
Francis T. McAndrew Ph.D.
Social Psychologist
Popular Press Articles
(Does not include essays that only appear in McAndrew's Psychology Today Blog)
How long you live can be predicted by how healthy you feel - Your Tango, June 22, 2026
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Why do old people hate new music? - Yahoo Life U.K., May 3 & July 19, 2025
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Why Losing a Dog is so Hard - AfterTalk Grief Support, March 28, 2025
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - Lake County News (California) - December 26, 2024.
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - PsyPost, December 25, 2024. Also in Rappler.
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Frank McAndrew: Why there's no place like home for the holidays - The Daily Times (Tennessee) - December 24, 2024.
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - Hoptown Chronicle, December 22, 2024
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - SheThePeople, Albany Times-Union, The Middletown Press, The Norwalk Hour, December 7, 2024
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - CT Insider, San Francisco Chronicle, The Idaho Press, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Skagit Valley Herald, Greenwich Time, The Darien Times, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express, Alton Telegraph, December 5, 2024
Curious Kids: Why Do Old People Hate New Music? - Yahoo News Singapore, May 3, 2024
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Why losing a dog is so hard - Actively Learn, February 5, 2024
Why do old people hate new music?- Spark Chronicles, November 26, 2023
Why do old people hate new music?- Yahoo Finance, November 25, 2023
How to have a great conversation - Psychology Today Magazine, May/June, 2023, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 44-45.
The difference between being cool and being popular - Fitness Hacks For Life, September 2, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - Snopes.com, August 19, 2022
Why you shouldn't want to always be happy - Yahoo, August 14, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - The Good Men Project, August 8, 2022
What makes a man behave like a hero? - On Wellness (Greece), July 25, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? -NeuroScience News, July 24, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - Big Think, July 22, 2022
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Whatever happened to all of the heroes? - OpenForum.com (Australia) - July 21, 2022
Why are people willing to risk their lives to save others? - The Akron Legal News, July 20, 2022
What makes a hero? Is it personality, psychology or evolution? - Scroll (India), July 17, 2022
(also in Japan Today & East Mojo)
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - Brooklyn Daily Eagle & Asian Spectator, July 14, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - St, George News (Utah), July 14, 2022
What makes people willing to risk their lives to save others? - The Conversation & Yahoo News, July 12, 2022
Why losing a dog is so difficult (Bulgaria) - Obekti, July 1, 2022
Why losing a dog is more difficult than losing a relative or friend - Hasan Jasim, May 29, 2022
The factor that can predict exactly how long you'll live - Your Tango, March 26, 2022
Why do old people hate new music? - Big Think, November 29, 2021
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - Big Think, November 19, 2021
Why we love big, blood-curdling screams - Actively Learn, October 21, 2021 (an online teaching resource)
Why some people creep us out so much - Fitness Hacks for Life, August 27, 2021
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - IFL Science, August 20, 2021
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw. - The Independent (Uganda), July 20, 2021
Why clowns creep us out (Turkey) - Ceviri Gazetesi, June 2, 2021
Why do old people hate new music? - Yahoo News, January 16, 2021
There's no place like home for the holidays - and that's what makes the Covid-19 surge so devastating. - The Columbia Missourian, December 25, 2020
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - Marin Independent Journal, December 21, 2020
Covid drives home our attachment to home - The Daily Herald (Everett, Washington), December 20, 2020
There's no place like home for the holidays--and that's what makes the pandemic's winter surge particularly devastating - Business Mirror, December 18, 2020
There's no place like home for the holidays -- and that's what makes the pandemic's winter surge particularly devastating. - The Conversation, December 10, 2020 (also appears in Cadillac News & El Financiero (Mexico))
Q & A about Creepiness - Psychwire, October 30, 2020
ASK about the Psychology of Gossip - Psychwire, October 24, 2020
Decoding the Freudian Symbolism in Your Dreams - The Minds Journal, October 1, 2020
Why Losing a Dog can be so Devastating - Next Truth: Young People Science, September/October 2020
Why You Underestimate How Much Other People Like You - The Minds Journal, September 24, 2020
