Ben Ambridge giving a talk on stage

Ben Ambridge

Ben Ambridge is Professor of Psychology at the University of Manchester and the ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD). He is the author of three popular-psychology books, Psy-Q: You Know Your IQ – Now Test Your Psychological Intelligence, Are You Smarter Than a Chimpanzee? and The Stories of Your Life: The Eight Masterplots that Explain Human Behaviour. To find out more about Ben’s writing and research, please visit www.benambridge.com or follow him on Bluesky: @ambridge.bsky.social.

Digital illustration of surrealistic faceless human with spiritual thoughts. Made with vector vibrant color gradient geometry forms. Minimalist textured painting on mental, medical and artistic theme.

Science & Technology

Mindful March: The Unexpected Benefits of Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been linked with ethical decision making and avoidance of cognitive biases. Can it lead to better performance at work?

High angle view of businessman giving presentation colleagues in board room at office

Education & Society

Why Companies Are So Interested in Your Myers-Briggs Type

If you’ve looked for a job recently, you’ve probably encountered the personality test. You may also have wondered if it was backed by scientific research.

A birthday cake on a pastel background

Today: The Best Day of the Year to be Born

Children who are oldest in their class—those born in early autumn—enjoy both a physical and an academic advantage.

Two moms playing with son in front of Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Education & Society

Kids Need Dads—Or Do They?

Data suggest that fathers can be fantastic, but there’s no magic ingredient they supply for children’s emotional, educational, or social development.

Image courtesy of Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Wars: Can Anybody Really Tell the Difference?

While few people can reliably discern any difference in a blind taste test, Coca-Cola is winning in its branding war with Pepsi.

Signage reading "No Weapons Allowed Inside This Building"

A Smoking Gun: The Battle Over Gun Control and Statistical Significance

Gun control and statistical significance in Florida

Ancient, hand-drawn horoscope with zodiac signs

Psy-Q: Does Your Horoscope Affect School Performance?

Does one's horoscope birth date impact performance in school? A look at the research.

Bride and groom during wedding rings exchange

How to Have a Happy Marriage: Overestimate Your Spouse’s Good Qualities

Newlyweds’ perceptions of each other during “honeymoon period.” Can research tell us anything about how to have a happy marriage?

Daily News headline reads, "War on Terror"

Talk About Terrorism: Metaphors We Live and Die By

The four main metaphors of counter terrorism and their implications.

A student in the front row raises her hand

Are Bilingual People Smarter Than People Who Speak One Language?

Is the bilingual advantage real? Are bilingual people smarter than people who speak one language?

By DFID - UK Department for International Development (Flickr: Bracing for a short, sharp jab) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Should Vaccination Be Compulsory?

While science is clear that vaccines are safe and effective, it is silent on whether or not mandating compulsory vaccination is the right thing to do.

Huntsville, Texas Death Chamber, 1997.

Sociologists Test Six Arguments For and Against Capital Punishment

The sociologists Michael Radlet and Marian Borg test out six arguments for and against capital punishment.

A report card showing good grades

Do Good Students Make Bad Teachers?

The relationship between GPA and the performance of good and bad teachers seems modest at best.

Woman with child in the wiilderness

Wild, Natural, and Home Births: For the Birds?

Medical research on natural and home births

Woman receiving light therapy.

PSY-Q: The SAD-dest Time of the Year

What are the treatment options for SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder?

A partially opened red gift box with an undone golden ribbon

Psy-Q: Is Christmas Gift Giving Wasteful?

Is Christmas Gift Giving Wasteful?

PSY-Q: Are the Drug Laws Working? Russell Brand Doesn’t Think So

All currently-illegal drugs, including cannabis, are harmful to health, the main argument for legalizing them reduces harm, by minimizing their consumption.

Close-up of an open pack of cigarettes

PSY-Q: A Smoking Gun? (or The Plain Truth). Would Plain Cigarette Packaging Save Lives?

What is the health impact of plain cigarette packaging?

Free_Hugs,_in_Hibiyakoen,_Tokyo_Prefecture

Is There Any Scientific Evidence for the Benefits of Hugging?

The science behind hugging, massage therapy, and physical touch.

Project Implicit Racial Prejudice

Project Implicit Reveals Your Hidden Prejudice

Professor Anthony Greenwald invented the Implicit Association Test that can tap into our implicit feelings about race. What happens when people take it?

Former President Obama smiling on a bench beside Chinese President Xi Jinping

Psy-Q: What Does The Prisoner’s Dilemma have to do with Greenhouse Gases?

Game theory tells us that climate deals are doomed to failure.

Close-up of a quarter balanced on a thumb just before a coin flip

“It’s the psychology, stupid.” What really decides elections?

The "rational choice" model alone doesn't account for voting behavior. So what does?

The Fountain of Youth

Psy-Q: Is Age Really Just a Number?

Is age just a number?

Fear of Ebola

Psy-Q: The Psychology Behind Our Fear of Ebola

Welcome to the first of a new weekly column, Psy-Q, which delves into the JSTOR archives to give ...

Editors' Picks

Rebecca Lehmann on Breaking the Rules of Poetry

An interview with writer and poet Rebecca Lehmann, who finds splendid things can follow when she stretches the rules of craft.

Politics & History

The Voting Rights Act 1965: Annotated

The passing of the Voting Rights Act in August 1965 prohibited the use of Jim Crow laws and discriminatory tests to disenfranchise Black voters.

Science & Technology

A Practical Machine: The Wright Brothers in Dayton

Orville and Wilbur Wright wanted to create a practical machine—not a novelty or a gimmick—and they accomplished that at Ohio’s Huffman Prairie on October 5, 1905.

Science & Technology

Jane Goodall

An intellectual powerhouse and dedicated conservationist, Goodall showed generations of humans how to engage with—and take care of—the natural world.

From Oriental Riviera to Global Asia: Hong Kong in Travel Posters

A collection of travel posters shared via JSTOR by Hong Kong Baptist University highlights Hong Kong’s unique place in the global imagination over the decades.