Understanding risk-taking in adolescence Whether adolescence was relatively peaceful or full of teenage angst, none of us is likely to forget it. A special time in life, when we begin discovering who we might become, exploring possibilities and taking risks that accompany experimenting with life. Kiki Zanolie • April 02, 2015
Locked in or locked out? Can you be happy when you are completely paralyzed? When you can think and feel, but can only blink your eyes? Surprisingly, most people with the locked-in syndrome can be happy. What is devastating is when you are locked out of society. Femke Nijboer • March 29, 2015
Why can teens be such drama queens? Maybe you remember your own social life in your mid-teens as dynamic and, most of all, dramatic. Why? Does drama serve a purpose? • March 23, 2015
Is Alexander Pechtold the Dutch Michael Dukakis of 2015? At the close of the pre-election debate, a poll by RTL news showed Alexander Pechtold, leader of the opposition party D66, narrowly in the lead over prime minister Mark Rutte (VVD). But from a psychological point of view Rutte was the clear winner... Willem van der Does • March 16, 2015
The Psychology of Putin Whether in politics or in daily life, we all encounter conflicts: between colleagues, relations, or neighbours. Often these seems to stem from conflicting interests or the allocation of scarce resources. Naomi Ellemers • March 09, 2015
Pay it forward! Receiving help makes people feel dependent and inadequate. But recent research reveals a remedy: paying help forward. Read on to see how this works. Esther van Leeuwen • February 26, 2015
Empathy in adolescence: convenient or key? Not everybody is equally competent at reading intentions, sharing emotions, and in estimating the needs of others. Sandy Overgaauw investigated the role of individual differences in empathy. How and why do we differ from a brain and behavioral perspective? Sandy Overgaauw • February 16, 2015
Resolutions When it comes to resolutions, people can be extremely hard on themselves. We firmly resolve ‘I must never gain weight again', or tell ourselves 'I am a bad person to spend that much money'. But is that really the best way to change? Naomi Ellemers • February 12, 2015
Does the option to reverse a decision really make us happy? Return policies, temporary contracts, cancellation insurances…they all allow us to change our minds about choices we’ve made. We tend to expect that the option to reverse will yield optimal decision outcomes, but research shows this is not always true. Lottie Bullens • January 26, 2015