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

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Dec-2025 11:11 ET (30-Dec-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)

Instagram images could influence public opinion on certain major events

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study of Instagram posts has uncovered strong statistical correlations suggesting that social media images may play a key role in shaping public opinion toward events, with notable social and political effects. Nafiseh Jabbari Tofighi of Istanbul Medipol University, Turkey, and Reda Alhajj of University of Calgary, Canada, Istanbul Medipol University, Turkey, and University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on July 30, 2025.

Journal: PLOS One

Different dimensions of psychopathy might be associated with different physiological underpinnings of facial emotion recognition - and oxytocin could affect this skill - per scoping review of 66 studies

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Different dimensions of psychopathy might be associated with different physiological underpinnings of facial emotion recognition - and oxytocin could affect this skill - per scoping review of 66 studies

Journal: PLOS One

Black Death offers window into how childhood malnutrition affects adult health

University of Colorado at Boulder
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by anthropologist Sharon DeWitte at CU Boulder finds hints that experiencing malnutrition as a infant or child doesn't necessarily harm the health of humans in adulthood—although the relationship is complicated.

Journal: Science Advances

Borderline democracy? How Polish voters tolerated restrictions of civil liberties to address immigration crisis

University of California - Merced
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Facing a growing migration crisis in 2021, the Polish government declared a state of emergency along its border with Belarus, suspending basic civil liberties for citizens. A new study in The Journal of Politics finds evidence that the action avoided politcal backlash from voters, indicating citizens will tolerate civil restrictions if they feel it is worth the outcome.

Journal: The Journal of Politics

More than telehealth: Social factors shape heart health

University of Mississippi
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers led by two University of Mississippi professors is working to unlock patterns and causes of the No. 1 killer of Mississippians: heart disease.

Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Study in twins links childhood environment to epigenetic aging and cognitive decline

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY — July 30, 2025 — A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) on July 23, 2025, titled “Second generation DNA methylation age predicts cognitive change in midlife: the moderating role of childhood socioeconomic status.”

Journal: Aging-US

Young men with passive approach to news tend to believe medical misinformation

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

True or false?

“It is safe to take an over-the-counter medicine to help you sleep, even if you are drunk on alcohol.”

“Driving while high on THC (cannabis) is safe.”

“Using psychedelics is safe for everyone.”

None of those statements is true. But young men who take a passive approach to news and information—consuming whatever flows over their social media transoms—were likely to believe them in a national survey conducted by Washington State University researchers.

Journal: Substance Use & Misuse