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Our pick of the week’s best psychology and neuroscience links.

09 January 2016

By Christian Jarrett

Lumosity to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising
The creators and marketers of the Lumosity “brain training” program have agreed to settle US Federal Trade Commission charges alleging that they deceived consumers with unfounded claims that Lumosity games can help users perform better at work and in school, and reduce or delay cognitive impairment associated with age and other serious health conditions.

How Expressing Gratitude Might Change Your Brain
A new study I covered at New York’s Science of Us suggests that even just an hour of focusing on gratitude might have long-lasting neurological effects.

Therapy Wars: The Revenge of Freud
Cheap and effective, CBT became the dominant form of therapy, consigning Freud to psychology’s dingy basement, writes The Guardian’s Oliver Burkeman. But new studies have cast doubt on its supremacy – and shown dramatic results for psychoanalysis. Is it time to get back on the couch?

Trivers’ Pursuit
Renegade scientist Robert Trivers is lauded as one of our greatest thinkers—despite irking academia with blunt talk and bad manners. Profile by Matthew Hutson in Psychology Today.

Debate Rages over Whether Speaking a Second Language Improves Cognition
Some studies show that the purported “bilingual advantage” may be only a myth. Simon Makin reports for Scientific American.

The Age of Loneliness (video)
In this BBC documentary, people from all walks of life talk honestly about their experiences with loneliness, from a 19-year-old student to a 100-year-old woman. 

The Surprising Perks of Being Easily Embarrassed
Feeling foolish and awkward can be good for you in unexpected ways, boosting your sex appeal, social status and more. David Robson reports for BBC Future. 

How We Learn Fairness
In the latest of her superb psychology columns at the New Yorker Maria Konnikova covers research on how humans develop a sense of fairness and whether that quality is innate or learned socially.