Is Your Personality Stressing You Out? - The Minds Journal, September 18, 2020
How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See - Next Truth Magazine, August 1, 2020
This surprising factor can predict your life span - Patriot Health Digest, June 10, 2020
Reading Faces: Why you sometimes get it wrong - Art in Real Life, June 3, 2020
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - Art in Real Life, May 20, 2020
The perils of isolation - Art of the Mystic Otto Rapp, May 18, 2020
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Considerable, May 6, 2020
Why do old people hate new music? - Purple Sneakers, May 5, 2020
Why we love blood-curdling screams, Next Truth Magazine - March 1, 2020
How stories about haunted houses become self-perpetuating - Next Truth Magazine, February 1, 2020
Why losing a dog is so hard - Considerable, January 23, 2020
The psychology of gossip - It is a social skill. - Actively Learn, January 14, 2020
Why do old people hate new music? - Next Truth: Young People Science - January 7, 2020
Why do old people hate new music? - Albany Times Union, December 19, 2019
Why do old people hate new music? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 17, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - GV Wire, November 25, 2019
Why losing a dog is harder than losing a relative or friend - Middle East North African Financial Network (MENAFN), November 24, 2019
Why we love blood-curdling screams - Amazing Stories (QueerSciFi.com), November 6, 2019
Why clowns creep us out - Magnet, November 2, 2019
Why we love big, blood-curdling screams - Time Magazine, October 31, 2019 (also in Ladders)
Why we love big, blood-curdling screams - Big Think, October 30, 2019 (also in the Wausau Pilot & Review)
How stories about haunted houses become self-perpetuating - Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, October 29, 2019
Why we love big, blood-curdling screams - Livescience, KASL Radio, & Medical Xpress, October 29, 2019
Why old people hate new music - The Citizen (South Africa), October 28, 2019
Fear of clowns explained by a psychologist - Mic, October 28, 2019
Why We Love Big, Blood-Curdling Screams - The Conversation, October 28, 2019 (also in Discover Magazine, The Houston Chronicle, Science 2.0, San Antonio Express-News, Chicago Tribune, SFGate, & The Apopka Voice
Why haunted houses terrify us - Owdin (French), October 25, 2019
Why haunted houses terrify us - Fast Company, October 23, 2019
Why do you stop liking new music as you get older? - Curiosity.com, October 21, 2019
Houses of Horror - Aeon Magazine, October 21, 2019
Curious Kids: Why old people hate new music - ActivelyLearn.com, October 17, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Times Herald-Record (Middletown NY), October 15, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Local News Matters (Bay Area), October 10, 2019
Why old people hate new music - Der Freitag, October 9, 2019
Why do old people hate new music? - Texarkana Gazette, October 8, 2019
Why old people hate new music - Quartz, October 7, 2019
Why old people hate new music - Northwest Florida Daily News, October 7, 2019
Why clowns creep us out - National Geographic Indonesia, October 6, 2019
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Why Clowns Like "the Joker" Give Us the Creeps - CNN, October 4, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - RawStory & Kitsap Sun, October 4, 2019
Why old people hate new music - Colorado Music Business; also in parent24, October 3, 2019
Why do old people hate new music? - Psychology Today; also in LiveWire, Curiosity, & WHYY TV - Philadelphia, October 1, 2019
Why you shouldn't want to be happy all the time - The Good Men Project, October 1, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Havasu News, September 30, 2019
Could a lack of intellectual humility be at the root of what ails America? - Blavity, September 27, 2019
Curious Kids: Why do old people hate new music? - The Conversation, The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Baltimore Sun, September 26, 2019
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - ActivelyLearn.com, September 25, 2019
"The Best Days of Our Lives?" An essay about high school included in the playbill for Groan Ups, which ran in London’s Vaudeville Theatre - opened September 20, 2019
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - The Durango Herald & The Meridian Star, September 14, 2019
Why clowns are creepy - FirstPost, September 14, 2019
Gossip - IOL.com, (Independent Online) September 12, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or a friend - McCall Digest, September 11, 2019
Why clowns creep us out - Inverse, Canal Antigua, & Tuoi Tre - September 10, 2019
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - Business Mirror, September 9, 2019
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out -The New Orleans Advocate, The Wire, CNN Espanol, Considerable, CNN Indonesia, & The Salina Post, - September 9, 2019
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - All-about-Psychology.com, activelylearn.com, & The Maui News, September 7, 2019
