Tania Lombrozo

Even children conduct "experiments" and gather "data," like scientists, but people let their beliefs and hopes influence decisions — leaving conflicting images of the human mind, says Tania Lombrozo.

Tania Lombrozo looks at a study finding scientists are seen as more trustworthy and scrupulous than a "regular person," but also more interested in the pursuit of knowledge than in doing what's right.

The human mind is a messy thing — and our judgments can be influenced by implicit assumptions and biases, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo, who suggests another way to look at some situations.

The fact that many barriers for women in science today are less visible than those of the past comes with a new kind of challenge: People will fail to acknowledge they're there, says Tania Lombrozo.

Effectively looking after others requires first caring for oneself, but it can be tough to implement in a cultural context that often idealizes intensive parenting, says psychologist Tania Lombrozo.

The presidential primaries are a great opportunity to test your skills in political prediction. Who will win which states, and by what margin? And if your predictions aren't all that good, how can you do better?

Two weeks ago, I wrote about how to make better predictions in domains ...

We constantly make predictions about the unknown, at scales both large and small.

Which presidential candidates will win each party's nomination? Which stocks will go up in the next six months — and which down? Should I have a second child? Will I really enjoy the chocolate chip pancakes most, ...

As a physics major at Yale in the 1970s, Eileen Pollack learned about gravitation and quantum mechanics and ballistics. She also learned what it's like to be The Only Woman in the Room, the title of her new book, published by Beacon Press last September.

Unfortunately, many women with ...

Voters and legislators are constantly confronted with decisions that would benefit from some understanding of the relevant science:

Is cap and trade a good approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions? Evaluating the pros and cons requires some understanding of economics and environmental science. Are standardized tests a good way to ...

A friend from high school recently sent me this hilarious and heartbreaking video of twin baby girls fighting over a pacifier:

It made me want to laugh and cry. I resisted the immediate urge to share it with my husband (at work in the next room), but I later ...

Suppose you're a 45-year-old woman living in the U.S. You have no history of breast cancer, nor worrisome symptoms. Should you have a mammogram?

If you follow the American Cancer Society's recommendation, the answer is "yes": You should begin routine mammography screening for breast cancer at age 45. But ...

What do the United States, Suriname, Papua New Guinea and Tonga have in common?

These countries are among the few worldwide that don't offer paid maternity leave at the federal level for new mothers. Note that the United States is the only advanced economy to make the list; ...

This weekend, Facebook's "Memories" reminded me of a post from Jan. 2, 2009: "Tania Lombrozo is generating New Year's resolutions...that look a lot like last year's."

I could, unfortunately, post the same again today. In fact, one of my resolutions for 2015 — to be smart about my smartphone ...

What makes for a truly merry Christmas? Is your time better spent picking perfect, personalized gifts and decorating your home, or enjoying holiday cheer with family and friends?

For those who celebrate Christmas (and that's about 95 percent of Americans), psychological science can offer some answers — or at ...

Confusion gets a bad rap.

A textbook that confuses its readers sounds like a bad textbook. Teachers who confuse their students sound like bad teachers.

But research suggests that some of the time, confusion can actually be a good thing — an important step toward learning.

Consider a 2004

Consider the following two statements:

"We are not an emergent property of a mechanical universe but the seasonal activity of a living cosmos."

"Hidden meaning transforms unparalleled abstract beauty."

Which is more profound?

The first statement comes from Deepak Chopra's Twitter feed. The second statement was generated through a ...

Representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting in France today to discuss climate change — and for good reason.

To quote President Obama's State of the Union Address from earlier this year: "No challenge — no challenge — poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change."

...

On Thursday, families across America will participate in a yearly ritual around the Thanksgiving table: expressing their gratitude. Some will be grateful for friends and family, others for health or material well-being, for safety, the natural world or the meal before them.

But what does gratitude look like in 2015, ...

At last Tuesday's Republican presidential debate, Sen. Marco Rubio advocated for vocational training, stating: "Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers."

Sources across the web were quick to correct his factual error: Welders do not, in fact, make more money on average ...

At a press conference last Friday, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson responded to allegations that he lied about various aspects of his past, including whether he received a scholarship to West Point (apparently he never applied) and whether he was violent in his youth. In turn, Carson exhorted ...