A dog with a leash standing on a carved wooden bench in front of a field and bare trees under a cloudy sky.
ANIMALS

Dog day blues

We were a new stepfamily, and only the puppy was missing. With Elsa, we lobbed a grenade into the mix

by Lily Dunn

Photo of cars covered in protective plastic inside a showroom with reflections of bare trees in the glass facade.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Asteroid economics: why we’re shopping our way through Armageddon

We must escape the psychological trap where grave warnings about existential threats trigger ever more destructive behaviour

by M I Krueger

Vintage photo of two women in Victorian attire, one in a patterned dress looks at the other who wears a fur-trimmed coat.
HUMAN NATURE

You don’t need perfect features to be physically beautiful

New research reveals that physical attractiveness is more about personal compatibility than meeting universal standards

by Annett Schirmer

Ideas

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A couple dancing on stage, the photo focusing on their feet and shadows, with dramatic lighting and a blue spotlight.
DANCE

Dance showed me the untapped power of our attention muscle

by Sara Melzer

A person in a high-vis vest wearing a mask standing in front of shelves filled with food products.
ETHICS

Why do we hesitate to talk about our own good deeds?

by Jerry Richardson

Painting of a woman in a dark kimono with a bow in her hair, looking at her reflection in a dimly lit mirror.
SHAME AND GUILT

Self-hatred feeds on inner shame. Here’s how to break the cycle

by Troy Seagraves

A young boy smiling, resting his chin on his hands, looking at a marshmallow on a table.
FOCUS AND ATTENTION

What the marshmallow test got wrong about child psychology

by Tyler W Watts

Guides

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A woman and dog standing in a cobblestone street, by an outdoor travel advertisement showing a plane wing and sunset.
EMOTION REGULATION

How to resist everyday temptations

Acting on impulse often feels good at first, but brings trouble later. Understanding these urges can help you control them

by Peggilee Wupperman

Black and white photo of a group of people dancing outdoors, with a man in a striped shirt in the foreground.
NEURODIVERSITY

How to thrive as a highly sensitive person

In this noisy world, being highly sensitive is a challenge. But learn to manage overwhelm and you can reap the upsides too

by Jadzia Jagiellowicz

Life stories

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Illustration of a woman floating in space surrounded by large hands and small stars on a dark background.
ALTERED STATES

The psychic who healed me

It was just like her – my bold, dead mother – to show up in my life again. Or was grief playing tricks on me?

by Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein

Editor’s picks

Photo of a cyclist in a red polka dot jersey racing past a cheering crowd on a yellow bicycle.
SPORTS AND GAMES

Physical fatigue is in the brain as much as in the body

The idea of ‘mind over muscle’ is more than motivational rhetoric – exercise science shows how the brain manages fatigue

by David Robson

Long-exposure photo of a road at night with blurry, colourful light trails from car headlights and taillights against a dark background.
THE SELF

Self out of joint

Sudden amnesia untethered me from my past. Was I the same person or had I become someone else?

by Steven Hales

Latest videos

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Oil painting diptych of a man rowing a boat and a woman in blue with a green background.
LOVE

Two lives drift apart and come together in a love story told one brush stroke at a time

Directed by Ian Bruce

Photo of a businessman in a suit explaining with a Jenga tower, another man stands behind him, both in an office setting.
Psyche Exclusive
FILM

Our world’s complex issues can’t be solved by lone heroes. Our stories should reflect that

Sketchbook pages with colourful abstract faces, featuring torn paper flaps over parts of the drawings, mixed media artwork.
MIND AND BRAIN

Steven has a rare insight into faces – because he cannot recognise them

Digital artwork of a grey hand squeezing a yellow stress ball with a smiley face on a black background.
VALUES AND BELIEFS

Cults needn’t fit stereotypes to be dangerous. Here’s how to identify a controlling social group

A woman with a headset giving a presentation. She gestures with her hand. The background is wood paneling.
PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH

Why the mental health awareness movement needs more precision and fewer vibes

Abstract line drawing of a running figure with scattered symbols on a white background.
HOME

