Our most recent emotion science articles here - hot off our imaginary, virtual presses.
We grieve for loved ones lost, but the nature of grief – and our bereavement, is especially complicated when our loved ones choose to end their own lives. Read what guest author Hui Yen Ling has to share about the complex and deeply personal experience of bereavement from suicide.
What makes a country’s citizens truly happy? Economic wealth and stability do lead to greater levels of national well-being, but a truer picture of a country’s wealth emerges when we consider more psychological factors – social ties, personal freedom, and natural environments. Check out our article on what makes a country truly wealthy.
We are witnessing the dawn of the era of intelligent machines – computer systems that think, make decisions, and act as efficiently – sometimes more so than human brains. What place do us (mere) human beings have in a world where artificial intelligence (AI) dominates? Ironically, maybe it’s the very idiosyncrasies and irrationalities – the very things that define our humanity, that help keep us future-relevant. Check out our article on this very topic here.
You have probably heard of the saying “time flies when you’re having fun.” The psychological research on time perspective also shows that we tend to perceive time as accelerating as we get older. Why is this? Check out our article by guest writer JY Tan on how time perspective, emotion and memories affect our experiencing of how quickly, or slowly, life passes us by.
A person you envy, or dislike immensely experiences a misfortune. “They had it coming,” you say – but it’s not that you are a bad person. It just feels nice that this terrible person finally experiences some deserving misery. Read Raja Intan Arifah’s insightful article on the emotion that we all experience but are unwilling to admit to feeling – schadenfreude.
Thanks to technology, we are more connected today than ever. And yet, scientific studies show that levels of perceived social isolation and feelings of loneliness, are on the rise, leading to numerous health consequences. Check out our article on the loneliness epidemic, and some of our suggestions on how to counter these unpleasant feelings of disconnection and isolation.
The emotionally intelligent coach recognizes that people are moved through their feelings. In this article, we discuss some of the ways you can use emotional intelligence to be a more effective and empowering coach.
What can different cultures teach us about living a fuller, richer life? Plenty, in fact. In this article, we delve into wisdom from Japanese
Being more motivationally intelligent requires us to make use of specific emotions – termed ‘anticipatory emotions.’ Mental contrasting works too, in helping us develop greater, sustained intentions to meet our resolutions. Check our article here on how to make these approaches work for you.
There is no sincerer love than the love of food, as a famous playwright once said. But our relationship with food is a little more complex and unpredictable than the scheduled three square meals most of us have in a day. Read our article here, by Tsee Leng Choy, on the biological and psychological effects of food consumption.
Nostalgia is a form of mental time travelling – but research evidence also suggests that it can have positive effects on our overall well-being. Read about some of the fascinating science of this misunderstood emotion here.
Is “follow your passion” actually bad, or at best, ill-informed advice? What does psychological research on passion say? Read our article here to find out.
Enjoy a good horror movie every once in a while? Psychological research has an explanation for why some of us enjoy the thrills of the gruesome and gory genre, and from being scared out of our wits. Check out our article here on what psychologists think make horror movies so appealing.
We often associate joy as an emotion state with a rather childish, immature, but pleasant quality. And yet, we seek this positive emotion state by making it dependent on external events. Joy is everywhere – in everyday mundane objects and events, according to guest contributor Joey Koh. Read what she has to say about finding and experiencing joy from everyday objects and events.
Small, positive changes to your life can add up over time, leading to sustained well-being. Here are some ways to incorporate positivity just that bit more into your day-to-day routine, based on 20 years of positive psychology research. See how positive psychology can work for you in our latest article here.
There is considerable evidence that emotional intelligence can help us better cope with stress, resolve conflict, and be more effective leaders. Can this important skill, however, help increase financial gain for an individual? Are individuals high on emotional intelligence paid more than those low on emotional intelligence? Check out our article on this topic here.
There are psychopaths among us – but are they really as depicted in popular media? Tsee Leng Choy sifts through fact and fiction on this antisocial personality disorder, and shares what neuroscientists understand about psychopathy. Read on here.
An evolutionary view suggests that our emotions have been long part of our history, making them a necessary feature of our psychology. Read our evolutionary psychology take on emotions here.
Awe can literally be an out-of-this-world experience. This aesthetic and self-transcendent emotion can also elicit a sense of oneness, and connectedness with the world around us. Our new write-up on his emotion can be found here.
Prolonging experiences that elicit positive emotions has been shown to be beneficial for our well-being. Read on to find out how you can savour the goodness that comes your way.
The groups we belong to, and identify with shape our emotional experiences. We make the emotional ups and downs of our group’s fortunes our own. We discuss the psychology of group emotion in our article here.
How do scents and odours influence our feelings? And how do they shape our judgments and actions? Read more about the fascinating scent-mood link here.
The benefits and advantages of being emotionally intelligent are well-attested to – but does this important skill also have a shadow side? Read the article here.