New research shows our pragmatic language abilities — which allow us to understand nonliteral expressions like sarcasm or metaphors — can be grouped together based on what types of inferences they require. MIT researchers identified three clusters of pragmatic skills based on understanding social conventions and rules, how the physical world works, and differences in tone.

A Michigan State University–led study looks at how social media can make echo chambers stronger or weaker by studying how rural students who leave for college, and their parents who stay home, use social media and form their attitudes. 

Research sheds light on the contributions of nonimmersive VR, which does not require a user to wear a headset, and shows how the technology can be used in property sales, presentation and marketing pricier products.

Gen Z views the world as a scary place, according to new research presented at the 2025 Society for Risk Analysis Conference. In ongoing research that began in Fall 2022, Gabriel Rubin, Ph.D. a justice studies professor at Montclair State University, has now conducted 104 long-form interviews with Gen Z young people in the Northeast United States about their views on politics, risk and protest—expanding on his initial findings from the study, Gen Z Risk Perceptions: Crisis, Risk and Hope. A majority of interviewees agreed with the statement “Gen Z sees the world as a scary place,” and most also personally view the world as frightening. 

A new study shows that merely imagining a positive encounter with someone can make you like them better by engaging brain regions involved with learning and preference. The findings could have implications for psychotherapy, sports performance and more.