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Psychology

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience
Don’t let them fool you | Aeon
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essay

Social psychology

Don’t let them fool you

The fear of being duped is ubiquitous, but excessive scepticism makes it harder to trust one another and cooperate

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

Believing is seeing | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

Social contagions can cause genuine illness, and TikTok may be a superspreader

10 minutes

Through the eyes of another | Aeon
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essay

Ethics

Through the eyes of another

It’s impossible to shed our individual biases. So the best way to establish objectivity is by taking on new perspectives

Heidi Maibom

The will to fight | Aeon
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essay

War and peace

The will to fight

Throughout history, the most effective combatants have powered to victory on commitment to core values and collective resolve

Scott Atran

You’ve never been completely honest | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

A harrowing account of a 1970 ‘leadership seminar’ spotlights self-help’s dark side

11 minutes

A good scrap | Aeon
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essay

Social psychology

A good scrap

Disagreements can be unpleasant, even offensive, but they are vital to human reason. Without them we remain in the dark

Ian Leslie

A small antelope horn | Aeon
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video

Anthropology

Sitting by the fire with a nomadic tribe, a physicist ponders the many shapes of wisdom

2 minutes

EXCLUSIVEConor and Kobe | Aeon
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video

Mood and emotion

Grieving Kobe Bryant, Conor wonders: why do untimely celebrity deaths hit so hard?

6 minutes

Why are we so attached to our things? | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

Feeling connected to objects is a fundamental – and fraught – part of human nature

5 minutes

Everything is stories: reviled and maligned | Aeon
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video

Ethics

Does everyone deserve a respectful burial? How a terrorist’s body divided a city

22 minutes

The hermit | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

Disturbed loner? Gentle recluse? Opinions on an infamous Maine hermit run the gamut

23 minutes

Your name here | Aeon
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video

Film and visual culture

‘From dream to reality!’ The 1960s spoof that marked the dawn of self-aware advertising

9 minutes

Dating on the rebound – when looking for love can be a lifesaver | Aeon
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idea

Love and friendship

Dating on the rebound – when looking for love can be a lifesaver

Claudia Brumbaugh

9at38 | Aeon
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video

Music

The violinist staging a concert of unity at the border between North and South Korea

18 minutes

Do you have imposter syndrome? | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

Do you feel like a fraud after a success? It can mean you’re doing something well

4 minutes

This mortal coil | Aeon
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essay

Death

This mortal coil

The fear of death drives many evils, from addiction to prejudice and war. Can it also be harnessed as a force for good?

Jeff Greenberg

The drill | Aeon
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video

Childhood and adolescence

‘I want to take the bullet and save my friends’ – the grim reality of safety drills in US schools

3 minutes

In the absence | Aeon
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video

Human rights and justice

‘They told us to stay put’: the South Korean ferry disaster that sank lives and trust

29 minutes

The big push | Aeon
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video

War and peace

The eerie serenity of a summer’s day by water, before one of history’s bloodiest battles

4 minutes

Black sheep | Aeon
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video

Social psychology

What ultranationalism offers working-class teens in England’s north

16 minutes

What is to be done about the problem of creepy men? | Aeon
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idea

Social psychology

What is to be done about the problem of creepy men?

Heidi Matthews

The smart move: we learn more by trusting than by not trusting | Aeon
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idea

Social psychology

The smart move: we learn more by trusting than by not trusting

Hugo Mercier

Houses of horror | Aeon
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essay

Social psychology

Houses of horror

A ragged curtain, a creaking attic, a dark cellar – what explains the architecture of creepiness, and its enduring appeal?

Francis McAndrew

The fast track to a life well lived is feeling grateful | Aeon
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idea

Virtues and vices

The fast track to a life well lived is feeling grateful

David DeSteno