https://phys.org/science-news/social-sciences/ en-us The latest news on social sciences, history, political science, psychology and sociology Does the academic discipline of a scientist's doctorate accurately capture their disciplinary affiliation decades later? Consider a scientist who earned a doctorate in physics 25 years ago who now studies climate change, publishes primarily in interdisciplinary journals and considers herself a climate scientist. Does "physics" still accurately describe where she fits in science? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-captures-scientists-identities-shift-academic.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 16:20:04 EDT news708347642 The summer before starting university can bring multiple worries for students: worrying about obtaining a place in a desired program, navigating the clearing process to confirm a place, securing housing, sorting out financial aid, preparing for academic study and even finding the right school supplies. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-friends-university-harder.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:00:05 EDT news708344702 A string of major disasters in 2026 have had devastating consequences. Earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia and floods and mudslides in Nepal have killed tens of thousands of people and injured many more. Countless people remain missing, and hundreds of thousands of homes are damaged, with some entire neighborhoods destroyed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-diaspora-groups-disasters-nepal-colombia.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:00:03 EDT news708340802 When Boeing certified the 737 Max in 2017 as safe to fly, a flight-control system it had approved caused two crashes that killed 346 people. When Takata kept shipping airbag inflators it had cleared for use, the devices exploded on impact, triggering the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. When a Hollywood armorer handed Alec Baldwin a gun on the set of "Rust," she believed it held no live rounds, but it did, and the shot killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-company-believes-false-blame-professor.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:40:04 EDT news708331922 A new study from Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business and the University of South Florida delivers a pointed warning to companies betting on AI to power their product design: The technology may make products more efficient, but it doesn't necessarily make consumers believe they are more sustainable. In fact, it can do the opposite. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-product-consumers.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:40:01 EDT news708329582 Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't yet causing widespread job losses in Australia. But with some high-profile business leaders still predicting a looming unemployment "crisis," it's little wonder many people fear AI is coming for their job. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-backlash-industrial-revolution-handcrafts-age.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:09 EDT news708328562 As we reflect on the 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people, terrorism remains an ongoing yet evolving threat that defies easy answers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-people-terrorism.html Social Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 07:40:04 EDT news708327182 Give, eat, cook and serve are everyday English words. On TikTok, they're doing something different. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-english-tiktok-social-media-reshaping.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 22:00:01 EDT news708248356 To be or not to be a gentle parent? That is the question. There is so much controversy these days about gentle parenting. What is it, and what is it not? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gentle-parenting.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:20:01 EDT news708262290 A quarter-century after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, religious bias in America has not disappeared, but the forces shaping it have changed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-years-landscape-religious-bias.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:20:04 EDT news708276482 Paul K. Piff, UC Irvine associate professor of psychology, has officially been recognized for what millions of frustrated commuters have long suspected: The fancier the car, the worse the driver. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-psychologist-ig-nobel-rich-drivers.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:50:01 EDT news708279121 How much more income does a two-person household need than a person living alone? The answer is not simply twice as much. Two people need more food and other necessities, but they can also share expenses such as housing. This means that as a household grows, the income needed to maintain the same standard of living increases—but usually by less than the number of people in the household. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rethinking-household-income-welfare.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:00:12 EDT news708271621 England's approach to teaching young people about pornography may be doing more harm than good, according to new research from the University of Surrey. A new study argues that fear-based education is failing to reflect how teenagers actually encounter sexual media. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-based-porn-young-people.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:00:12 EDT news708250862 In the transformation toward sustainability, the interests of societal, economic and political actors often clash, making conflict inevitable. Understanding these dynamics and learning how to engage with them constructively is therefore crucial. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-social-dynamics-sustainability.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:20:01 EDT news708248482 If you read about AI, you'll find a widespread belief: When people don't want to use AI, it's because they're afraid or just don't understand it. They're afraid of losing their jobs or of change generally. Or they don't understand the technology, so they can't see the benefits. They're stuck in the past. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-irrational-resisting-ai.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:40:04 EDT news708247021 In 2025, associate professor Christian Busch's Palisades home burned down in one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history. Busch says the disaster wasn't blind bad luck; it was a clear case of "zemblanity," which he defines as a patterned and preventable form of misfortune built into the way a system, organization or individual operates. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bad-luck-isnt-random-zemblanity.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:20:02 EDT news708243121 An ancient cave in southwestern China has revealed new evidence about how Denisovans—an ancient human relative—lived, survived and adapted over more than 100,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-chinese-cave-denisovan-years.html Archaeology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:10:01 EDT news708249016 As cost-of-living pressures increase and the rental crisis worsens, many families are moving more often. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-children-home-relocation.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news708242702 Imagine a manager sends a thoughtful message to one of her hard-working employees after a particularly exhausting week in the office. The message communicates personal warmth, but when the recipient discovers it was generated by AI, it somehow feels less genuine. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-watermarks-workplace.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:20:06 EDT news708242221 Rib contouring—a cosmetic procedure aimed at creating a smaller, more defined waist—is one of the newer appearance trends on social media. Influencers are sharing their experiences online, bringing a procedure many of us had probably never heard of into our social media feeds. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rib-contouring-highlights-social-media.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:06 EDT news708241562 As thousands of children start high school, experts have called for children to be given more opportunities for independence before they reach adolescence. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-kids-cliff-edge-independence-affect.html Social Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:20:03 EDT news708237542 Do you think it's fair that some people are better off financially than others? Does it perhaps matter whether those earnings stem from a lottery win or hard work? These are the kinds of questions economist Ingvild Almås of the University of Zurich is exploring. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-luck-merit-inequality-equally.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 21:40:01 EDT news708155585 Decisions such as whether to cut prices, launch a product, open a new facility or make an acquisition are among those companies that consider in pursuit of a competitive edge. New research from Texas A&M University suggests a CEO's political affiliation may be associated with whether the company's overall strategy follows industry peers or charts a different course. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ceo-politics-companies.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 21:00:01 EDT news708178079 Trust in scientists in the UK is strong overall, with 63% indicating they have high trust in scientists in general—but a major new study finds this trust is closely shaped by people's values, identity and politics, showing some of the same patterns of division over science that have emerged in the U.S. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-polarized-scientists-driven-values-identity.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:20:04 EDT news708165767 Why do travelers choose one hotel over another, and what makes them return? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tourists-hotel-global-reveals.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:20:06 EDT news708165883 The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law has released a human rights assessment of the use of large language models (LLMs) in the fields of law, journalism and education. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-llm-threaten-freedom-thought-equality.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:00:05 EDT news708186302 Caring for others without caring for oneself is associated with lower levels of well-being and may not be sustainable, a new study found. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-compassion-oneself-linked.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:00:10 EDT news708176042 On back-to-school night in 2005, I eagerly entered my youngest child's first-grade classroom. The walls were festooned with brightly colored responses to the prompt: "Draw something you remember." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-shield-kids-scary-news-sesame.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:20:07 EDT news708165122 Viewing "thinspiration" content on TikTok increases self-objectification and worsens mood, while viewing body-positive content also increases self-objectification but is linked to a more positive mood, according to a new study published in PLOS One by Samantha Jones of Western University, Canada, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-body-tiktok-content-linked-objectification.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:00:25 EDT news708078301 More than 3,000 scientific article titles across disciplines have made use of Beatles song titles and lyrics, according to a study published in PLOS One by Gabriel Budel of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and colleagues. This analysis is an unprecedentedly large-scale, cross-disciplinary account of how the Beatles have left their mark on scientific writing. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-beatles-permeated-papers-academic-disciplines.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 14:00:22 EDT news708077101