Me? Competitive? I can’t help it – I’m almost 50
New research has shown that men are at their most competitive between the ages of 45 and 54
Does David Cameron’s ‘full-bladder technique’ work?
The prime minister conducted his EU negotiations while intentionally 'desperate for a pee', to achieve maximum focus. What do the experts think?
Brain scans of happy people help explain their ‘rose-tinted’ outlook
The brains of people with a happy disposition seem to respond more strongly to positive things in their environment
Check your intuitions
Four tests by Daniel Kahneman to assess your predictable irrationality
Daniel Kahneman: ‘We’re beautiful devices’
Called the world's most important psychologist, Daniel Kahneman inspired the trend for pop-psychology books, won a Nobel in economics and has devoted his life to studying the logic of irrationality
Mirror therapy may help to reduce the pain of arthritis
An optical illusion involving a mirror can trick the brain into reassessing a hand with arthritis as healthy and pain-free
Would a psychopath by any other name be as scary?
Martin Robbins: Jon Ronson's new book, The Psychopath Test, raises troubling questions about society's use of labels in tackling mental health issues
This column will change your life: inspirational quotes
Self-help books are brimming with the inspiring words of Nelson Mandela… But did he really say those things? Oliver Burkeman finds out
A new view of self-harm
The phenomenon has spread to older people over the past 10 years. Why?
What is Madness? by Darian Leader – review
Darian Leader's study of madness contains superb insights but leaves Alexander Linklater with a sense of hopelessness