Adult decisions can be child’s play

Cognitive psychologists at UNSW Sydney are investigating why adults stick with choices that may not be in their best interests and suggest the best way to make better choices is to rediscover exploring like a child.

Self knowledge and self sabotage

UNSW researchers uncover why some people persist in harmful behaviours – even when they’ve been shown where they’re going wrong.

Boosting brain health

UNSW’s Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty calls for a national brain health campaign to boost productivity.

How does consciousness work?

Human consciousness remains a puzzle to be solved, and two current theories – global neuronal workspace theory and integrated information theory – are battling it out without a clear result.

Animal insights into the human mind

From fish driving cars to chimps doing maths teaching animals ‘irrelevant’ skills can reveal a great deal about the inner workings of our own minds.

Brain waves

A trial of an interactive game that trains people to alter their brain waves has shown promise as a treatment for nerve pain – offering hope for a new generation of drug-free treatments.

The six-legged smart phone

Head lice, fleas and tapeworms have been humanity’s companions throughout our evolutionary history. Yet, the greatest parasite of the modern age is no blood-sucking invertebrate. It is sleek, glass-fronted and addictive by design. Its host? Every human on Earth with a wifi signal.

The critical need for critical thinking

Critical thinking skills are more important than ever in an age of online misinformation and AI generated slop, and everyone can improve those skills with a little care and practice.

Heads or tails we hate you

New research from the University of Sydney has found people tend to discriminate in favour of individuals who show a similarity to them, even when the similarity arises from a random event like the flip of a coin.

The gambler’s fallacy

We always want to find patterns in sequences of events – but often they aren’t really there. Understanding randomness can free us from unnecessary worry or false hope, allowing us to focus on decisions grounded in reality.

Mental gymnastics

The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive.

Sleep on it

John Steinbeck once observed that “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it” and modern research suggests he was right.