The physiological processes associated with an acute psychological stress response produce changes in human breath and sweat that dogs can detect with an accuracy of 93.75%, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Clara Wilson of Queen’s University Belfast, UK, and colleagues.

A new study highlights specific dog behaviors that dog owners perceive as important for bonding with their pets. Katie Riddoch of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on September 28.

Researchers created a "Virtual Labrador" to explore how humans behave around aggressive and non-reactive dogs in virtual reality

In two surveys of nearly 20,000 high schoolers, students who reported using at least one self-control strategy—such as turning off their phone—tended to spend more time practicing for the SAT and had higher SAT scores than students who relied purely on willpower. Chayce Baldwin of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and co-authors present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on September 28, 2022.

Despite a long-standing hypothesis that personality traits are relatively impervious to environmental pressures, the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the trajectory of personality across the United States, especially in younger adults, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Angelina Sutin of Florida State University College of Medicine, and colleagues.