EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 13:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 18:11 GMT/UTC)

14-Jan-2026

News language and social networks: how do they affect the spread of immigration attitudes?

A study in Economic Inquiry reveals how changes in immigration attitudes in an area spread to other localities and highlights the role of media language and social networks in shaping political attitudes.

Journal: Economic Inquiry

14-Jan-2026

Staying single for longer affects young people’s well-being

University of Zurich
Peer-Reviewed Publication

More and more young adults abstain from entering committed romantic relationships, and this may be affecting their well-being. A new study conducted at the University of Zurich shows that long-term singles experience a sharper decline in life satisfaction over time and feel lonelier and more depressed – especially in their late twenties.

Journal: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

13-Jan-2026

Virtual Reality emerges as a supportive space for self-disclosure, with nature settings leading the way

Edith Cowan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research suggests Virtual Reality (VR) may play a meaningful role in future mental-health support, and the design of the virtual space itself can make a surprising difference to how comfortable people feel opening up.

Journal: Applied Sciences

13-Jan-2026

Phone apps nearly 3 times as good as no/basic support for quitting smoking long term

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Smartphone apps—particularly those based on psychological theories—are three times as effective as no/minimal support at helping people who smoke stub out their tobacco use long term, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

Journal: BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine
Funder: China Association on Tobacco Control for Health

13-Jan-2026

Study debunks myth of native Hawaiians causing bird extinctions

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Challenging a 50-year-old narrative about Hawaiʻi’s native birds, a new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa found no scientific evidence that Indigenous People hunted waterbird species to extinction. The research debunks this long-held myth and offers a new, integrated theory to explain the disappearances.

Journal: Ecosphere
Funder: Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve

13-Jan-2026

New study reveals major gaps in global forest maps

University of Notre Dame
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Are global forest maps reliable? New research from the University of Notre Dame shows satellite datasets agree only 26 percent of the time, undermining carbon storage estimates and international climate policy.

Journal: One Earth
Funder: Notre Dame Research and the Keough School’s Pulte Institute for Global Development through the University of Notre Dame Poverty Initiative.

13-Jan-2026

SFU study searches Strava to reveal secrets to happier runs

Simon Fraser University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As runners set their New Year’s resolutions, Simon Fraser University researchers have dug thousands of Strava posts to map the emotional highs and lows of running and see what makes people stick with it.

The first-of-its-kind study has unearthed what makes a run feel joyful—or miserable—by analysing more than 3,200 Strava posts from Metro Vancouver runners between 2010 and 2021. Researchers say the findings could help cities design safer, more inclusive spaces that encourage physical activity.