What are parasocial relationships?
People have had a fascination with famous people for eons — and in the age of the internet, it's only increased. Influencers, often online content creators, have made both the definition of "celebrity" and our relationships with them fuzzy.&nbs.....»»
Research proposes theory to model interplay of personal and social beliefs
The beliefs we hold develop from a complex dance between our internal and external lives. Our personal-level cognition and our relationships with others work in concert to shape our views of the world and influence how likely we are to update those v.....»»
Walking the trees: Researchers trace how First Nations groups moved bunya pine and black bean trees
For millennia, Indigenous knowledge holders have passed down lore to the next generation. Much lore describes the relationships between people and Country, including custodial responsibilities to care for other species as kin......»»
Computational tool can pinpoint causal relationships from complex biological data
Researchers have developed a tool that provides new insights into cause-and-effect relationships between cells and how these change over time......»»
Primates bond for their own benefit: Study underlines the decisive role that females play
Female and male primates often form close bonds, but not purely out of affection. Close relationships usually evolve when there is a clear benefit for both parties, with protection and reproductive control playing key roles......»»
Hijacking the command center of the cell: Nuclear parasites in deep-sea mussels
Most animals live in intimate relationships with bacteria. Some of these bacteria live inside the cells of their hosts, but only very few are able to live inside cell organelles (structures inside the cell, like organs in the body). One group of bact.....»»
New research analyzes "Finnegans Wake" for novel spacing between punctuation marks
Statistical analysis of classic literature has shown that the way punctuation breaks up text obeys certain universal mathematical relationships. James Joyce's tome "Finnegans Wake," however, famously breaks the rules of normal prose through its unusu.....»»
A "thank you" goes a long way in family relationships
You've probably heard that cultivating gratitude can boost your happiness. But in marriage and families, it's not just about being more grateful for your loved ones—it's also important to feel appreciated by them. Researchers at the University of I.....»»
How parents can promote positive sibling relationships
Sibling relationships are some of the longest-lasting relationships we have in our lives. Half of Canadians and around 80% of people worldwide have at least one sibling. Sibling relationships are unique from all other relationships because siblings o.....»»
Does online dating make relationships more successful?
A new study in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking showed that for marital relationships, meeting in online dating was only linked to less relationship success among people with no "relationship talk on social media" (RToSM),.....»»
New research sheds light on relationships between plants and insects in forest ecosystems
U.S. Forest Service researchers and partners published new findings on how leaf-eating insects affect forest ecosystems worldwide......»»
Friend is the creepy and dystopian iPhone accessory that might just work
As if we aren't already all in bubbles that reaffirm our beliefs thanks to social media, now there's an AI "Friend" who is always ready to hit you with praise and put you in a parasocial relationship with your iPhoneA man alone with his thoughts —.....»»
Naming and shaming domestic violence perpetrators doesn"t work to keep women safe, researcher says
Recent survey results show 25% of Australians agree that women who do not leave abusive relationships are partly responsible for the abuse continuing. This stubbornly common attitude demonstrates that victim-survivors are still being held responsible.....»»
Free software tool evaluates relative importance of predictors in generalized additive models
Generalized additive models (GAMs) are commonly used in ecological research for their ability to model complex nonlinear relationships. However, assessing predictor importance in the presence of concurvity is difficult due to overlapping variance amo.....»»
Q&A: Studies challenge widely held beliefs on applicant diversity and women in the workplace
Justin Frake is interested in cause-and-effect relationships in real-world data and the hidden dynamics that shape workplace behavior and equality—or inequality, as the case might be......»»
Researchers successfully fabricate NiS ultrafine nanorods with separated symmetry along two directions
Crystal symmetry is a fundamental concept in materials science, playing a crucial role in determining structure-property relationships. Typically, a crystal is a solid composed of structural units that periodically repeat in three-dimensional space,.....»»
Book details how federal government used bribery to end relationships with Native American tribes
Federal policy toward Native American tribal nations in the first half of the 20th century sought to end the government's legal and political relationship with tribes. A new book by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor David Beck.....»»
Study suggests YouTubers cheer people up more than casual friends
One-sided relationships with YouTubers are more emotionally fulfilling than talking to casual friends, a new study suggests. The University of Essex research discovered people feel watching online stars like Zoella, KSI and PewDiePie can cheer them u.....»»
Workplace besties: How to build relationships at work while staying professional
Having meaningful connections in the workplace is essential for personal and organizational success. Most of us form these bonds naturally, as we spend a significant amount of our lifetimes at work......»»
New research into the secrets of the forest: Finnish tree population is made up of families and neighborhoods
The trees in the forest are not just a random group. Fascinating facts reveal pine tree family relationships. The pollen that floats in the air can spread for hundreds of kilometers, but the offspring are usually found in the neighborhood......»»
Proposed sex education guidance in England goes against evidence and may well lead to harm
The UK government has released new plans for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in primary and secondary schools in England. This would see age parameters introduced for key issues in sex education, with no education on sex at all for chi.....»»