EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 7-May-2025 19:09 ET (7-May-2025 23:09 GMT/UTC)

10-Dec-2024

Choosing between human and algorithmic decision-makers

Elisabeth Paulson asked 9,000 US-based study participants to choose between human and algorithmic decision-makers decision-makers for two high stakes situations: pretrial release and bank loan applications. Participants prioritized efficiency over fairness when choosing decision-makers. According to the authors, demonstrably efficient algorithms will likely overcome cultural aversion to algorithms for all groups.

Journal: PNAS Nexus

10-Dec-2024

Smart TVs collect viewing data even when used as external screens

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Reports and Proceedings

A scientific team from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), in collaboration with University College London (England) and the University of California, Davis (USA), has found that smart TVs send viewing data to their servers. This allows brands to generate detailed profiles of consumers’ habits and tailor advertisements based on their behaviour.

10-Dec-2024

Increased area income improves birthweight rates, researchers find

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.

Journal: Demography
Funder: Russell Sage Foundation, NIH/National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse

10-Dec-2024

Threats and harassment common in Swedish academia

University of Gothenburg
Reports and Proceedings

Four out of ten researchers and teachers have been subjected to harassment, threats and violence. This is shown in a survey on victimisation in Swedish higher education institutions. The report provides new insights into the extent of the problem, where the threat comes from and what the consequences are.

10-Dec-2024

Police investigating child abuse have higher rates of depression and anxiety

University of Southampton
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Research led by the University of Southampton suggests that police investigating Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) experience higher levels of depression and anxiety than other officers.

But the study, published in Depression and Anxiety, also found that feeling successful and supported at work can act as a powerful buffer to these outcomes.

Journal: Depression and Anxiety

10-Dec-2024

Empowering older adults with home-care robots

Chiba University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The rapidly increasing aging population will lead to a shortage of care providers in the future. While robotic technologies are a potential alternative, their widespread use is limited by poor acceptance. In a new study, researchers from Chiba University have examined a user-centric approach to understand the factors influencing user willingness among caregivers and recipients in Japan, Ireland, and Finland. Users’ perspectives can aid the development of home-care robots with better acceptance.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: Pfizer Health Research Foundation, International Joint Research, IAAR Next-generation Research of Social Value Creation Research Support Program, Chiba University

10-Dec-2024

First evidence in the Levant (and among the first in the world) of communal worship in caves and the development of religious rituals

Tel-Aviv University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A rare prehistoric ritual complex has been uncovered in the darkest depths of Manot Cave in the Western Galilee, Israel. The complex is enclosed naturally by impressive stalagmites that create a distinctive entrance to the site and features a unique and impressive rock with geometric engravings resembling a turtle shell.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences