Safe: How Parental Unpredictability Shapes Children’s Willingness to Learn
The idea that children learn best when they feel secure may seem obvious, but new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows just how deeply a child’s trust in their parents shapes their willingness to explore. Led by Lillian Xu and Seth Pollak, the study reveals that children who feel their parents are less reliable explore less – even when exploring is vital to learning and personal growth.
Dr Ayesha Mueller-Wolfertshofer | Learning from the ‘Slum’: The Sustainable City Hidden in Plain Sight
What comes to mind when you think of informal settlements, or so-called ‘slums’? Portrayed negatively in public discourse, governments demolish them to make way for formal housing projects. However, research by Ayesha Mueller-Wolfertshofer at TUM suggests these settlements are actually models of sustainable urban development that should be recognised and supported. Her research focuses on Dharavi, one of the world’s most well-known informal settlements, located in the heart of Mumbai, India.
Dr. Deon Brown | Understanding How African Americans Navigate Emotional Expression
Human emotions are universal. But how freely people express them – and to whom – is shaped by culture, history, and lived experience. For African Americans, that shaping has a particular weight: centuries of racism and oppression have made emotional expression not just a personal matter, but a protective and sometimes strategic one. Understanding how Black Americans navigate this reality is not only a matter of psychological interest – it has real implications for mental health, education, and family life. This is the territory explored by Dr. Deon Brown and his colleagues at the University of Houston, Virginia Commonwealth University, American Jewish University, and Michigan State University.
Professor Daniel S Levine | Why Reason Needs Emotion: Uncovering the Science Behind Better Decisions
For centuries, we’ve been told a story about ourselves: that reason is noble and emotion is messy; that to think clearly, you need to keep your feelings firmly under control. It’s a story that has shaped science, politics, economics, and culture. But what if it’s simply wrong? That’s the central argument of psychologist and neuroscientist Daniel Levine from the University of Texas at Arlington in his book: Healing the Reason-Emotion Split.
Lena Queen | Why Supporting Healthcare Staff Is the Key to LGBTQIA+ Health Equity
When we talk about improving healthcare for LGBTQIA+ communities, the conversation usually focuses on policy, training, and access to services. But Mx. Lena Queen, a therapist and wellness educator with over 23 years of experience, argues that we are missing a critical piece of the puzzle: the emotional and mental wellbeing of the providers themselves. In their recent paper, Queen makes the case that healthcare providers cannot genuinely support LGBTQIA+ patients if they are burnt out, exhausted, or working within systems that ignore their own needs.
Jila Ghomeshi | How Canadian Weather Forecasts Are Challenging Grammar Rules
Weather forecasts seem straightforward – temperatures, clouds, maybe a bit of rain. But the language used to describe the weather can reveal surprising quirks about how English works. A recent linguistic study takes a closer look at an unusual pattern heard in Canadian radio forecasts and shows that even familiar phrases like “we are five degrees” can challenge long-held assumptions about grammar.
Dr Ludwig Huber | How Dogs Remember Your Perspective, to Steal Without Getting Caught
What goes through a dog’s mind when your back is turned? According to new research from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the answer might surprise you. A study led by cognitive scientist Ludwig Huber suggests that dogs are capable of something remarkably sophisticated: anticipating what a person can see, even when that person is nowhere in sight.
Hope Walks: Early Clubfoot Treatment Transforms Children’s Lives
In many low- and middle-income countries, children born with physical disabilities face lifelong barriers that limit their ability to learn, play, and participate in their communities. One such condition is clubfoot, a congenital deformity that twists a baby’s feet downward and inward. While it is routinely corrected in wealthier nations, lack of access to treatment in poorer regions often leaves children disabled for life. In research funded by the University of Notre Dame, Bruce Wydick, Gianna Camacho, and Patrizio Piraino reveal how early, affordable treatment for clubfoot can transform not only a child’s mobility but nearly every aspect of their well-being.
Dr. Khuthala Mabetha | How Social Support Shapes Pregnancy for Young Women in South Africa
Pregnancy can be a time of excitement and hope, but it can also bring uncertainty, stress and emotional upheaval, especially for young women navigating major life changes. A study led by Dr. Khuthala Mabetha and colleagues sheds light on how social support shapes the pregnancy experiences of young women in Soweto, South Africa, revealing just how powerful everyday relationships can be during this pivotal period.
Dr Susanna Bairoh | Equal Degrees, Unequal Incomes: New Evidence from Finland’s STEM Workforce
Even in countries celebrated for gender equality, women still earn less than men – and moving into science and technology does not magically solve the problem. New research by Susanna Bairoh, Satu Pyöriä and Niklas Mäkinen takes a close look at this puzzle by following the incomes of women and men working in STEM fields in Finland, a Nordic welfare state often seen as a global role model for equality. Drawing on exceptionally rich national register data, the study asks a deceptively simple question: if women and men have the same level of education, work in the same broad fields, and live in a country with strong family policies, do their incomes finally converge?
Dr Sriram Iyengar | Resilience Informatics
Pandemics! Heatwaves! Floods! Droughts! We live in an age of overlapping crises. Climate change is intensifying. Acute, short-term stressors and chronic, long-term stressors damage physical and mental health. Such stressors are not going away. We need to develop resilience to these stressors. But what IS resilience?
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