This is why clowns creep you out - CNN, Quartz, Popular Science, Arizona Daily Star, WKRC TV, The Oneonta Daily Star, & Local12 -September 6, 2019
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see (Indonesian) - The Conversation, September 5, 2019
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - The Conversation; also in RTL TV & Snopes.com, September 4-5, 2019
Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore - Intellectual Takeout, Wall Street Window, alternet, Utica College Center of Public Affairs and Election Research, August 22, 2019
Politicians don't seem to laugh at themselves as much anymore - The Conversation, Skagit Valley Herald, & SFGate, August 21, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a loved one - The Fresh Toast, August 8, 2019
Why Nigerian Prince scams continue to dupe us - Snopes.com/The Associated Press, August 5, 2019
Humility may be the key to solving polarization - Kitsap Sun, July 30, 2019
Why some people see ghosts and other presences - Next Truth Magazine, July 30, 2019
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Considerable, July 15, 2019
Why a lack of intellectual humility is what ails America - Salon, June 1, 2019 (also in Libertarian Republic)
Why we need more intellectual humility and less moral outrage - Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), May 31, 2019
What is at the root of United States' ills? A lack of intellectual humility - Scroll India, May 30, 2019
Is a lack of intellectual humility at the root of what ails America? - Garn Press, May 28, 2019
Is a lack of intellectual humility what ails America? - Psychology Today, May 26, 2019
Is a lack of intellectual humility at the root of what ails America? - AlterNet, May 25, 2019 (also in ATT.net & Global Economic Intersection)
America is facing an intellectual humility crisis - Newsweek, May 24, 2019 - (also in Pennsylvania Capital-Star, GAYNRD, & Attention to the Unseen)
Could a lack of humility be at the root of what ails America? - The Conversation - May 23, 2019 (also in The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, Towle Road, Government Executive, The Fairfield Citizen, The Alton Telegraph, The Good-Men Project, BIZCATALYST 360, LittleBytes News, Calcutta News, Kiowa County Press, hdReporter)
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - Business Mirror, May 3, 2019
The psychology of happiness - ActivelyLearn.com - May 1, 2019
Gossip is a social skill, not a character flaw, studies (including of lobstermen) show - The Portland Press Herald (Maine), April 26, 2019​
When Rover Dies: Why your grief over your dog is so intense - Your Tango, April 23, 2019
Why pretty girls get bullied - Stand Up To Bullying, March 19, 2019
Why losing a dog is so hard - Wall Street Window, February 11, 2019 - also in OregonLive.com
Why losing a dog is so hard - The Irish Examiner, January 2, 2019 - also in SitNews
Why "topophilia" is at an all-time high every Christmas - Inverse - December 23, 2018 & Curiosity.com - December 20, 2018
Why you underestimate how much other people like you - Psychology Today Magazine, December 11, 2018- also in MAPO
Why losing a dog is so hard - PsyPost, November 29, 2018
Ghosts & Religion - Raw Story - October 31, 2018 - also in MENAFN.com
Why haunted houses creep us out - Neuroscience News, October 29, 2018
Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a loved one - Erraticus, October 2, 2018
Why clowns creep us out - International Business Times, September 29, 2018
Why losing a dog is so hard - The Philly Voice, September 25, 2018 - also in India TV, The Pantagraph, The Southern Illinoisan, & St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative - The Big Smoke, August 28, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" scams continue to dupe us - Channel News Asia, August 22, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" Scams Continue to Dupe Us - Salon, August 18, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" scams continue to dupe us - International Business Times, August 8, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" scams continue to dupe us - MERCATORNET, August 7, 2018
Why "Nigerian Prince" scams continue to dupe us - Heavy, August 5, 2018 (also in iAfrikan)
Psychology explains why "Nigerian Prince" scammers continue to dupe us - Inverse, August 4, 2018 (also inThe Reader)
Why We Still Fall for the 'Nigerian Prince' Scam - The Conversation, August 3, 2018 - also in The Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Actualite Houssenia Writing
Ever felt Guilty over Grieving over a Dog more than a Friend? - This story is for you - Upworthy, July 31, 2018
Why losing a dog can be worse than losing a friend - Univision, July 18, 2018 - also in Infobae, Magnet, Entrepeneur, La Nueva Espana, Culturizando, & Cadena SER
​Why losing a dog can be as traumatic as losing a relative or friend - Business Insider, May 11, 2018
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Perdre son chien peut être plus douloureux que perdre un proche - Slate, April 27, 2018
Why the Death of a Dog Hurts so Much - Quartz, April 26, 2018
