Psychology articles from across Nature Portfolio

The tendency to engage in risky behavior relates to genetic predispositions and brain structure, but the molecular pathways linking genes to neuroanatomical changes remain elusive. A recent study reveals how specific gene expression patterns shape brain structures associated with risk-taking, suggesting a mechanistic pathway from genes to maladaptive behavior.

Burning crop waste causes devastating pollution in South Asia. When local administrators have appropriate incentives to control burning, incidents go down — a finding that could guide future efforts to manage air pollution.

Improving air quality by discontinuing combustion-engine vehicles would slash health-care costs in the United States, but the projected savings in rural areas depend on how the replacements are powered.

Vaccination mandates can increase vaccine uptake, but might cause unintended psychological effects with social and political consequences. In this Review, Schmid et al. present a toolbox of complementary and alternative interventions informed by psychological science to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

Pennycook et al. find that psychological inoculation, an intervention that is intended to help people detect misinformation and is being adopted at scale globally, may not be effective unless it is combined with an accuracy reminder. This demonstrates synergy between interventions.

Analysing data from seven countries, this study found that unmarried individuals had a higher depression risk than married individuals. This risk was higher in Western countries, among males and among those with higher educational attainment.

Study of thousands of people in rural communities shows that many do not experience a slump in well-being during their forties and fifties.

In the wake of devastating floods in the South of Brazil, researchers are working out how best to help people — plus, what concerns do Nature’s readers have about the US election.

In the wake of unprecedented floods that displaced half a million people in southern Brazil, researchers are investigating how to prevent long-term mental trauma and provide lessons for other regions dealing with disasters.

The annual toxic smog that forms over swathes of India and Pakistan is preventable, but the nations’ scientists have too little opportunity to help tackle the problem.

The tendency to engage in risky behavior relates to genetic predispositions and brain structure, but the molecular pathways linking genes to neuroanatomical changes remain elusive. A recent study reveals how specific gene expression patterns shape brain structures associated with risk-taking, suggesting a mechanistic pathway from genes to maladaptive behavior.