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Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Apr-2026 22:16 ET (29-Apr-2026 02:16 GMT/UTC)

Gen Z holds companies to account for greenwashing

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Informing people about sustainability is more important than ever, but it is only effective if done honestly, according to a study led by the UOC

Journal: Young Consumers Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers

A familiar voice shapes how zebra finches hear and respond

Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To the point:

Fixed calls, flexible replies: Zebra finch contact calls are vocal abilities the birds are born with and cannot change – but the timing of their replies is flexible. New research shows it is shaped by social context: They respond faster, more often, and with more consistent timing to calls from a familiar bird.

Neural signature of familiarity: More than two thirds of neurons observed in a key brain region for vocal timing responded to calls, with inhibitory interneurons firing more strongly for familiar callers.

Broader significance: Even behaviors birds are born with are influenced by social context, raising new questions about how the brain controls vocal exchanges across species.

Journal: PLOS Computational Biology

Multicultural intergroup dialogue as an approach to advancing holistic support for international students

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To advance holistic support for international students, University of Tsukuba implemented a new intercultural collaborative learning initiative grounded in a social justice framework. The findings revealed that this workshop empowered international students, fostered advocacy-oriented attitudes, and encouraged Japanese students to critically reflect on privilege. The findings highlighted the potential for sustainable international student support through collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including corporate partners.

Journal: Journal of International Students

Smartphone healthcare app features motivate users to increase physical activity

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba conducted focus group interviews to identify which features of smartphone healthcare applications motivate users to increase their physical activity. The study found that social support from family members and peers, together with app-based functions such as goal setting, reminders, and performance feedback, served as strong motivators. In contrast, limited time availability and work-related fatigue were consistently reported as major barriers to physical activity.

Journal: JMIR Formative Research

A nonparametric framework for inference on integrated quantiles

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study presents a general, nonparametric statistical inference theory for integrals of quantiles without assuming a particular sampling design or dependence structure. The authors discuss conditions for consistency, bias, and asymptotic normality, and illustrate how the framework applies to widely used quantities in risk and inequality measurement, including tail-value-at-risk as well as Lorenz and Gini curves. Notes for dependent (time-series) data are also provided.

Journal: Risk Sciences
Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Mitacs

Racial/ethnic disparities among people fatally shot by U.S. police vary across state lines

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new analysis, racial and ethnic disparities in fatal shootings of U.S. residents by police varied widely between states. Roland Neil of the RAND Corporation in California, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on March 11, 2026.

Journal: PLOS One

US gender differences in poverty rates may be associated with the varying burden of childcare

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Gender differences in poverty rates in the United States may be associated with women’s differing circumstances — particularly the burden of dependent children — rather than inherent to gender itself, according to a new study published March 11, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Patti Fisher of Virginia Tech, USA.

Journal: PLOS One

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