Relate

The bonds that tie us: family, friendships, love and community

A person handling several 1000 Kenyan shilling banknotes at a desk, with motion blur on one note being moved.

Accidental millionaire

When a big deposit appeared from nowhere in my account, it changed my life – but not how you’d think

by Kelvin Njeri

A drone flying above a whale’s surfaced back in the ocean with water droplets in the air.

Even if we could speak to animals, should we?

AI could satisfy our deeply held desire to talk to other creatures. But the potential for harm might outweigh the benefits

by Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Leonie Bossert

Two people smiling in front of colourful fish graffiti, the man is sitting in a wheelchair the woman is standing beside him.

The circle held

A bike crash left my husband paralysed. What happened next taught me something profound about community

by Sadie Witkowski

Three people laughing and holding drinks at a party, showing hands and faces partially, with a joyful atmosphere.

Mind the accent

When I spoke like someone I wasn’t, people listened more closely. What did that say about them – and me?

by Erica Mayor

A colourful plush owl toy with polka-dot wings hanging indoors against a polka-dotted wall background.

Again, again, again

I’m not infertile, but I experience recurrent miscarriages. I worry about how many more I can take

by Jami Nakamura Lin

Guides

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A blue bowl with quinoa, chickpeas, chopped onions, greens and a wooden spoon on a dark background.

How to adventure beyond the same old foods

Most of us develop comfort zones with food. Expand your palate and discover new flavours, techniques and connections

by Nina Mukerjee Furstenau

A man with crossed arms and a serious expression wearing an apron stands in the doorway of a restaurant with checkered curtains and menu on display.

What to do when someone goes on the defensive

Our natural impulses often make matters worse. Here’s an approach that works, grounded in conflict resolution and psychology

by Adar Cohen & Nick Wignall

Popular

Four women outside wearing summer outfits with skyscrapers and a construction crane in the background; one woman is shown smoking.

Is it wrong to be good friends with a bad person?

Many think the answer is obvious: we ought to cut immoral people out of our lives. But that isn’t necessarily the best option

by Yiran Hua

A red bin overflowing with paper coffee cups next to a wall with powerpoints in an office setting.

Why we should treat caffeine like the brain-altering drug it is

Like billions of people, I use caffeine. But there is a glaring double standard in the drugs we stigmatise or celebrate

by Jonathan Simone

A person crossing a busy city street holding a Louis Vuitton bag with other pedestrians in the background.

How luxury brands engineer desire with behavioural economics

From scarcity to market architecture, luxury fashion is manipulating our tastes. But a vintage countermovement has begun

by Charlotte Wren

A young person lying on a bed in a cluttered room with a suitcase, laundry basket, chest of drawers and desk, illuminated by window.

For young people, AI is now a second brain – should we worry?

As a resident tutor, I’ve seen how students are using AI as more than a tool. It’s a psychological shift we’ll soon all make

by Rhea Tibrewala

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

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

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?

Disclosing acts of kindness could encourage even more altruism – if we can find a way around the awkwardness

by Jerry Richardson

A photo showing a person holding a bouquet of mixed flowers wrapped in brown paper, viewed from above and behind.

The words that make an apology convincing

Research on the psychology of apologising finds that certain word choices are more convincing because of their mental cost

by Alice Gregory

A drone flying above a whale’s surfaced back in the ocean with water droplets in the air.

Even if we could speak to animals, should we?

AI could satisfy our deeply held desire to talk to other creatures. But the potential for harm might outweigh the benefits

by Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert & Leonie Bossert

Popular

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Four women outside wearing summer outfits with skyscrapers and a construction crane in the background; one woman is shown smoking.

Is it wrong to be good friends with a bad person?

Many think the answer is obvious: we ought to cut immoral people out of our lives. But that isn’t necessarily the best option

by Yiran Hua

A red bin overflowing with paper coffee cups next to a wall with powerpoints in an office setting.

Why we should treat caffeine like the brain-altering drug it is

Like billions of people, I use caffeine. But there is a glaring double standard in the drugs we stigmatise or celebrate

by Jonathan Simone

A person crossing a busy city street holding a Louis Vuitton bag with other pedestrians in the background.

