Society for Personality and Social Psychology

06/23/2026

"youth is not primarily composed of crises. Many young people primarily mention positive developmental steps such as education, relationships and personal achievements"

Which major life events matter to young people? A study by the University of Zurich (UZH) shows that adolescents and young adults primarily cite positive, everyday developmental steps as formative events, for example, school and apprenticeships, friendships, first relationships, travel, and moving o...

06/23/2026

Fifty years of research links anti-women media messages to real-world hostility toward women. Read more at https://ow.ly/AbjW50Zfj88

06/22/2026

"people tend to slow down their speech when they want to sound courteous, and they naturally perceive slower speech from others as more formal and polite"

How fast you speak affects how polite you sound. According to new research in Social Psychological and Personality Science, people spontaneously slow down to express courtesy, and listeners instinctively associate a slower voice with good manners.

06/22/2026

It's at SPSP! Congrats to Elizabeth Dunn, whose new book (Leave the Lights on) was listed among the Best of June 2026 by New Scientist!

Leave the Lights On, co-authored with Jiaying Zhao, applies joy to climate action. The authors reveal how tweaking everyday decisions around food, travel, housing, and shopping can nudge us toward a tipping point of mass action—without tipping us into burnout.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/aqVn50ZfjtI

06/22/2026

"people who have fearful or preoccupied attachment styles tend to want and to have slightly more children than those with secure attachment styles"

People with “fearful” or “preoccupied” insecure attachment styles had more children, whereas securely attached people had fewer, according to a recent study

06/20/2026

The same mobility that creates new opportunities for connection can also increase loneliness. Read more at https://ow.ly/z0z650ZeEbo

06/19/2026

"When romantic partners move in together, sharing similar feelings and perspectives about the transition is linked to greater relationship satisfaction"

Does living together mean you think alike? A recent study finds that couples who share similar perceptions about moving in together tend to be happier, though their views do not necessarily merge more over time.

06/19/2026

Going to ? Us too! Join SPSP for the Division 8 program - the hub for engaging personality and social psych programming during the APA Convention. We're excited to see you in Washington (or online) in August!

Check out our schedule here: https://ow.ly/CMKF50Zeo7Y

06/19/2026

"Social impressions of the speaker (friendliness, competence, attractiveness) were driven mainly by how they spoke, whereas willingness to extend the conversation was driven primarily by what the conversation was about"

What makes a speaker engaging? Both what is said and how it is said matter, but in different, complementary ways, a new study conducted at the McGill School of Communication Sciences and Disorders has found.

06/18/2026

"Asexual participants reported completely similar rates of current loneliness regardless of whether they were single, in an unsatisfying relationship, or in a satisfying one. The typical mental health advantages linked to romantic pairings seemingly did not translate to the asexual respondents."

Romantic relationships are widely considered a primary buffer against loneliness, but new research shows this protective effect does not apply equally to everyone. Survey data reveals that for asexual individuals, romantic involvement is not associated with feeling less isolated.