Making AI Safe for Mental Health Use
According to recent survey data pending review and publication (Rousmaniere et al. 2025) yet widely circulated, 48.7 percent of 499 U.S. respondents reported using LLMs (large language models) for psychological support in the preceding year. The majority did this for anxiety, personal advice, and depression. Notably, they reported primarily either neutral or positive responses, and […]
Finding Fatherhood All Around Me: A Father’s Day Reflection
Father’s Day always leads me to reflect on the tapestry of father figures who shaped my life. While my biological father is still with us today, his journey and ours as a family took an unexpected turn when I was eight years old. The Father I Knew Before Before his health crisis, my father was […]
Celebrating Juneteenth With Tools for Support,…
On Juneteenth, Black Americans celebrate emancipation from slavery. Every year, we at the Greater Good Science Center take this opportunity to gather content that honors Black history, culture, and well-being, and which asks our readers to reflect on the ongoing fight for equality and justice. We hope people of all backgrounds take at least a […]
How Do Arguments Affect Relationships Over Time?
While conflict is inevitable, frequent arguments will affect a relationship over time. Couples that do not effectively manage conflict will enter a cycle of fighting that is hard to break. When disagreements become more frequent and intense, they can damage the positive aspects of a couple’s connection that brought them together in the first place. […]
How to Intentionally Change Your Personality
When we talk about our personality, many of us treat it as a fixed, unchanging part of us. But the truth is our personality can evolve and often does, even without us deliberately trying. For example, many of us are more open to new experiences and willing to take more risks when we’re younger, and […]
The Architect of Your Happiness
We are a goal-oriented society. We chase achievements with relentless dedication: the soulmate, the high-powered career, the enviable body, the life that looks perfect from the outside. We invest our time, our energy, and our hope in these external milestones, believing they are the bedrock of a happy life. But what if the key to […]
Why Purpose Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing
As human beings, we often fall prey to all-or-nothing thinking. The American Psychological Association defines this as dichotomous thinking—the tendency to interpret experiences in terms of polar opposites: good or bad, happy or sad, success or failure. At first glance, this kind of thinking might seem harmless, maybe even motivating. But research suggests the consequences […]
Can Altruism Help Us Through Hard Times?
Can helping others make us healthier? When scientists scanned the brains of people who donated money to charity, they found something surprising: Giving activated the same reward pathways as personal pleasures like food or music. But even more striking, the brain’s reward system responded more strongly to acts of generosity than to self-indulgence. The findings […]
What Happened When I Stopped Ignoring My Body
“When we listen to our body with kindness, we honor the present moment and give ourselves the care we truly need.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh It started back in middle school for me—the need to feel thin in my English riding breeches. I’d compare myself to others at the barn—the ones with the long, slender legs and […]
What Helps Dads in Transitioning to Parenthood?
For expecting fathers, the transition to parenthood can be a transformative period filled with excitement, awe, and pride for fulfilling a meaningful role in the life of their to-be-born baby. It can also entail a great deal of stress, which can lead to strain, despair, and worry. Indeed, research finds that 5% to 15% of […]