News by Subject Social & Behavior

In October 2015, England introduced a charge for single-use plastic bags in supermarkets. An international research team, including Elena Sautkina from the Higher School of Economics, has conducted a mixed-methods longitudinal study and determined the extent to which British people approved of this policy initiative, and whether they were ready to support other environmental charges. The results were published in Frontiers in Psychology journal.

New research suggests that targeted use of behavioural 'nudges' can encourage people to conserve water. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) found that rather than giving people general information about the importance of saving water, emphasising the water conserving actions of others in the same social group -- for example university students or local residents -- encourages similar behaviour changes and reduces water demand.

It is important to understand and prevent unethical behavior in working life. Leaders should be able to take responsibility for challenging situations and show commitment to moral values. A recent study at the University of Jyvaskyla charted the different moral identity statuses among Finnish leaders.

Through simple games and day-to-day tasks, parents can help their children learn self-regulation, a skill considered essential for success, a University of Otago, New Zealand, study has found.

A new report shows older people benefit from improved physical and mental health in retirement communities, resulting in cost savings to the NHS.

Experts from NYU, Exeter, Harvard and other institutions show for first time that -- even on the fly -- a manager who can read emotions in others well can better evaluate a working group's performance.

Don't feel so bad for binge-watching a political drama -- it might lead to more civic participation, as long as the show features a female lead character. A survey of fans of the TV shows 'Madam Secretary' 'The Good Wife' and 'Scandal' found that viewers who felt most connected to the storyline and characters also reported increased political interest and participation. The findings are published online in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media.

As states around the country move to stiffen punishments for animal cruelty, Michigan State University researchers have found a correlation between the types of animal abuse committed and the perpetrator's relationship to an animal and its owner.

Studies have shown women are more risk-averse than men, a trait experts say could help to explain the persistent wage gap between men and women. New research suggests those gender differences are shaped by culture and the social environment and that those differences can shift, at least in children.