Category: People & Culture

The United States has a long history of gender and racial disparities in wealth, education, employment and consumption, which has been mirrored in various modern marketplaces, including online rental and labor markets. Now, a groundbreaking study has turned its focus towards the non-fungible token (NFT) market, shedding light on deep-seated biases and recommending strategies to…

Latinos who predominantly consume news from Spanish-language social media are significantly more likely to believe false political narratives compared to those who use English-language platforms, according to a revealing study published in PNAS Nexus. Conducted by political scientists from the University of California, San Diego and New York University, the research underscores rising concerns about…

Tax policymakers commonly assume that raising taxes will increase government revenue. However, a new study focused on Washington state’s soda tax presents a more nuanced picture. The research, published in the journal Marketing Science, reveals that consumer opposition can significantly mitigate the expected revenue boost, as demonstrated in a natural experiment in Washington. Co-authored by…

In a significant breakthrough, cognitive neuroscientists at Trinity College Dublin have unveiled a new approach to effectively form and break habits. Spearheaded by Eike Buabang, a postdoctoral research fellow in Claire Gillan‘s lab, the study delineates a cognitive blueprint that promises to improve personal development strategies and revolutionize clinical treatment for compulsive disorders, such as…

In an era increasingly dominated by digital interactions, a new study uncovers a troubling connection between social media usage among preteens and early substance experimentation. Published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the study reveals that adolescents who spend significant time on social media, texting and video chatting are more likely to try substances like alcohol,…

Adults generally make better decisions than teenagers, and this behavioral improvement over time is linked to the development of more sophisticated decision-making skills, according to new research from the University of Würzburg in Germany. A study published today in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, led by postdoctoral research fellow Vanessa Scholz and Lorenz Deserno, an…

A casual office outing for pizza may seem like an ordinary social event. But it could hold significant benefits for workplace dynamics, according to new research by Binghamton University, Hitotsubashi University and Yonsei University. The study, published in the Journal of Management Studies, reveals that these shared experiences can significantly enhance cross-occupational teamwork and social…

A fresh study from Curtin University offers a new perspective on the long-debated issue of social media’s impact on mental health. Instead of confirming the widely held belief that heavy social media use significantly affects mental health, the research found negligible to no direct relationship. Leading the study, doctoral candidate Chloe Jones emphasized that the…

In a new study, neuroscientists have produced the most detailed functional brain map to date by scanning the brains of participants while they watched a variety of movie clips. The study, published in the Cell Press journal Neuron, utilized data from 176 young adults who viewed 60 minutes of film segments from both independent and…

A new study has unveiled the profound impact that social media algorithms have on the type of news we consume and how we perceive it, especially on platforms like X/Twitter. This research sheds light on the intricate ways these algorithms shape our information environment, potentially influencing political polarization and voter behavior. To investigate the effects…