In an elegy for his childhood home, a filmmaker constructs a lyrical collage of memory

Close-up photo of a hand carving a pencil with a small knife, focusing on the pencil’s tip and wood shavings.
FOCUS AND ATTENTION

There’s joy in doing a job right. Just ask this artisanal pencil-sharpener

Notes to self

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A person lying in bed under a duvet, arms covering face; bedside table with books, a lamp, a mug and reading glasses.
SLEEP PROBLEMS

Sleep is important, but not that important

by Alice Gregory

Popular

A young boy smiling, resting his chin on his hands, looking at a marshmallow on a table.
FOCUS AND ATTENTION

What the marshmallow test got wrong about child psychology

Self-control, grit, growth mindset – trendy skills won’t transform children’s lives, but more meaningful interventions can

by Tyler W Watts

Photo of a street with vintage cars, motel signs and a person leaning on a truck holding a broom under a blue sky.
FOCUS AND ATTENTION

How to alter the passage of time to feel fast or slow

Knowing the psychology behind why moments drag or whizz by can give you a degree of control over your experience of time

by Martin Wiener

Black and white photo of a group of people dancing outdoors, with a man in a striped shirt in the foreground.
NEURODIVERSITY

How to thrive as a highly sensitive person

In this noisy world, being highly sensitive is a challenge. But learn to manage overwhelm and you can reap the upsides too

by Jadzia Jagiellowicz

Painting of a woman in a dark kimono with a bow in her hair, looking at her reflection in a dimly lit mirror.
SHAME AND GUILT

Self-hatred feeds on inner shame. Here’s how to break the cycle

Shame swamps any redeeming traits you might have thought you had. Slow down to interrupt the loops that cause self-hatred

by Troy Seagraves

A woman and dog standing in a cobblestone street, by an outdoor travel advertisement showing a plane wing and sunset.
EMOTION REGULATION

How to resist everyday temptations

Acting on impulse often feels good at first, but brings trouble later. Understanding these urges can help you control them

by Peggilee Wupperman

Three adults with babies seated in a waiting room, smiling and interacting, with colourful posters on the wall.
COMPASSION AND EMPATHY

We’re learning just how early in life empathy starts to move us

What contagious crying, comforting hugs and other cute behaviour in infants tells us about the roots of emotional connection

by Zanna Clay & Carlo Vreden

Photo of a man in profile with glasses, eyes closed, head tilted back under a structure with a grid-like roof.
MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS

How slow breathing calms down your brain

Researchers studied the effect of slow breathing on people’s brain activity while they experienced anticipatory anxiety

by Christian Jarrett

Illustration of two people standing in a forest, at the top of a waterfall, with a dog below; money is washing away down the waterfall into a pond, as well as a car and house pictured in the pond below.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Money

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there

by Carol Berkower

Explore: Addiction

Photo of people dining in a dimly lit restaurant, blurred flowers in foreground, focus on background diners at a table.
ADDICTION

How to know if you’re addicted

by Rebecca E Williams

Black and white photo of two people close together in water, eyes closed and relaxed.
CAREGIVING

Stories of mothers in crisis form a poignant portrait of unconditional love

Directed by Savanah Leaf and Taylor Russell

Painting of a man in a hat leaning on a table with a wine bottle and fruit, set against a brown background.
ADDICTION

How to talk about someone’s substance use

by K Michelle Peavy

Black-and-white photo of a woman smoking at an outdoor cafe at night with tables, a bicycle and streetlights in the background.
ADDICTION

You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want

by Shayla Love

Two people walking through a park with trees casting shadows. A bench is visible.
ADDICTION

The last blackout

by Michael Thomas Kincella

Photo of a person in a dim room holding a smartphone and a credit card, phone screen showing a betting app.
ADDICTION

How to control your gambling

by Luke Clark

Photo of a person outdoors smoking, silhouetted against the sky with visible smoke and surrounding greenery.
ADDICTION

Mental illness and substance use: genes show a two-way street

by Jorien Treur