Events

Photograph of an otter lying on its back. It is playing with two small rocks.

The puzzle of play

The purpose of play — for children, monkeys, rats or meerkats — has proved surprisingly hard to pin down. Scientists continue to toss around ideas.

Service with a smile comes at psychological cost, studies find.

The Mind

Barista’s burden

The dark side of “service with a smile”

Illustration shows workers fleeing from a bad boss

Society

Bad bosses: Dealing with abusive supervisors

From the boardroom to the basketball court, some managers rely on berating and bullying employees. Researchers have learned one thing: It doesn’t work.

Conceptual illustration shows a man sitting at his office desk leaning forward. Files are heaped on the floor; a keyboard and monitor are on the desk. The man’s back is on fire and smoke is billowing off to the right.

Society

How to deal with work stress — and actually recover from burnout

Mindfulness, detachment, selecting off-time activities with care: Here are evidence-based strategies to achieve healthy work-life balance

Society

Making the case against memories as evidence

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus has shown that our recall can be woefully unreliable. Slowly but surely, the legal system — and more of her peers — are taking her findings into account.