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Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Jun-2026 05:15 ET (10-Jun-2026 09:15 GMT/UTC)

The more companies lobby, the less they say about the environment

CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research reveals a hidden trade-off in corporate sustainability: companies that spend more on political lobbying tend to disclose less about their environmental and social performance – raising fresh concerns about the credibility of ESG reporting. “Firms disclose less while investing more in political influence. Understanding this relationship is crucial if we want ESG information to remain credible, useful, and relevant for investors, policymakers, and the public,” explains lead author and CMCC scientist Simone Taddeo.

Integrated land planning is necessary to meet climate, food and biodiversity goals

University of California - Santa Barbara
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While the world is a big place, humans are making greater and greater demands on the same areas of land. “This means that, unless we use the same land to serve multiple needs and coordinate this effort through planning, it is unlikely that we will have enough land for conservation, food and energy,” said Grace Wu, a professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Environmental Studies Program.

Journal: Nature Communications

Why feeling sick may be important for surviving infection

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Whitehead Institute Member Zuri Sullivan and colleagues propose that sickness behavior — fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal — is not merely a byproduct of illness, but part of an integrated, organism-wide defense system that helps promote survival.

Journal: Trends in Immunology

Nature loss brings catastrophic risks – new report

Anglia Ruskin University
Reports and Proceedings

A major new report published today warns that nature loss is not just an environmental issue, it is already disrupting our food system, threatening catastrophic impacts on our economy and society. The report has been produced by the UK’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and Anglia Ruskin University.

Language of helplessness: How we write about ourselves reveals symptoms of depression

SWPS University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People struggling with symptoms of depression are less likely to perceive themselves as active initiators of their activities, which is directly reflected in the way they express themselves. Analysing the way people construct sentences can provide an early warning, according to an international study on postpartum depression initiated by psychologists from SWPS University.

Journal: Depression and Anxiety
Funder: Polish National Science Center

Perceptions of cultural foreignness may lead to job discrimination

American Psychological Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Asian, Arab and Latino Americans may face more discrimination when seeking jobs that emphasize stereotypically American characteristics because they are deemed to be culturally foreign, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology

A physics explanation of why US elections keep ending 50:50 – and why more spending won't change that

Complexity Science Hub
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A physics-inspired model calibrated on 40 years of US congressional data pinpoints a spending threshold of roughly 1.8 million USD at which campaigns stop influencing who wins and start fueling polarization instead.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Austrian Science Fund, Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology

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