Psychology

What factors predict success?

New research from Angela Duckworth and colleagues finds that characteristics beyond intelligence influence long-term achievement.

Michele W. Berger

The virtual assistant

Artificial intelligence has permeated many corners of life, from consumer purchasing and media consumption to health care—sometimes in ways we don’t even know.

Michele W. Berger

Minds in the wild

As part of a MindCORE effort to bring research into the community, behavioral psychologist Elizabeth Brannon and her team spent the summer conducting two studies at the Academy of Natural Sciences to better understand how children learn.

Michele W. Berger

No evidence that testosterone reduces cognitive empathy

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that testosterone administration did not affect cognitive empathy, a measure of the ability to recognize another’s feelings and motivations. The finding calls into question the theory that the symptoms of autism are caused by a hyper-masculinized brain.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Using a matching game to study the language of conversations

Penn undergrads Lilian Zhang and Kassidy Houston, and University of Chicago student Benjamin Stallworth, interned in the lab of cognitive psychologist Delphine Dahan doing work to better understand what subconsciously happens when people converse.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


Everyday Health

What is food noise and how do you get rid of it?

According to Thomas Wadden of the Perelman School of Medicine, people taking GLP-1 drugs are finding that daily experiences that used to trigger a compulsion to eat or think about food no longer have that effect.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Expect to see AI ‘weaponized to deceive voters’ in this year’s presidential election

Cristina Bicchieri of the School of Arts & Sciences says that AI-generated misinformation exacerbates already-entrenched political polarization throughout America.

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Kiplinger

Can money buy you happiness? Yes, it can. However…

Research by Matthew Killingsworth of the Wharton School reveals there is no monetary threshold at which money's capacity to improve well-being diminishes.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

Philadelphia hospital program adds psychologists to bridge mental health services for trauma survivors

A new psychology team at the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program has provided about 46 survivors with short- and long- term therapy, featuring remarks from Elinore Kaufman and Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine.

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Jerusalem Post

Early humans had ADHD, scientists say after making people play game online

A collaborative study by researchers from Penn suggests that the impulsive component of ADHD may provide a competitive advantage to learn from rivals and “catch” new methods of achievement.

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Psychology Today

Why hasn’t the new me shown up yet?

In his book “What You Can Change and What You Can’t,” Martin Seligman of the School of Arts & Sciences says that some personal qualities and habits can’t be changed without extreme difficulty.

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