It’s been a funny old year, but through it all we’ve kept on doing our thing and loved every minute of it: bringing you daily reports on the latest psychology research. Contributing writer Alex Fradera and I have covered the entire field, everything from the way infant memory works to research on the psychophysiology of post-sex pillow talk. We told you about failed replication attempts, including smiling apparently not having an effect on mood, and provided feature-length research roundups on topics like eye contact and psychology myths. We released four episodes of our PsychCrunch podcast, including an Olympic special on how to use psychology to be a stronger competitor. Roughly twice per month we also published brilliant guest contributions from psychologists and science writers, including posts on why so many people dislike the word moist and how teens are more likely to reject junk food when it’s framed as rebellion.
I like to think that our stories might have helped you make sense of topical events, nurtured your love of psychology, offered you hope, maybe even made you smile. It’s been a privilege to write for you and I hope you’ll join us again in 2017. Until then, here’s a list of the 10 research stories that – based on number of clicks – seemed to intrigue you the most this year. Happy Holidays! —Christian Jarrett, editor
Men who can tell a good story are seen as more attractive and higher status
By age 3, kids know when you owe them one
Why do so many people believe in psychic powers?
The police believe a lot of psychology myths related to their work
Students of today are more afraid of growing up than in previous generations
This is what eight weeks of mindfulness training does to your brain
Experienced meditators have brains that are physically 7 years younger than non-meditators
You hear a voice in your head when you’re reading, right?
Why is it so hard to persuade people with facts?
A daily cold shower seems to have some psychological benefits
