Communication, connection, conflict, attachment, family, friendship, and the science of healthy relationships.
We often avoid talking to strangers, assuming solitude will be more pleasant. Research with commuters suggests the opposite: connecting with a stranger can make an everyday journey significantly more enjoyable.
Do three-year-olds with secure parental bonds make better playmates? A University of Illinois study found securely attached kids adapt more skillfully to peers, even ones prone to anger or frustration.
Some childhood misbehavior is just being a kid—some of it isn’t. New neurogenetics research helps tell the difference. Psychologist Luke Hyde shows how genes, environment, and brain chemistry combine to reveal which kids are truly at risk.
Can dogs form attachment bonds with people that resemble those between children and caregivers? Research suggests that an owner may serve as a “secure base,” supporting a dog’s confidence and exploration.
Neuropsychotherapist Louis Cozolino explains why the brain learns best in tribe-like environments built on secure attachment, and how schools might reshape the classroom to work with, not against, our social wiring.
Attachment parenting isn’t a scientific term, and Bowlby never prescribed slings or co-sleeping. When we get the terms right, arguments behind media-driven parenting wars dissolve in the face of the facts: emotional attunement matters more than popular techniques.
When children seem unmotivated or unwilling to make an effort, discouragement may be the real problem. Understanding what lies behind the behavior can help parents respond more effectively.
Psychologist Kenneth Barish discusses how his latest book can help parents raise kids who are confident and caring—and why understanding emotions beats simply managing behavior.
Attachment theory has been popularized, and sometimes distorted, since John Bowlby first proposed it. What actually matters for children’s development, research shows, isn’t co-sleeping or babywearing but emotional attunement.
Humans need social connection, but healthy relationships come in many forms. Research on friendship suggests that diverse social bonds—not simplistic personality labels—may better explain how our relationships support well-being.
Is there a “type” of person who abuses their family? Psychologist Cindy Miller-Perrin says the one common thread across abusers is a childhood history of being mistreated themselves.
For many, home isn’t a safe haven—it’s the most dangerous place they know. This deep dive covers intimate-partner abuse and child maltreatment, the cycle that perpetuates them, and what communities can do to help break it.
