Risk-taking in adolescence: where does the brain come into it? Why do adolescents drive too fast, or without a helmet? And why do they take more risks when they are with their friends? Can we explain this by looking at adolescent brain development? Barbara Braams • July 13, 2014
Is it right for lefties to be left out? About 10% of the population is left-handed. However, neuroscientific and genetic studies often exclude left-handed individuals. What is the rationale behind this, and is it justified? Jiska Peper • May 07, 2014
Leave your laptop at home! In this digital age of iPad schools, Facebook communities and trending topics, students more and more use their laptops to take notes during lectures. Recent research has shown that this has a bad influence on their knowledge acquisition. Fieke Harinck • April 16, 2014
It’s rational not to vote The turnout for the recent Dutch municipal council elections was very low. From a rational perspective this is not surprising. The chance of casting the pivotal vote is minuscule, so why vote? Gert-Jan Lelieveld • April 02, 2014
Alternative medicine and the placebo effect A lot of money is spent on alternative medicine, even though there is no scientific evidence that its benefits are anything more than a placebo effect. But if it makes patients feel better, is there actually anything wrong with these treatments? Sabine Peters • March 24, 2014
How we vote Although we like to think that our vote is solely the outcome of rational deliberation, research demonstrates the various influences on our political preferences. Even the language that is used might impact our ideological leanings. Jojanneke van der Toorn • March 17, 2014
Why asking Russians to be empathetic leads to increased anti-gay prejudice In response to Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law, politicians have urged the Russian authorities to show empathy and take the perspective of same-sex couples. I argue that this can be counterproductive: Perspective taking can foster anti-gay prejudice. Marlon Mooijman • March 04, 2014
Raising the minimal legal drinking age: the best preventive measure thinkable Barbara Braams is correct in that there is not one single solution to the problem of young people drinking large quantities of alcohol. Yet, no intervention is as effective in lowering adolescent alcohol use as raising the minimum legal drinking age. Winifred Gebhardt • February 19, 2014
Underage drinking: Why raising the minimum legal drinking age does not solve the problem Over the last couple of years over 700 adolescents have been admitted to hospital due to excessive alcohol use. These 'comazuipers' have sparked debate on underage drinking and brain development. Will the increased legal drinking age solve the problem? Barbara Braams • February 03, 2014
