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Psychology

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience

Addiction Ageing and death Childhood and adolescence Cognition and intelligence Consciousness and altered states Family life Gender and identity Language and linguistics Life stages Love and friendship Mental health Mood and emotion Neurodiversity Neuroscience Personality Pleasure and pain Psychiatry and psychotherapy Self-improvement Sex and sexuality Sleep and dreams Social psychology Spirituality Teaching and learning Technology and the self Wellbeing

Latest Popular

Photo of a musician with curly hair playing acoustic guitar on stage wearing a colourful shirt with audience members in the background.

videoChildhood and adolescence

A project takes teens from war-torn regions to schools in Canada

25 minutes

Black and white photo of children playing in a street against a rough wall with a sign, some moving energetically.

essayChildhood and adolescence

Hidden in plain sight

Jewish children who were ‘hidden’ in Christian families during the Holocaust have much to teach us about memory and trauma

Carolyn Ariella Sofia

Painting of shells on a table with a floral vase a potted plant and a bird on a balcony overlooking water and cliffs.

essayNeurodiversity

A poet on Mars

Could autism explain Virginia Woolf’s unique voice? Her extraordinary eye for detail and connections suggests it might

Camille Caprioglio

A person in blue jeans and black jacket resting in an alcove in an old red brick wall.

essaySleep and dreams

What sleep is

It is our biggest blind spot, a bizarre experience that befalls us every day, and can’t be explained by our need for rest

Vladyslav Vyazovskiy

Illustration of a person in a pink shirt gently embracing a fawn in a forest setting.

videoAddiction

After 17 years of addiction, Raina finds a lifeline in compassion

15 minutes

Two women sitting in a car, one is wearing glasses and a headscarf, the other has short hair and red sunglasses.

videoGender

In an act of resistance, Elahe forgoes a hijab at a family party

27 minutes

Black and white photo of a young boy playing simultaneous chess against three suited men watched by a crowd.

essayNeurodiversity

The puzzle of the ‘idiot savant’

The convergence of singular talent and profound disability confounded scientists eager to place humans into neat categories

Violeta Ruiz

Graphic with a vertical split between a red and brown background, with a brown circle at the centre of each half.

essayNeuroscience

Brain man

How can you have a picture of the world when your brain is locked up in your skull? Neuroscientist Dale Purves has clues

Asif Ghazanfar

A man with a bird tattoo outlined over an older tattoo of SS insignia on his shaved head, in a tattoo parlour with orange walls.

videoTechnology and the self

Inside a tattoo parlour where hateful images are covered for free

11 minutes

A man and a woman on a path next to a grassy area, both holding phones; the man is shown from behind and appears to be taking a selfie while a large stag walks behind him.

essayTechnology and the self

Record everything!

Our memories are precious to us and constitute our sense of self. Why not enhance them by recording all of your life?

Yannic Kappes

Black and white photo of a group of men in matching shirts at a “Male Couples Circle of Hope” event with balloons and snacks.

essayHuman rights and justice

Sometimes democracy works

Same-sex marriage is an astonishing case of progress propelled by democracy, in the face of public spite and misinformation

Michael Fuerstein

Photo of a middle-aged man climbing a red ladder on a tall brick industrial chimney with a cityscape in the background.

videoWork

Like a cheery Sisyphus, Fred dismantles an industrial chimney one brick at a time

12 minutes

Photo of a car’s interior at night with motion blur, showing a driver’s arm steering through illuminated streets.

essayIllness and disease

Katie’s story

Frontotemporal dementia is rare and ruthless. When it robbed Katie of her husband at 33, his story became her life’s work

Lynn Hallarman

Photo of a smiling boy with short hair outdoors, viewed through a digital camera frame. Background shows a fence and greenery.

videoChildhood and adolescence

A neglected Dominican sugar town, as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old local

11 minutes

A large, colourful mural on a building, depicting people, with two individuals walking by on the pavement.

essayChildhood and adolescence

Society needs hope

Youths around the world are in a profound crisis of despair. Adults must help them to believe that the future will be better

Carol Graham

Blurry night photo through car window showing police lights and a figure, creating a dramatic scene with blue lighting.

videoDemography and migration

The volunteers who offer a last line of care for migrants at a contentious border

30 minutes

Vintage black and white photo of a woman in a garden sitting beside a large urn with a sleeping dog lying nearby.

essayFamily life

Glorious and mundane

I once exalted in the extraordinary. But as I’ve learned from Virginia Woolf, indelible beauty is also found in the everyday

Diana Saverin

Black and white photo of a thoughtful woman and two children, one holding a crying baby, indoors near wooden doors.

essayEthics

Why love matters most

For Iris Murdoch, morality is not about duties and rules but stopping our ego fantasies and attending to others with love

Cathy Mason

Watercolour and ink collage with a portrait, handwritten text saying ‘Hey, I’m important’ and a small beach photo on top right.

videoConsciousness and altered states

How an artist learned to ‘co-live’ with the distressing voice in her head

6 minutes

Sketch of person holding a pink phone to their ear with minimal facial detail.

videoHistory

In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots

21 minutes

A person in a brown coat sitting alone at a picnic table in an autumn park with fallen leaves around.

essayConsciousness and altered states

A simple shift in focus

Life is often experienced as a demanding, ongoing story. But with a little practice, a new space opens for peaceful presence

James Carmody

Photo of a woman sleeping, resting her head and hand on a large dog, creating a cosy atmosphere.

videoLove and friendship

What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?

13 minutes

Photo of two women hugging at an indoor event, one holding a piece of paper

videoLife stages

Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers

15 minutes

Photo of an ocean sunset seen through a round window with a warm sepia tone across the sky and water.

essayLanguage and linguistics

The grammar of a god-ocean

To truly explore alien languages, linguists must open themselves to the maximum conceivable degree of cosmic otherness

Eli K P William