The Best Articles in Psychology
The most useful articles and videos in Psychology from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Psychology Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved in Psychology by Refind users.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
How to change your behavior for the better
Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more. What's the best way to ge...
Antifragility: How to use suffering to get stronger
Happiness is temporary, antifragility lasts forever, explains Jonathan Haidt and 5 other experts.Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/...
Psychologist debunks 8 myths of mass scale
Psychologist Todd Rose debunks 8 myths so mainstream we all believe them.Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6a...
Why We Always Feel Bad and Guilty
There’s a strange law of psychology that reveals that small children who are treated badly by their parents will always — rather strangely — blame themselves...
A simple way to break a bad habit
Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Psychiatrist Judson Brewer studies the relationship between mindfulness and addiction — from smoking to overeating to all those other things…
What is ...?
New to Psychology? These articles make an excellent introduction.
An Introduction to the Flynn Effect
Researchers studying the Flynn effect have found that scores on IQ tests have actually increased over time.
What Is the Dissociative Mind?
When we face overwhelming stress, disconnecting can be a coping skill.
What Is The Goal of Psychotherapy?
Is therapy's goal subjective happiness, objective well-being, or meaningfulness?
What is Self-Actualization? A Psychologist's Definition [+Examples]
This article discusses self-actualization, where self-actualization research stands today, and why self-actualization is important.
How to ...?
How to Improve Your Self-Esteem in 5 Minutes or Less
There are no quick fixes for low self-esteem: There’s no profound insight your therapist can give you that will suddenly improve your self-esteem There’s no secret mantra that will unlock your inner…
«If you spend your entire childhood learning that you’re not good enough or not lovable, that’s not something that’s going to change overnight.»
How to Stop Reassurance Seeking
If you struggle with chronic anxiety, self-doubt, and low confidence, one of the hidden drivers could be a habit of reassurance seeking...
«surprise is an emotional amplifier: take any difficult emotion, add surprise, and the emotional intensity becomes much greater.»
How to break unhealthy habits: Stop obsessing over willpower and focus on routines
Understanding and changing the environment in which habits form is a critical step when it comes to breaking unwanted behaviors and forming healthy ones.
«Instead, we concoct more compelling explanations, like saying we drink coffee to ease our morning fog.»
How to be kinder to yourself
Self-compassion techniques aren’t self-indulgent – they’ll tame your inner critic while helping you change for the better
«So I dedicated 10 minutes to sit down and reflect on the same questions I ask my clients to help them clarify their values. These were my answers:»
How to admit you’re wrong
Admitting wrongdoing isn’t a failure, it’s an opportunity.
«Fetterman’s research shows admitting wrongness actually improves our reputation. By owning up to our errors, others see us as friendlier and more agreeable.»
Trending
These links are currently making the rounds in Psychology on Refind.
3 Psychological Tips for Sticking to a Diet
Many diets fail because of emotional or psychological obstacles. These 3 tips will help you overcome them and stick to your diet for good.
«Hunger is what you feel when you need food. Craving is what you feel when you want food.»
Nothing Drains You Like Mixed Emotions
Feeling conflicted can be even more distressing than feeling bad. Here’s how to manage it.
«Researchers in 2017 showed that people can find a deeper sense of purpose when contemplating both their happy and sad emotions about a particular occurrence»
How to be happier
There’s a simple science to contentment – it’s about reframing your time around life’s little pleasures. Read on for how to be happier.
I'm a psychologist in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world—here are 3 things we…
For five years in a row, Finland has been ranked the No. 1 happiest country in the world. A Finnish philosopher and psychology expert shares the habits that make people in Finland so exceptionally…
«There's a famous line by a Finnish poet: "Kell' onni on, se onnen kätkeköön." Roughly translated, it means: Don't compare or brag about your happiness.»
How Awe Can Change Our Lives For The Better
A new field of psychology has begun to quantify an age-old intuition: Feeling awe is good for us.
«Francis Bacon, described wonder as “broken knowledge” — a facet of the human condition, in other words, that defied his scientific method»
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles in Psychology—all under 10 minutes.
How to Be Happier Without Really Trying
The ancient philosopher Epicurus had some tips on how to be happier. And they're all about having fun. Here's what he had to say...
«Seek “Enough”: Satisfaction beats success. What we call “success” is often just slavery to Corrosive desires»
The science of motivation: how to get and stay motivated
Motivation only starts to build again once we have taken the first steps and gained some momentum in our task. It's all about getting started and consistently taking action, making sure we get back on…
«three innate psychological needs which must be satisfied to enhance self-motivation and mental health: competence, autonomy and relatedness.»
What Does It Mean to Be Resilient?
Being resilient means that you are able to deal with challenges and overcome setbacks. Learn more about resilience and characteristics of resilient people.
«Some of the main characteristics of a person who has resilience are awareness, self-control, problem-solving skills, and social support. Resilient peopl»
What people fail to understand about the dangers of loneliness
In his 2022 book "Life is Hard", philosopher Kieran Setiya explores the nature of loneliness, and what people often misunderstand about it.
«To be friendless is to feel oneself shrinking, disappearing from the human world. We are made for love; and we are lost without it.»
10 Powerful Visuals About Psychology & Life
Visuals for thought…
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles in Psychology.
Building Habits Strategies To Try (After Failing To Build Habits In The Past)
Check these building habits strategies if you had problems with making habits stick in the past. They are especially useful for busy adults.
«Try to embrace the 2-day rule. That is, you never miss a habit you want in your life twice in a roll.»
Life Is Hard. And That’s Good
When the going gets tough, the tough get philosophical.
«The right perspective in which to think about grief is that it is a manifestation of persisting love,”»
Things could be better
Eight studies reveal a (possibly universal) bias in human imagination
«We figured that judgments must be built on comparisons: to say that something is bad is really to say that it’s worse than something else.»
What is External Validation And When It Becomes Unhealthy
Learn more about external validation. Why we crave it. Why it can be a good. And how to heal from constantly needing external validation.
How colours affect the way you think
Our world is awash with a rainbow of colours, but certain shades can have a surprising impact on our ability to concentrate, our mood and even our taste.
«And if you want a child to concentrate, you might consider painting a classroom in a vivid palette and so bolster their reading scores.»
Thought Leaders
We monitor hundreds of thought leaders, influencers, and newsletters in Psychology, including:
Joshua Becker
Inspiring people to own less and live more at Becoming Minimalist. Founder of @TheHopeEffect. New book: Things That Matter: http://amzn.to/3CnseuR

