Behaviour
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Talk back to babies to help them learn
It’s the quality of chat that counts, not the quantity.
It’s a no-brainer that babies learn language from their caregivers, but how we respond to them rather than simply how...
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Conversation
The life and times of a forensic linguist
What they do, and what it takes to do it.
By Georgina Heydon, RMIT University If you’re an avid viewer of crime shows, you’ve probably come across cases in ...
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Music without a sound
Just knowing a genre can evoke emotions.
There’s more to our appreciation of music than its sound, according to an Australian study published in the journal P...
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On the phone, want it now
Study links screen time to impulsive decision making.
We have a bit more evidence to suggest smartphone use and impulsive decision-making go hand in hand. In a recent s...
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Dating app use linked to social anxiety
But whether this is a problem is unclear, research suggests.
People who experience social anxiety and depression are more likely to use dating apps – but there’s a twist. Male...
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We talk about empathy, but do we value it?
Research suggests it depends on the people and the issue.
Showing empathy towards someone – putting yourself in their shoes – is an admirable and important human virtue, espec...
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Finding the sweet spot in a haunted house
Researchers look for when scary becomes concerning.
Scientists have confirmed what fright fans have long known: there is just the right amount of scary. Danish resear...
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Are women more moral than men?
They’re certainly fairer and more caring, study suggests.
Women score consistently more highly than men on moral dimensions of caring, fairness and purity, according to a comp...
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Conversation
Do algorithms erode our ability to think?
Maybe, researchers say, but we influence them as well.
Have you ever watched a video or movie because YouTube or Netflix recommended it to you? Or added a friend on Faceboo...
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Bots not a part of the vaccine chat
Study suggests influence on information flow not great.
The influence of bots on vaccine-related discussions on social media may be a lot smaller than we think and fear. ...
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Opinion
Tim Jarvis on Human-wildlife conflict
When humans and animals cross, it’s termed conflict.
It’s 84 years since the last known Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus), died at Beaumaris Zoo, Ho...
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Magazine
Do our devices rule our self-control?
Neurological evidence surrounding phone addiction.
More than three billion Earthlings have a smartphone, a device on track to have the most rapid take-up of any technol...