Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Decision making integrates affective dynamics, with affect providing information, signalling changes in the environment and conveying the current relevance of goals
Applying social cognition theories, concepts, and methodologies to the context of sexual interactions can lead to a better understanding of the dynamics and outcomes of sexual interactions. Likewise, considering the context of sexual interactions can better inform knowledge of the domain specificity of social cognition.
Biller et al explain that humans actively shape their lighting environment through behaviour to meet specific individual needs. They propose that achieving healthy light exposure relies on shaping behaviour.
In recent years, there has been an increase in both reports of boredom and greater use of digital media. Digital media may exacerbate boredom via multiple pathways including dividing attention and reducing sense of meaning.
Integrating human and animal research, this Perspectives proposes a detailed neurobiological account of attachment, from prenatal influences, to early emergence and later consolidation of individual attachment patterns.
A theoretical framework informed by computational social science and social psychology explains the process of polarization as the gradual fragmentation of a divided society.
The neurobiological action of psychedelics on the brain may increase the intensity of the experience of insight. Psychedelics can thus lead to flexible updating of beliefs, critically including the adoption of false beliefs.
The Perspective presents an activity autonomy framework to distinguish experimental activity characteristics and discusses best practices for studying the neurophysiological correlates of flow.
Group polarization, a result of social interaction, can underpin political polarization—the division of society into groups. While intergroup conflict and hostility are possible outcomes of polarization, polarization as a mobilizing force for collective action can benefit marginalized groups.
This Perspective calls for a reform of the criminal justice system in the US. Psychological and neuroscientific research should inform regulations around pollution and toxins, policies for solitary confinement, and the framework for the admissibility of legal insanity defense.
This Perspective argues for a revised mechanism for the functional role of alpha oscillations. While alpha oscillations reflect inhibition, they are controlled by an indirect mechanism governed by the load of goal-relevant information.
Analysts in criminal justice and social media companies encounter material including lethal violence, sexual assault, and self-harm. Harnessing established models, research needs to clarify what factors lead to or mitigate PTSD and secondary traumatic stress in these professionals.