Dan Ariely
Professor, Scientist, Bestselling Author, Experimentalist at heart.

Dr. David Ballard
Business and Psychology | Evidence-based strategies for employee well-being and organizational excellence. Former head of @APA's Office of Applied Psychology.

Aleks Krotoski 😷💙
Social psychologist. Pillowfort Productions. Ongoing: @BBCRadio4's Digital Human. I drive electric. My feed lost 10yrs of tweets between 2012-Feb ‘22. Surreal.
Elemental
Wellness, backed aggressively by science. A new publication from @Medium. Find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/elemental
Publications
We monitor hundreds of publications, blogs, newsletters, and news sources in Psychology, including:
Aeon+Psyche
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. Psyche is our sister magazine focused on the human condition. Visit http://aeon.co and http://psyche.co for more.
Ness Labs
The learning community for ambitious knowledge workers. Join us to think better, learn faster, and work happier: http://nesslabs.com/membership 🧠✨
Big Think
Learn from the world’s greatest thinkers. Join us on https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink.
Neuroscience News
Official Neuroscience News Twitter. Brain research news articles on neuroscience, psychology, AI, neurology, brain cancer, robotics, mental health & science.
PsyPost.org
Reporting research on human behavior and cognition, including #Psychology #Neuroscience #PoliSci #Sociology and #Psychiatry
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