Science & technology | Power prose

Simine Vazire hopes to fix psychology’s credibility crisis

Her new job editing the field’s most prestigious journal should help

A photo of Professor Simine Vazire.
Photograph: Bryan Meltz

IT IS EASY to be sceptical about the state of behavioural science. The biggest story in the field in 2023 involved two frequent collaborators, Dan Ariely of the Duke Fuqua School of Business and Francesca Gino at Harvard Business School, who both face charges of research misconduct.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Power prose”

From the January 13th 2024 edition

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Dr Dorothy Bishop.

Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society

His continued membership has led to a high-profile resignation

Legal Amazon preservation area borders the field for soybean planting.

Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions

Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier


Robot mixing at Toyota Research Institute.

Robots can learn new actions faster thanks to AI techniques

They could soon show their moves in settings from car factories to care homes


Scientists are learning why ultra-processed foods are bad for you

A mystery is finally being solved

Scientific publishers are producing more papers than ever

Concerns about some of their business models are building

The two types of human laugh

One is caused by tickling; the other by everything else