How luxury brands engineer desire with behavioural economics

From scarcity to market architecture, luxury fashion is manipulating our tastes. But a vintage countermovement has begun

by Charlotte Wren

A young person lying on a bed in a cluttered room with a suitcase, laundry basket, chest of drawers and desk, illuminated by window.

For young people, AI is now a second brain – should we worry?

As a resident tutor, I’ve seen how students are using AI as more than a tool. It’s a psychological shift we’ll soon all make

by Rhea Tibrewala

Notes to self

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A curious brown chicken looking at the camera with several other chickens blurred in the background.

The dissonance of meeting what you eat

by Matt Huston

Videos

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A person standing on a freight train car during sunset with a dog sitting nearby and graffiti on the train.
HOME

Freedom, joy and struggle – stories of Los Angeles street life

Directed by Chung Nguyen

Abstract painting with bold orange, yellow, blue and black curves and shapes overlapping dynamically.

A kaleidoscope? A milestone? Beyond description? Women put orgasms into words

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

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

Photo of a person holding a tortoise above a container with leaves against a tiled wall.
Psyche Exclusive

High in the Alps, Kathleen takes extraordinary steps to keep a pet safe through the winter

Illustration of a scoreboard at Barclays Center showing a man with raised arms, surrounded by an arena.

A dancing NBA superfan on the joy of spaces that let us go wild and get weird

A person crossing a busy city street holding a Louis Vuitton bag with other pedestrians in the background.

How luxury brands engineer desire with behavioural economics

From scarcity to market architecture, luxury fashion is manipulating our tastes. But a vintage countermovement has begun

by Charlotte Wren

Photo of a cross in the sky with a blurred rainbow-coloured flag in the foreground.

Severe joy

I wanted conviction to tell me if I could be gay and Catholic. My convictions told me something bigger

by Will Martino

A young person lying on a bed in a cluttered room with a suitcase, laundry basket, chest of drawers and desk, illuminated by window.

For young people, AI is now a second brain – should we worry?

As a resident tutor, I’ve seen how students are using AI as more than a tool. It’s a psychological shift we’ll soon all make

by Rhea Tibrewala

Black and white photo of two men by a waterfront fence, with boats and a hillside town in the background.

Stealing my father

I’d long had a rocky relationship with my dad. Then, a predatory caregiver took over his life

by Mark Teich

A Polaroid photo of two people standing together smiling in front of a painted mural depicting the sea and clouds.

More than a mugshot

As a crime reporter, I wrote about people behind bars. I learned much more when I began writing to them

by Amelia Arvesen

Illustration of a couple holding hands walking past a giant cheque that unravels to reveal a scenic view of a bridge over a river and the Eiffel tower.
LOVE

My swindler sweetheart

I was a pushover with a habit of picking cheating men as boyfriends; then one of them pushed me too far

by Patricia Olsen

Two children’s dresses lying flat, one blue the other white with floral patterns and colourful smocking.

The daughter I never had

I loved my three sons but still yearned for a girl. Why did this fill me with such shame?

by Emma Wilkins

A red bin overflowing with paper coffee cups next to a wall with powerpoints in an office setting.

Why we should treat caffeine like the brain-altering drug it is

Like billions of people, I use caffeine. But there is a glaring double standard in the drugs we stigmatise or celebrate

by Jonathan Simone

People sitting by a small stream in a wooded area during daytime, with sunlight filtering through bare trees.

Whispers in the wind

How I learned to hear the voice of my ancestors and speak Lenape, a language silenced for generations

Krista Nelson, as told to Dawn Fallik

Four women outside wearing summer outfits with skyscrapers and a construction crane in the background; one woman is shown smoking.

Is it wrong to be good friends with a bad person?

Many think the answer is obvious: we ought to cut immoral people out of our lives. But that isn’t necessarily the best option

by Yiran Hua

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

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.

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

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?

Disclosing acts of kindness could encourage even more altruism – if we can find a way around the awkwardness

by Jerry Richardson

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

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

by Carol Berkower

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

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

A cyclist on a yellow bike passing a closed fast food shop with a yellow and maroon facade and a one-way sign.

A detour home, through Portuguese

Losing my mother tongue was painful and humiliating. Could learning a new language help me heal?

by Frances Nguyen