How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See - The Big Think, April 25, 2018
Why Pretty Girls Get Bullied - Psychology Today Magazine, April 22, 2018 - also in StandUptoBullying.net
Mourning a Dog Can be Harder than Mourning a Person - Tonic (by Vice), April 10, 2018 - also in GV Wire, Alternet
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - Core Aspect, March 7, 2018
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Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or a friend - PuppyUp - February 18, 2018
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No Place Like Home for the Holidays - Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, December 25, 2017
The science behind why there's no place like home for the holidays - The Hartford Courant, The Missourian, &The Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2017
Nostalgia for home during the holidays - The Daily Mail, December 15, 2017 - also in Univision, The Week, PSYCHlopaedeia, Patch
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Why there's no place like home for the holidays - Livescience, December 14, 2017 - also in KSDK TV - St Louis
Why there's no place like home for the holidays - The Conversation, December 13, 2017
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Beauty cues: Four traits men unknowingly seek in women - Psychology Today Magazine, - November/December 2017, Vol. 50, #6, pp. 42-43 - also in Questia & Your Tango
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How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - Magnet, November 20, 2017
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How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See - The News Minute, November 5, 2017
Humans are hard-wired to see ghosts - Quartz, October 31, 2017
Why some people see ghosts and other paranormal presences - Your Tango Magazine, October 31, 2017 - also in Psychology Today
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - KING TV (NBC Channel 5, Seattle), October 30, 2017
How the God you worship influencwes the ghosts you see - The Reader, October 28, 2017
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How the God You Worship Influences the Ghosts You See - Elko Daily Free Press, also in WBIR TV 10, KSDK TV 5 (NBC), October 27, 2017
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see - Raw Story, October 26, 2017
How the God you worship influences the ghosts you see -The Conversation, October 25, 2017 (also in The Madera Tribune, The Chicago Tribune, KVUE-ABC News)
Why Clowns Creep Us Out - JSTOR Daily, September 17, 2017
Creeped out by clowns? This might be why - CNN, September 8, 2017
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Experiencing Grief over the Loss of a Dog - SPAG Magazine, Issue #9, pp. 46-47, June-August, 2017.
For restaurant profits, it's about everything but the food - The New Influencer, April 28, 2017
For restaurants looking to boost profits, it's often about everything but the food. - Hospitality Magazine, - April 26, 2017
For restaurants looking to boost profits, it's often about everything but the food - The Conversation, April 24, 2017
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Why losing a dog is so hard - La Vanguardia, April 7, 2017
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Why losing a dog is so hard - Spirit of Change Magazine, April 2, 2017
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Why Losing a Dog is so Hard - The Post Bulletin, March 29, 2017
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Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Natural Blaze, March 27, 2017
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Why High School Stays With You Forever - Magnet, March 24, 2017
It can be harder to lose a dog than a relative or friend - here's why - Business Insider, March 19, 2017
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Why losing a dog can be harder than losing a relative or friend - Starts at Sixty, March 17, 2017
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Why losing a dog is harder than losing a relative or friend - Ideas2Live4 - March 16, 2017
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Why Losing a Dog Can Be Harder than Losing a Relative or Friend - Australian Broadcasting Company, March 15, 2017. Also in the New York Observer, & Mamamia
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Why Losing a Dog is so Painful - Quartz, March 14, 2017. Also in The Telegraph
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Why Losing a Dog Can Be Harder than Losing a Relative or Friend - IFL Science, March 10, 2017
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Why Losing a Dog Can Be Harder than Losing a Relative or Friend - The Conversation, March 9, 2017
(also in Life with Dogs & LearningfromDogs.com)
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Why You Will Always Be Haunted By High School - Quartz, March 3, 2017
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Getting over Rover: Why Grief over a Dog is so Intense - Hot Spot, January/February, 2017, pp. 6-7.
