Testosterone Does Not Sharpen — or Dull — Men's Deliberate Reasoning, Large Rigorous Trial Finds
In a preregistered, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment with 1,000 adult men (ages 18–45), a single intranasal dose of testosterone had no meaningful effect on Cognitive Reflection Test scores. Surprisingly, the testosterone group rated their own confidence lower than the placebo group — both results ran counter to the original hypothesis and reverse an influential 2017 claim. Note: long-term or developmental effects of testosterone were not tested.
Source: Association for Psychological Science
When Soothing an Anxious Child May Backfire: Parental Accommodation Linked to More Severe Social Anxiety
Across three clinically characterized German samples of children aged 8–15, parents of children with social anxiety disorder reported more "family accommodation" — repeated reassurance, changing routines, and helping the child avoid feared situations. Higher accommodation was consistently linked to more severe symptoms in the children. The design was cross-sectional with preregistered analyses, so it shows a link rather than proving a causal direction.
Source: Scientific Reports
Gratitude Hits a Six-Year High in America — Even as Stress Rises
The fourth wave of a longitudinal survey of American adults (waves in 2020, 2021, 2024, and 2026) found gratitude scores rose nearly 10% since 2024 — the highest in the study's six-year history — even as stress, worry, and irritability increased and calmness, relief, and optimism declined. Gratitude emerged as a strong predictor of life satisfaction. Note: this is a winery-sponsored survey reported via press release, not peer-reviewed research, and the sample size was not stated.
Source: PR Newswire