Social Sciences

Killer whale mothers know best.

After Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders

When their reproductive years are done, females take on new roles as wise survival guides

This Might Be Why Handshaking Evolved

A new study shows that shaking hands is a covert way for us to unconsciously sniff out each other’s chemical signals

Social media may be more relaxing than anticipated.

Social Media Is Not Making You a Ball of Stress

But perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook and Twitter can cause stress to spread when bad things happen to friends and family

Create Your Very Own False Memories by Lying on Facebook

The brain is notoriously poor at recalling past events, and social media just makes it worse

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends … "

Shopping on Black Friday Makes You Feel Like a Well-Loved Warrior

A powerful cocktail of social bonding and competitive adventure will compel more than 95 million people to hit the stores on one day

A Couple’s First Two Kids Make Them Briefly Happier; the Third Not So Much

Older couples get the most joy from their new addition to the family, teens the least

Americans See Scientists As Smart, But Not Trustworthy

Scientists, along with lawyers and engineers, are viewed as competent but lacking in warmth

The Average Prisoner Only Gets Two Visits While They Are Incarcerated

Prisoners who receive the most visitors, however, tend to do the best after they are released

Why Networking Can Make You Feel Dirty

Pursuing relationships to forward your career aspirations triggers a sense of moral disgust

If Certain Couples in Yemen Choose to Divorce, Their Siblings Must Get a Divorce, Too

"Swap" marriages dictate that both marriage vows and divorces must be evenly shared between siblings of two families

We Choose Friends Who Are Genetically Similar to Us

On average, our friends are like the genetic equivalents of fourth cousins

Longer Prison Sentences Make Incarceration More "Contagious"

When people receive prison sentences about 17 months or longer, their peers become significantly more likely to be locked up

For Some American Women, It's Become the Norm to Have Babies Without Being Married

Women who don't complete college are much more likely to have a child outside of wedlock than those who hold a bachelor's degree

An artist's rendering of what HitchBOT's journey might look like

This July, a Robot Will Hitchhike Across Canada

HitchBOT will attempt to travel from Halifax to British Columbia, relying on the kindness of strangers

"Trophy Wives" Are Rare in Real Life

Most people marry someone who has a similar degree of attractiveness and success as they do

This Company Sold More Beer by Helping Waitresses Get Home Late at Night

Anthropology can have relevance for the business world—just ask this beer company

Can Free Crack Pipe Kits—Like Free Heroin Needles—Reduce Disease Transmission?

A group in San Francisco plans to hand out free crack pipes, but the city is not convinced it'll help reduce the spread of HIV and Hep C

Superstorm Sandy's aftermath on the Jersey Shore. With climate change, extreme weather events, like Sandy, could become more common.

Why Doesn't Anyone Know How to Talk About Global Warming?

The gap between science and public understanding prevents action on climate change—but social scientists think they can fix that

The statistics-crunching Facebook Data Science team has mined the site's vast clearinghouse of status updates for nuggets of insights on love.

What Can Facebook Tell Us About Love?

With data-mining being all the rage these days, our online activity may reveal some intriguing insights about romance in the login era

Is this the next big thing in sleep tracking?

This Mask Can Tell You How You've Been Sleeping

Its inventors say that through its sensors, the NeuroOn will also let you know the best times to take naps

Page 4 of 5