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Don't Send in the Clowns - Arts & Opinion, Vol. 15, No. 6, 2016
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The Perils of a Life in Isolation - Intellectual Takeout, November 17, 2016
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In Social Isolation, The Brain Can Act in Strange Ways - PsyPost, November 14, 2016
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The Perils of a Life in Isolation - The Conversation, November 10, 2016. Also in The Citizen & Inner Self,
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Being happy all the time; Why your past and your future make it hard to enjoy the present - Medical Daily, November 2, 2016
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Why Clowns Creep Us Out - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 29, 2016
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Evolutionary Psychology Explains Why Haunted Houses Creep Us Out - Good Magazine, October 28, 2016
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​Why Clowns Creep Us Out - Washington Post, October 27, 2016
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It's healthier to be sad sometimes than happy all of the time - Quartz, October 12, 2016​
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Here's the Psychology Behind Why Clowns Give Us the Heebie-Jeebies - Bangor Daily News, October 11, 2016
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Did Scary Clowns Kill 23 People in Canada? - Snopes.com, October 4, 2016
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The Psychology Behind Why Clowns Creep Us Out - Intellectual Takeout, October 3, 2016
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - New Zealand Herald, October 2, 2016
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The Psychology Behind Why Clowns Creep Us Out - IFL Science, October 2, 2016
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A Psychologist Explains Why People Are Terrified of Clowns - Business Insider, September 30, 2016
The psychology behind why clowns creep us out - Time Magazine, September 29, 2016 - also in PBS Newshour, Quartz, Scientific American, Salon, Science Alert, The New Republic, The Daily Mail, Raw Story, & Salon
Here's why you're terrified of creepy clowns - The Daily Beast, September 28, 2016 (also in The Conversation)
Why you don't want to be happy all of the time - Slate (France), September 14, 2016 - also in Le Point
Happiness doesn't last, and here's why that's OK - CNN, August 25, 2016 (also in Reliawire)
Don't try to be happy. We're programmed to be dissatisfied - The Guardian, August 17, 2016 - also in The Sydney Morning Herald
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Not Happy? Don't Worry. Be Inspired - Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) (also in Spirit of Change Magazine), August 16, 2016.
Permanent happiness is a myth: Why you shouldn't want to always be happy - Salon, August 15, 2016
(also in The New Boston Post & Real Clear Science)
Why you shouldn't want to always be happy - Time Magazine, August 12, 2016 - also in IFL Science, Science Alert, The Conversation, Science Rocks My World, Business Insider, & Intellectual Takeout
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Why you shouldn't want to always be happy - Raw Story, August 11, 2016
The evolutionary psychology behind mass shootings - CNN, July 8, 2016
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We never leave high school: Science proves adolescence unforgettable -- for better or worse - Salon, June 19, 2016
Gossip in your office probably does more good than harm - HRZone, June 10, 2016 - also in Psychology Today
This is why you're still thinking about high school - The Washington Post, June 6, 2016 - also in Raw Story
How can we better understand "The Office Creep?" - HRZone, June 6, 2016
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Evolutionary Psychology and Why High School Stays with Us Forever - PsyPost, June 4, 2016
Why are high school memories burned into our brains? - The Guardian, June 2, 2016 (also in Business Insider)​
Why high school stays with us forever - The Conversation, June 1, 2016
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The surprising factor that can predict long life - Our Better Health, May 9, 2016
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How gossiping at work can help you get ahead - Business Insider, February 16, 2016
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - LiveScience, February 1, 2016
Humans evolved to gossip because it's a necessary social skill - Quartz, January 26, 2016
Gossip is a social skill - not a character flaw - Quillette, January 25, 2016 (also in The Media Online)
Research shows humans evolved to gossip - Raw Story, January 23, 2016
How gossip can help you - Time Magazine, January 21, 2016
Gossip isn't a flaw - It's a necessary social skill - The New Republic, January 20, 2016 - also in Mashable, The Conversation, Steam Register, & BizCatalyst360.com
The making of a murderer (mass shootings) - The Daily Mail, January 4, 2016
If you give a man a gun: The evolutionary psychology of mass shootings - Quartz, December 16, 2015
Why are shooters invariably young men? - Newsweek, December 7, 2015
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The Evolutionary psychology of Mass Shootings - IFL Science, December 5, 2015
You should know how the male brain reacts to handling a gun - The Huffington Post, December 4, 2015 - also in The Conversation
Why do haunted houses creep us out? - Newsweek, October 31, 2015 (also in Mashable & PsyPost)
This is why haunted houses creep us out - Time Magazine, October 30, 2015 - also in LiveScience, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Conversation
Can gossip be good? - Scientific American Mind Magazine, - October/November, 2008, pp. 26-33 (cover story)